The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever

As a sophomore in college, my friend Allison introduced me to the very best chocolate chip cookies I had ever had. As a junior in college, I was in the middle of making those cookies, when I realized I only had one teaspoon of vanilla extract, rather than the two the recipe called for. What to do? Add a teaspoon of almond extract! And hence, these cookies were born. With just a hint of almond flavor, these cookies maintain the chocolate chip cookie taste, while causing everyone to ask just what that thing is that makes them stand out from every other chocolate chip cookie they've had. The texture is exactly what a chocolate chip cookie should be - crisp on the outside but chewy on the inside. These cookies also have the rare attribute of being as good, if not better, once they've cooled. If stored in an airtight container, they can last for many days without losing their chewiness. As my friend once put it, these are exactly the cookies you dream of your mother making.

Ingredients:

2 cups, 2 tablespoons flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

12 tablespoons unsalted butter (melted and cooled until warm)

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond extract

1 to 2 cups chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Combine the dry ingredients (flour, salt, and baking soda) in a medium bowl. In a large bowl add the melted butter and the white and brown sugar, and mix well. Add the egg and egg yolk, and mix well again. Add both extracts, and mix for a final time.

Add 1/3 dry ingredients to the wet, stirring until completely combined. Continue with the rest of the dry ingredients, in two more sections. Once the dry ingredients are thoroughly mixed into the wet, add the chocolate chips. Roll into small balls and bake for 8-10 minutes. These cookies are done once cracks begin to appear on their surface, so watch them carefully. If you take them out right as these cracks appear, they will have the perfect consistency. Don't worry if they don't seem fully done, they will finish cooking while they cool.

Cool on the sheet for 3-5 minutes, before transferring to a cooling rack.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

To make these cookies as traditional chocolate chip cookies, simply replace the teaspoon of almond extract with a second teaspoon of vanilla extract. They will still most likely be the best chocolate chip cookies you have ever had.

I made these last night for an international dinner in Germany, where each person was supposed to bring something from their homeland. While they did not turn out quite as perfectly as they usually do (conversions are a nightmare), I made five dozen cookies and every one was gone.