My New Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie

Every good home cook has it: "their" chocolate chip cookie recipe. It has as much to do with your personal tastes as anything: milk vs. dark, crisp vs. chewy, nuts or not.

For me, I like my chocolate chip cookies with a little bite, and a lot of chocolate. But I don't like the chocolate to get all over my fingers for some reason. I like dark chocolate rather than milk chocolate (but only in chocolate chip cookies - for eating, I prefer milk), and I like walnuts, not pecans (even though I prefer pecans in everything else).

Basically, I'm incredibly picky.

Fortunately, I've found my chocolate chip cookie. First of all, I don't use chocolate chips; taking a tip from Dorie Greenspan, I take good chocolate and cut it into small squares. I dump the bars, shards and all, into the batter, so that the cookies are marbled and tweedy with chocolate. 1/3 semisweet chocolate and 2/3 bittersweet chocolate, which I think gives it just the right sweetness level. I also use a little extra sea salt for a faint salty flavor to balance the sweet.

I've made these cookies several times now, and they've always been a big hit. They're soft and chewy out of the oven, but then crisp up when they cool, though they still have a nice chew to them.

Also, they're pretty much noob-proof. Just bake them one sheet at a time, and keep an eye on them, and you'll be fine.

Better than fine, actually, cause you'll be full of chocolate chip cookies.

Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies

(adapted from a recipe by Dorie Greenspan)

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking soda
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, cut into small squares

4 ounces semisweet chocolate, cut into small squares
1 cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or a Silpat. (I prefer Silpat - the cookies don't brown as much on the bottom.)

Whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with the paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter at medium speed for about 1 minute, until smooth. Add the sugars and beat for another 2 minutes or so, until well-blended. Beat in the vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each egg goes in. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients in 3 portions, mixing only until each addition is incorporated. Mix in the chocolate and nuts, preferably using a spatula to avoid overmixing. (The dough can be covered and refrigerated for up to 3 days, or frozen. Freeze the mounded tablespoons of dough on a lined baking sheet, then bag them when they're solid. There's no need to defrost the dough before baking-just add another minute or two to the baking time.)

Spoon the dough by slightly rounded tablespoonfuls onto the baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between spoonfuls.

Bake the cookies - one sheet at a time and rotating the sheet at the midway point - for 10-12 minutes, or until they are brown at the edges and golden in the center; they may still be a little soft in the middle, and that's just fine. Pull the sheet from the oven and allow the cookies to rest for 1 minute, then carefully, using a wide metal spatula, transfer them to racks to cool to room temperature.

Repeat with the remainder of the dough, cooling the baking sheets between batches.