Dorie's Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are not Ultimate or Superior or even Great chocolate chip cookies. They are not even The Best. No, they are humbly named My Best, which says a lot about their creator. Sidestepping the chocolate chip cookie naming oneupmanship, these cookies are a little more personal and a lot more wonderful. If you've ever made any of Dorie Greenspan's recipes, you'll know that when she says "My Best", not only does she mean it, but it's going to be ultimately superior to any other merely great chocolate chip cookie you may have made before. These are thin, crispy and buttery*... everything a chocolate chip cookie should be. Make some and see if you don't agree with me...

• Dorie Greenspan's "My Best Chocolate Chip Cookies" pg. 68 of Baking: From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan (2006)

Notes: First batch were "plain" (that means I was out of walnuts) but tasted fantastic anyway. Second batch were fully loaded and even more delish. In my oven they are dark golden perfection at exactly 12 minutes (rotating the pan at the halfway point). I let them cool on the pan for exactly 5 minutes, then carefully move them to wire racks to finish cooling. As with most of the cookies I make, I shape them, freeze them, and only bake a few at a time. That way we maintain some semblance of portion control.

*To our good friends who got to try these: They are even better when I remember to bake them at the correct temperature! Go figure, huh!