Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Servings 20 large cookies (1/4 cup scoop)

Ingredients

3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 extra large eggs
24 ounces semi sweet chocolate chips
2 cups chopped toasted pecans optional

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In a mixing bowl, beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Add vanilla, then add eggs one at a time, fully incorporating one before adding the other.
Gradually add flour mixture, using lowest speed on mixer or stirring in by hand.
Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.
Scoop 1/4 cup mounds onto ungreased cookie sheet. I use an ice cream scoop for this.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until light golden brown on edges and you see bits of golden brown on the higher peaks of your cookie on top.
Cool completely on pans.

Recipe Notes

* Baking at 325 degrees is important for large cookies since it allows the cookie to bake thoroughly in the middle before the outside gets overcooked. If you want to bake smaller cookies, use about 2 Tablespoons of dough and bake at 350 for about 10-11 minutes or until lightly golden.

*This recipe uses a lot of chips/nuts. You can always cut back to your preference if you like to use less.

Recipe Source: Michael Bauer's Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies, The San Francisco Chronicle