Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Have you ever had one of those cookies fresh from the bakery and think to yourself, "Wow, how come I can't make cookies like this at home?" You know what I'm talking about, crisp on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside, huge chunks of chocolate...The kind of cookie that's so good that you forget how many you've eaten. Well I have a recipe that is super easy, and makes amazing cookies too! And the good thing is, you don't need any weird ingredients or special tricks. Here we go...

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon of baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup melted butter

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 egg

1 pound chocolate bar

Whisk together your flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, beat your butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Then add the vanilla and the egg and keep beating. Slowly add your flour mixture to create the dough. Coarsely chop up your mammoth candy bar (any of those big ones will do, try Special Dark!!!) and mix the chocolate pieces into the dough. Roll the dough into 1-1/2 inch balls and put them on an ungreased cookie sheet. I use tin foil to make cleanup easier. Then cook at 325 degrees for 15-17 minutes. Cool and eat!

This is a good all-purpose basic cookie recipe and it can be modified however you want. Some ideas for variations...trail mix, M&M's, Reese's cups, toffee bits, mint chocolate chips. Just think, you could have soft, chewy, hot out of the oven cookies in less than a half an hour! What are you waiting for!!!!