Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

Let's face it... I like to cook, but I LOVE to bake! Mostly just because I love eating baked goods. In all my years of baking, I have tried a hundred different chocolate chip cookie recipes. Some are too cakey. Some are too flat. Some are too crispy. And one that I tried was just plain salty! I discovered this recipe over at www.ourbestbites.com and think that I have finally found that perfect combination of gooey, chewy, goodness.

½ c. butter
½ c. high-quality margarine
¾ c. white sugar
1 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
3 c. flour
¾ tsp. salt
¾ tsp. baking soda
1 12-oz. bag chocolate chips (I prefer semi-sweet)

Cream together butter, margarine, and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well. Add flour, salt, and soda and stir just until combined, then stir in the chocolate chips. Scoop onto a well greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Pull them out of the oven when they are just barely golden on the edges. Makes approximately 5 dozen cookies (depending on how much dough you eat!!!).

Just a couple hints...

• Don't scoop your flour with your measuring cup. It will get packed in and you will end up adding too much. Instead, scoop the flour into your measuring cup with a spoon and then gently level it off with the flat edge of a knife.
• Your butter and margarine should be room temperature. Never melt it or try to use it straight from the fridge.
• When you get to the dry ingredients, stir them in by hand. It may seem like a lot of work, but that way you will avoid over-developing the gluten in the flour and your cookies will turn out silky smooth. Plus, as my good friend Adrianne once said, "the arm workout will justify all those calories that you are going to consume!"