Most people love chocolate chip cookies, but not everyone knows how to make them right. To me, the perfect chocolate chip cookie is unbelievably soft but still firm enough to hold together. It also has tons of chocolate chips crammed into it. If you like your cookies crunchy with minimal chocolate, this recipe is not for you. If you want to made the perfect softies, however, read on.

The best chocolate chip cookie recipe I have found so far (believe me, I have tried many) is Betty Crocker’s. Her original recipe includes nuts, but I omitted those because I hate nuts in my cookies. Follow these instructions exactly, and you will come up with the perfect soft chocolate chip cookies, each and every time.

Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe by Betty Crocker

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar (make sure there are no chunks in it)

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 12 oz. package semisweet chocolate chips (or even more – go for it!)

1. With an electric or hand mixer, beat granulated sugar, brown sugar and butter on low for 30 seconds to combine, then on high for three minutes. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking soda and salt.

2. Add vanilla and egg to sugar/butter mixture. Beat well. Add the dry ingredients and beat on medium until well-incorporated. Stir in the chocolate chips.

3. Drop the dough by rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet.

4. Bake in the center rack of the oven for 8 minutes (or 10 minutes, if your oven runs cold).

5. When the timer goes off, remove the cookies from the oven – even if they are not yet dark. This is the most important part!!! Do not bake your cookies for too long, they will be fine.

6. Allow cookies to sit on the pan for 2 minutes. Then using a quick scraping motion, remove them from the pan with a spatula and place them on paper grocery bags to cool. If your cookies are kinda falling apart, it’s okay. They will toughen up as they cool.

7. Do not let the cookies sit out more than two hours. For storing, use an airtight container – tupperware or a cookie jar work great. If you find your cookies become hard and crunchy, place a piece of bread in the container for a day. The next day, the piece of bread will be tough and your cookies will be miraculously soft again!

Enjoy!!!