My New Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

I've made this recipe twice in the last week. The first time I made it because I was bored. This time, because I needed something sweet to cap off the food I'm dropping off for my boss and her family. And, well because this batter is AWESOME. I've saved some to snack on! Anyway, this recipe comes to us again from allrecipes.com. I was looking for a recipe that'd yield a crispy edge, soft-center cookie. Many I've seen are cakey cookies, which I don't like when it comes to chocolate chip cookies.

The first time I made this I only had half a stick of butter, so I used 1/2 cup of margerine. This time, I had enough butter and went the all-butter route. The differences were clear; the cookies baked with margerine spread a bit more when baking, and were a little flatter. The ones with all butter, however, stayed a little thicker and didn't spread as much on the pan. Both yielded tasty, crisy-edged, soft-center cookies. I am certain this will be my 'go to' recipe in the future.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar (I go a scant less than a cup on both white and brown sugar)
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (I used 2.5 teaspoons, as I think vanilla is a great complement to the chocolate chips in the cookies)
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons hot water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (This equates to a bag. I used Baker's Semi-sweet chocolate chunks)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Cream together the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Dissolve baking soda in hot water. Add to batter along with salt. Stir in flour, chocolate chips, and nuts. Drop by large spoonfuls onto ungreased pans.
3. Bake for about 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are nicely browned.