Chewy Chocolate Cookies

For years, Beth and I have been hunting for the perfect cookie recipe. Thin and chewy, not dry and puffy. We've tried many recipes that claimed to be chewy and moist, but none of them delivered (it may have been operator error). Not so with these. I don't remember where I found the recipe, but it's good. Eureka!

Chewy Chocolate Cookies

Beat 1 cup of softened (but not melted!) butter with a wooden spoon until it is smooth. Add 3/4 cup white sugar, and 3/4 of a cup brown sugar, and beat it until it's creamy. You'll know when you're done.

Stir in two eggs and 1 tsp of vanilla. Then add 1/3 of a cup of unsweetened cocoa powder. Stir. Add 2 cups of white flour (you can replace part of it with whole wheat flour if you'd like), 1 teaspoon of both salt and baking soda.

Then comes the fun part! Add 1 1/2 cups of dark chocolate chips. REALLY. It's best if they're dark, not milk or semisweet. But semisweet will work...

Place tablespoons of the dough (it will be very soft) about 2 1/2 inches apart on a baking sheet lined with tinfoil (dull side up). Bake for 8-10 minutes in a 375 degree oven (Fahrenheit). You can tell they're done when the very edges are firm. The centers will still be very soft.

Pull the tinfoil and cookies off the baking sheet and let them cool on the counter. Hide them somewhere out of sight, or they will be gone too fast.

I will be making them again soon, without any cocoa powder for regular chocolate chip cookies.