Best Chocolate Chip Cookies EVER!!

Several years ago I came across an article online in the Charlotte Observer entitled "The Sainted Cookie". Being the cookie lover that I am, I printed it immediately! If I am not mistaken, I have seen this recipe quite a bit on the Internet over the last few years....apparently it was found by someone doing a review on the best cookies and traveling to several bakeries in NYC. This was the recipe they found and it won hands down. The article does go into more detail about different options on how long to let the dough rest and how much of a difference it makes in the end result. Now I must say, this is all from memory, as I mentioned I found this back in like 2008!! So I could be a little off, but either way, these are by far the best cookies I have EVER made!

The recipe is quite intense, using many more ingredients than most.
Here it is and it notes it is adapted from Jacques Torres.
-2 cups minus 2 tablespoons of cake flour
-1 and 2/3 cups of bread flour
-1 and 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
-1 and 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
-1 and 1/2 teaspoon of coarse salt
-1 and 1/4 cups of unsalted butter
-1 and 1/4 cups of light brown sugar
-1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar
-2 large eggs
-2 teaspoons of natural vanilla extract
-1 and 1/4 pounds bittersweet chocolate discs or bar chocolate, at least 60% cacao
- Sea Salt
OK, so I do this recipe as described, except, when it comes to the chocolate, I usually do half a bag of dark chocolate chips and half a bag of milk chocolate chips.
1. Sift the flours, baking soda and powder and salt into a bowl and set aside.
2. Beat the butter and sugars with a mixer until very light, about 5 mins. Add eggs on at a time, mixing well after each. Stir in vanilla
3. Reduce speed to low and add in dry ingredients and mix until combined, 5 to 10 sec.
4. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate without breaking. Press plastic wrap over the dough and refrigerate 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches and can be in fridge for up to 72 hours** I did not put in the fridge for more than about an hour and I only used half the amount and froze the other as this makes about 4 dozen gold ball sized dough balls.
5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. You can line the pan with a baking sheet or parchment paper, I did neither and they came right off the pan.
6. Scoop mounds of dough onto baking sheet.
7. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt (to me this is what makes a HUGE difference in the taste- I love sweet and salty together). Bake  18 to 20 mins. I actually checked them at about 10 in my oven and they were PERFECT. So for your first batch, I would keep an eye out depending on your oven.
8. Transfer and let cool
ENJOY!!!!
I made these about two weeks ago for some family I had in town and they were gone in about 10 mins. I saved about 24 balls of dough and they are in the freezer ready to come out at dessert time over Thanksgiving and I am not gonna lie, I am ready for another one...or ten!! ;)

Enjoy-

Lemon Cupcakes with Fresh Raspberry Buttercream

The month of October is very busy for me for some reason, guess it could be the number of birthdays to celebrate?!?!!...but who knows;) Either way, it gives me a reason to bake! This past week, two of my very close friends celebrated their birthday and for a special surprise I made lemon cupcakes with fresh raspberry butter cream. They were super tasty! I have to say I wanted to really go all out and make a blueberry butter cream as well, but after a lot of searching, I just was not seeing what I liked, not to make with fresh blueberries anyway...I will try those another time, as I really do think they will be fabulous.
Since I did not have much time I used the Lemon Supreme Mix from I think either Betty Crocker or Pillsbury, not 100%?? To be honest, I have yet to make a homemade cupcake from scratch, I guess the timing is a factor...I feel like I would need to make sure they are perfect before serving..it is on my list though, for sure! And really you can't beat the box, it is always good, right!?!
Anyway, my frosting of course was homemade as when it comes to that, I am not sure I would buy pre-made ever again. It is just too easy to make your own!
For this recipe, I used the basic butter cream of:
-About 2 to 2.5 cups of powdered sugar (depending on how sweet you want it)
-Two sticks of unsalted butter
-About a teaspoon of vanilla
-Typically I add in a teaspoon of whipping cream, but I was out.
-And finally I would say about 15-20 fresh raspberries. Again, that depends on how bright and colorful you want the frosting to be!
So overall this was super easy for something so delish! Happy Birthday Claire and Karen! Love you Guys, hope you enjoyed!