My Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

I've never been much of a cook & therefore I never put too much thought into baking. A few years ago, I really got the confidence to bake more thanks to friends & family. Now I use baking to get creative and have fun.

When we were planning our wedding we realized just how expensive a wedding can be. We decided to skip the wedding cake completely and opted for a non-traditional dessert table. While we did order some pies from a local bakery, my friend came up with the idea to bake a large selection of cookies in the weeks leading up to our wedding date & then freeze them until the day before.

Doing this came with so many benefits including:

• It was a lot of fun getting together with everyone baking on the weekends

• Cookies were the perfect fall dessert

• Everyone loved them

• We saved so much money.

Last year, I spent my October Sundays baking pumpkin rolls at my sisters. She started baking and selling pumpkin rolls in the fall of 2018 while she was pregnant with her daughter. They were a huge hit and her orders doubled in size the following year. It just so happened that my husband & I moved about 15 minutes from them, thus I was recruited as an assistant baker and baby sitter that fall. This year, our orders have increased again & we have been baking on Saturdays & Sundays so far.

They are really delicious pumpkin rolls.

Anyways, I did want to share this delicious chewy, chocolate chip cookie recipe I found in Joanna Gaines' cookbook "Magnolia Table". She calls for 2 cups of brown sugar which I believe is the key ingredient for moist chewy cookies.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 stick of unsalted butter (room temperature)

2 cups of light brown sugar

2 large eggs (I used farm fresh)

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups of semisweet chocolate chips (I used 2 cups)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (rack should be centered)

2. Whisk together flour, baking soda & salt in a medium bowl

3. I used my KitchenAid with the paddle attachment to beat butter & sugar at medium-high speed until light & fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). Add eggs & blend. Add vanilla extract & blend.

4. Add flour. Mix on medium until blended, then turn the mixer to high for a few seconds to pull the dough together; it will be chunky.

5. Add the chocolate chips and beat on high for 5 seconds to mix them in.

6. Drop large spoonfuls on a lined baking sheet. Bake 10-11 minutes until lightly browned on top. Cool on pan for one minute, then transfer the cookies to a cooling rack. Repeat with the rest of the dough. *Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

What are some of your favorite baking recipes? Have you tried Joanna Gaines's recipe yet? What did you think?

If you want more posts about baking let me know on Instagram @always_willow or Email me at erikka_alwayswillow@gmail.com & donut forget to subscribe to my blog for future content.

Always,

Erikka