Loaded with Chips, Chocolate Chip Cookies

Every year in April, the staff and everyone at The Wild Strawberry Salon raises money for WaterCan in honour of Earth month. WaterCan is a charity that provides clean drinking water for the world's poorest people. We take pride in doing this by raffling tickets for great prizes that are donated to us and having bake sales. So this year to kick start the campaign, I thought I would make chocolate chip cookies because who doesn't like chocolate chip cookies?

This is one of my favourite chocolate chip cookie recipes ever. I have been making them for years. It's my go-to recipe. They're easy to make, loaded with chocolate chips, not too hard, not too soft and you can use any nut you like. I like walnuts. You can also omit them.

They are from a cookbook I've had on my book shelf for many years called "Cookies Unlimited" by Nick Malgieri, who I used to love watching on the Food Network when it first aired many years ago. I've made quite a few of the recipes in this book and they have always turned out great and I can't say that about many other cookbook recipes that I have tried.

Chocolate Chip Cookies
(recipe by Nick Malgieri from "Cookies Unlimited)

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup nuts, coursley chopped (optional)


Preheat oven to 375F.
In a bowl, combine the flour, salt and baking soda; mix well.
In a bowl of standing mixer, beat together the butter and both sugars until combined, then beat in the egg and vanilla until smooth. Reduce the speed of the mixer and add the flour mixture, the chocolate chips and the optional nuts.
Drop teaspoonfuls of the dough on parchment lined cookie sheets, 2 inches apart. Bake the cookies 10-12 minutes or until golden and firm. Slide onto a cooling rack.

m xo