Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Who doesn't like Chocolate Chip Cookies - especially the soft and chewy kind - so following is my favorite recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookies. It is an easy and delicious recipe. The Cookies are always gone before the end of the day, everybody in our house loves these Cookies. So, here is the recipe.

Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
(as adapted from Martha Stewart, Holiday Cookies 2005, Special Issue)

2 1/4 cups (280 g) AP flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks/226 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar, I used superfine
1 cup (200 g) light-brown sugar, packed
1 tsp salt (I used fine sea salt)
2 tsp vanilla extract (I used pure vanilla sugar)
2 eggs, large (use free range or organic whenever possible)
2 cups (12 ounces/240 g) semisweet and/or milk chocolate chips (I did not use chocolate chips but rather cut 2 1/2 bars of Lindt Excellence 70 % into medium-sized chunks)

Preparation: preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 degrees Celsius)
1. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper (I always use unbleached parchment paper).
2. Whisk together flour and baking soda.
3. In the bowl of your mixer combine butter with both sugars and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy.
4. With the mixer on low, add salt, vanilla and eggs. Beat until well mixed.
5. Add flour, mix until just combined.
6. Add chocolate chips.
7. Drop nine heaping tablespoons of dough on each baking sheet. Use an ice cream scoop to get even-sized cookies and leave sufficient space between each cookie because the dough will spread during baking.
8. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, not longer, as the name, implies, you want the Cookies to be still soft in the center.
9. Remove from oven, and let cool on baking sheets for a few minutes then transfer the Cookies still on the parchment paper onto a wire rack. Let them cool completely on the racks.

Enjoy with a tall glass of cold milk, a nice tea, or cappuccino...