Photos and Chocolate Chip Cookies

As promised, I have uploaded photos from my time in Germany on aisle four. Feel free to check them out. Pictures of my time in Berlin, Poland, Vienna, and Boston will come shortly.

For years now, I have been searching for the perfect chocolate chip recipe. It is the most well-known and standard cookie, but I also believe it is one of the most delicious. The chocolate chip cookie recipes on chocolate chips packaging are often lame and require strange ingredients. Those cookies have never turned out well for me. Only about a week ago, I stumbled across the most perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe. Now, I doubt that many of you were also on this chocolate chip cookie quest, but I have decided to post the recipe, just in case.

I follow this recipe very closely, except that I add about two tablespoons of milk to the batter, which makes a great difference in terms of the fluffiness of the cookies. I have also heard that adding a "dollop" of sour cream also makes the cookies softer. The amount of a "dollop" is left up to your own interpretation.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) with rack in center of oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), cream the butter. Add the white and brown sugars and beat until fluffy (about 2 minutes). Beat in eggs, one at a time, making sure to beat well after each addition. Add the vanilla and beat until incorporated.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture and beat until incorporated, adding the chocolate chips about half way through mixing. If you find the dough very soft, cover and refrigerate until firm (about 30 minutes).
For large cookies, use about a 2 tablespoon ice cream scoop or with two spoons, drop about 2 tablespoons of dough (35 grams) onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake about 12 - 14 minutes, or until golden brown around the edges. Cool completely on wire rack.

Makes about 4 dozen - 3 inch round cookies

Recipe:
1 cup (2 sticks) (226 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar
1 cup (215 grams) firmly packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 cups (420 grams) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups (270 grams) semisweet chocolate chips