This is Dorie Greenspan’s recipe that she’s been making for decades. As she says, “If they look like Toll House Cookies, it’s because that recipe, the mother of so many chocolate-chippers, was my starting point.”
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temp
- 1 cup sugar
- 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs, at room temp
- 12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped (chip-size pieces), or 2 cups chocolate chips – I typically use a Valhrona 64% or 70% chunk chopped or Guittard 63% chips
- 1 cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans, preferably toasted (optional)
- Flaked sea salt (optional, Sarah addition)
Directions
- Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or baking mats.
- Whisk together the flour and baking soda. Working in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the butter, both sugars and the salt together until smooth, about 3 minutes. Beat in the vanilla. One by one, add the eggs, beating for a minute after each egg goes in.
- Turn off the mixer, add the dry ingredients all at once and pulse the mixer to begin blending. When the risk of a flour shower has passed, work on low speed, mixing only until the dry ingredients are almost incorporated. Continuing with the mixer or working by hand with a sturdy spatula, stir in the chocolate and nuts. (The dough can be covered and refrigerated for up to 3 days.)
- Use a medium cookie scoop (one with a capacity of 1½ tablespoons) to shape the cookies and arrange on a lined baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches between the mounds; or portion the dough out by slightly rounded tablespoonfuls. (You can freeze the scooped balls for up to 2 months.)
- Sprinkle a tiny amount of flakes sea salt atop each cookie. (This is the only addition/adjustment by Sarah)
- Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, for 10 to 12 minutes, or until they are brown at the edges and golden in the center; they may still be a little soft in the middle, and that’s just fine. Let the cookies rest for a minute on the baking sheet, then carefully lift them onto racks to cool until they are just warm or have come to room temperature. Repeat with the remaining dough, always using a cool baking sheet.
- Storing: The cookies can be kept in an airtight container for about 4 days at room temperature or for up to 2 months in the freezer.
Note: these cookies spread quite a bit while baking so I don’t put more than 9 on a sheet pan.