Step 1

Measure out all of your ingredients.

Step 2

Preheat the oven to 350ºF/175ºC.

Step 3

Prepare a sheet pan or cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

Step 4

In a medium bowl with a hand mixer, or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment cream together the butter (113 grams/ ½ cup) and brown sugar (150 grams, ¾ cup) until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Alternatively: if you do not have a mixer you can melt your butter until it is liquid but not hot and mix it together with the sugar. This will give you a thinner and chewier cookie.

Step 5

Add the egg (1 large) and vanilla (1 teaspoon), if using, to the butter mixture and mix until incorporated.

Step 6

Stir in the flour (150 grams, 1 ¼ cup), salt (¼ teaspoon), and the chocolate chips or chunks (150 grams, 1 cup) just until combined. Do not mix for a long time after adding the flour, it will create cookies that are too tough or cakey.

Step 7

Scoop the dough into mounds about 2 tablespoons each onto the prepared cookie sheet. Do not put more than 9 cookies per sheet.

Step 8

Bake one sheet at a time at 350ºF/175ºC until set on the edges and the middle still looks a little bit undercooked. About 8-12 minutes. (these cookies do not brown as much as other cookies because of the lack of baking soda or baking powder.)

Step 9

Allow to cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before removing to a cooling rack. Cookies will continue to cook on the sheets for a few minutes.

Step 10

Allow cookies to cool completely before storing in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Step 11

This dough works very well to make ahead and keep in the refrigerator in an airtight container to bake off when you would like fresh cookies. I like to pre-portion it into balls of dough and then bake straight from the refrigerator adding 1 more minute to the bake time.

Step 12

You can also portion out the dough and put the dough balls store in the freezer in a ziplock bag for up to 3 months. To bake from frozen, reduce the baking temperature to 325ºF/160ºC and increase the baking time to 15-18 minutes.