You know how I roll: it’s 10 p.m. and crap, I forgot to make the cookies I promised the PTA I’d bring tomorrow for Teacher Appreciation Week or some such made up holiday.  (Not that I don’t appreciate teachers, because I DO.  Bless them.  Thank you, teachers everywhere.  But do I really have to make cookies at 10 p.m.?) (Don’t answer that.)

This has become my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe.  It’s barely adapted from Smitten Kitchen, a site that I like because I feel confident that Deb cares just as much as I do about food being very, very delicious.  And these cookies fit the bill: they’re classic, chock-full of chocolate, and chewy with a crispy edge.  What more can you ask of a cookie?  Well, I’ll tell you the final way in which they’re perfect: they’re made with melted butter.  If you, like me, never plan ahead to have softened butter waiting on your counter to make cookies, this will mean something to you.  And if it means nothing to you, lucky you, just go ahead and love these cookies for their other charms.

Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies: In a medium bowl, mix 2 c. flour with 1/2 tsp. baking soda and 1/2 tsp. salt.  In a separate bowl, cream 3/4 c. melted butter with 1 c. brown sugar and 1/2 c. granulated sugar until blended.  Mix in 2 eggs and 1 Tb. vanilla, then the dry ingredients.  Fold in 2 c. chocolate chips.  Bake well-spaced on parchment at 325 until the edges of the cookies are golden, 10-20 minutes depending on whether you scoop reasonable sized cookies or monsters.  Cool on a wire rack.