Delicious Chocolate Cookies!

This recipe is the best, simplest chocolate chip cookie recipe - but the only difference I like to make is that when baking, I bake them for eight minutes instead of twelve. Those extra minutes yield a signature crispy texture but personally I like mine slightly chewy in the middle.

Yields ~ 40 cookies

Ingredients:

- 2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flower
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) lightly salted butter, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
- 1 teaspoon water
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Method:

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit .
2) Whisk the flower, baking soda, and salt together in a bowl. 
3) In another large bowl, mix the butter with a wooden spoon to lighten it a bit then mix in the sugars.
4) Add the water, vanilla, and eggs to the butter mixture.
5) Stir in the flour mixture until just combined and then fold in the chocolate chips.
6) Using two soup spoons, drop the cookies 2" apart onto two nonstick or greased cookie sheets
7) Bake for twelve minutes, rotating the sheets after six minutes. ( This is where I would cook for eight minutes, rotating the sheets after four minutes ) 
8) Remove the cookies to a wire rack to cool, and repeat the process with the rest of the batter.
9) After cooled eat and enjoy, they taste great with a nice cold glass of milk! YUM :) 
OPTIONAL ~~ If you wanted to make these but don't want to half the recipe, you could get some nice holiday goodie bags and tie them up with some curly cue ribbon with a gift tag. These would make great inexpensive gifts for teachers, friends, and even family!