chocolate chip cookies III.

I just wrote a blogpost for a community service trip I'm going on soon, and doing so encouraged me to write a post here, too. Well, in addition to the fact that it's past 1 am .. I stayed up too late and am not sleepy now.

These delicious cookies were consumed partially by my brother within five minutes of their transfer from baking sheet to cooling rack his plate. The rest, I brought with me on a road trip with friends. I've been wanting to road trip for so long and it finally happened!

We started in Jersey, and travelled to Philly, DC, and Shenandoah before coming back up. Philly is so pretty! I had never really visited. We visited Independence Hall, strolled along the streets chatting and aww-ing over the cutest dogs (everyone has a dog there! so many dog cafes!), and had a delicious lunch at Wedge + Fig. Our visit of Philly ended with a carousel ride. I turned 22 a few days after that trip. Young at heart, y'all.

DC was fun, too! Except the roads. Seriously. The Quakers built Philly according to a, what was at the time, novel grid system. Tell me - who built DC? Because it's no grid, all one-ways and confusing traffic circles.

Shenandoah was gorgeous, albeit cold. Definitely need to go back there in warmer months and explore more!

These cookies were eaten throughout the trip. There's mostly brown sugar and only a little granulated sugar, leading to a cookie dough with much more depth, as well as a chewier cookie. A chocolate chip cookie should be just as delicious with or without the chocolate chips. Using a nice semisweet chocolate will also stand out, and is recommended - if you're into that sorta thing. I would rather eat nothing than eat milk chocolate.

I prefer these to the Chocolate Chip Cookies II I posted earlier! It all depends on preference. These fit my ideal vision of a CCC more ... and they're pretty fuss-free. No chilling or shaping. Just prepare, plop, and bake.

Chocolate Chip Cookies III
from here. 

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda 
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 sticks unsalted butter (1 cup), softened
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar 
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar 
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• 2 cups (12 oz. total) semi-sweet chocolate chips 

1. Mix flour, baking soda, and salt.
2. Cream butter and sugar.
3. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Mix in vanilla.
4. Add dry ingredients to wet mixture, until just combined. Add chocolate chips. 
5. Bake heaping tablespoon-sized dough balls at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.