Best Chcolate Chip Cookies

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Photo by Phyllis Grant

Author Notes: These cookies are deeply rooted in the Toll House tradition. But, over the years, the recipe has evolved into my own. I've made it thousands of times. 

Makes 24 cookies (2 ounces each)

• 2 1/8cups all-purpose flour
• 1teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 1/2cup regular semisweet chocolate chips
• 1cup large bittersweet chocolate chips
• 1 1/2cup walnuts, finely chopped
• 1cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1cup light or dark brown sugar, tightly packed
• 1/2cup white sugar
• 2eggs
• 2teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Heat oven to 375° F.
2. Sift flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3. Mix together chocolate chips and chopped nuts. Set aside.
4. All medium speed unless otherwise noted: In a standing mixer, with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars until well mixed and light. Scrape down the sides. Add one egg. Mix for 5 seconds. Scrape down the sides. Add second egg. Mix for 5 seconds. Scrape down the sides. Add vanilla. Mix for 5 seconds. Scrape down the sides.
5. You're going to add the sifted flour mixture in 4 batches, stopping before adding the final batch. For the first 3 batches, mix at low speed just to combine, scraping down the sides between each addition. When you get to the final batch of flour, add the chocolate chip/nut mixture. They will get a bit crushed. That's okay. Mix until there's barely a trace of flour visible. Don't over-mix. Sometimes, it's better to be safe and do the final bit of mixing by hand.
6. Set up a sheet pan with a silpat or parchment paper. Bake one tray at a time or they will all cook at different rates. Make them spherical, not flat. The cookie size is up to you. I find the bigger they are, the better ratio you have between gooey interior and crisp exterior. 2 ounces is about right for that.
7. Leave a few inches between the raw cookies. Place sheet pan in the oven. They cook very fast at this temp. I never set a timer. I just hang around the oven and drink tea. They're done when they're brown and crispy on the outer border and raw in the very middle (8 to 10 minutes). Remove sheet pan. Allow to cool for a few minutes, then, with a spatula, transfer cookies to a cookie rack to cool. If you're not going to eat them right away, they should be frozen.
8. If you're not baking them off right away, portion them out with an ice cream scoop, place them on a sheet pan, and freeze. Once firm, store them in a Ziploc bag. Works great to bake them off when they're frozen.