the best chocolate chip cookies ever

dear santa,

I ate all your cookies.

Oh wait, that would make me naughty.  Let me try that again…

dear santa,

I made these cookies just for you.  Please don’t be sad that there are only three for you.  I tried the others to make sure that you would like them.  You will.  And in case you get here and all that’s left is milk….well, it must have been the dog.

Holiday time makes me all warm and fuzzy for traditions.  Now that I have a little one, traditions are definitely important and something that I can’t wait to start.

When I was a kid, I remember leaving milk and cookies out for Santa on Christmas Eve.  My sister and I would write our letters to Santa, to convince him that yes, indeed, we were good all year despite what my parents might have said if they had a chance to speak to Santa directly.  Our mom would stand us on kitchen chairs and let us stir the cookie batter (and lick the beaters!) and then we would scoop big spoonfuls onto the baking trays (and sometimes in our mouths) and dance around the kitchen while we waited for the warm, chocolatey oozing cookies to come out of the oven.

Once the cookies cooled, we would separate them – one for Santa, one for me, one more for Santa, maybe one more for me…  Stacking them high on the plate (the more the better for making sure Santa was on OUR side.)  Then an ice cold glass of milk set next to the cookies and our hand-written letters propped up just so.

We would slip into our sleeping bags that were positioned directly in front of the chimney for better Santa viewing.  And then we would stay up late, giggling and looking up the chimney until our parents yelled at us to “go to bed or we are telling Santa!”

In the morning, we would wake up to a empty plate and an empty glass and a tiny little note from Santa would be in the place where ours once rested.  “Thank you for the milk and cookies” it always said in it’s shaky scribbly handwriting.  And then we would giggle and run directly over to the tree and bounce up and down with joy at the sight of the boxes with ribbons and bows.

This happened every year without fail.  That is, until one year I read Santa’s thank you note and realized that the handwriting looked very similar to my dad’s handwriting.  In quiet confidence I told my dad about my suspicions and he just smiled at me with a twinkle in his eye.   Huh.

Merry Christmas!!

the best chocolate chip cookies ever

as seen on all-recipes via Sugar and Charm

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar, packed

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp hot water

1 tsp salt

3 cups all purpose flour

2 cups chocolate chips

1 cup walnuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl, cream the butter until light and fluffy, about three minutes.  Add both sugars and beat until smooth.  Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then add the vanilla.  Dissolve baking soda in hot water.  Add the soda to the batter along with the salt.  Add the flour, chocolate chips and nuts.

Using a large plate, drop the dough in large spoonfuls.  One at a time, take one portion of cookie dough and shape and flatten it in your hand until it is round and is about 1/4 inch thick.  Place the cookie on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Continue this process, leaving about one inch between each cookie as they will spread slightly as they cook.

Bake for 10 minutes or until the edges are lightly golden brown.  Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to sit on the baking sheet for three minutes before moving them to a cooling rack.

notes:  This recipe makes about 4 dozen cookies.  You can freeze the cookie dough – just make sure to portion the dough into spoonfuls before freezing.  Then place the cookies into a freezer bag.  Make sure to let the cookies come to room temperature completely before shaping and cooking.