Hi, hi, hi! HAPPY FRIDAY!
I’m so sorry I quasi-disappeared this past week. How about I’ll make you some warm chocolate chip cookies and we’ll call it good, deal? Deal.
I’ll also make you another dozen because when you find out I’ve been holding out on sharing this recipe for over two years, you might be a little upset.
Ok, a lot upset maybe, so I’ll up it to another dozen just for you.
I’ll be honest, there are a thousand chocolate chip cookie recipes out there, which held me back from sharing this for so long.
Everybody has their favorite, I thought, so why would they want yet another chocolate chip cookie recipe? Every time I made them though, I couldn’t get over how they were so unlike any other chocolate chip cookie I’d ever had.
With their chewy, crisp edges, incredibly soft center, dark chocolate chips, and salty-buttery flavor… they really are the ultimate chocolate chip cookie.
Inspiration for the Ultimate Cookies
About two years ago these babies were inspired by none other than Sweet Martha’s Cookies. So you could say they’re my best go at a copycat recipe for those famous little MN state fair cookies!
You know, those warm chocolate chip cookies that the Minnesota State Fair is famous for? Yep, well I was in North Carolina, miles and miles away from what we call The Great Minnesota Get Together, with no Sweet Martha’s Cookies insight. Not even in the freezer section of my grocery store. I needed a fix that August. And stat.
If you’re from Minnesota, you know what I’m talking about. If you’ve ever been to the Minnesota State Fair, you can understand. If you have no idea what I’m talking about… well, then you just love chocolate chip cookies, right?
Ok good, as long as we can all agree on that, we’re set.
Back to the birth of the Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies… craving my favorite little state fair cookies, I set out to create cookies with a soft, chewy texture, with just the right amount of salt, and butter flavor.
The reviews are in!
All you’ll ever need is these Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies from here on out. Here’s what real-life people have said about these cookies…
- “Elegant”
- “Unlike any other cookies I’ve ever had”
- “Salty and not too sweet”
- “I’ve already eaten five of them!”
- “They still taste amazing once they’ve cooled”
Yes, that says elegant up there. It’s the combination of not too sweet, and just salty enough that make these cookies feel like grown-up chocolate chip cookies.
The Ingredients
I have to touch on a couple things in this recipe: shortening and butter extract. I’m not one to typically use shortening, except in rare cases where it’s super warranted. This is one of those! The shortening leaves the cookies softer and more tender, and they spread out less. What about the flavor? Butter extract
that’s what…
Ok, ok, ok!
Don’t leave yet, please! Give me a chance to explain… butter extract is an actual thing, and I’m sure you’re thinking “ok, you’re about natural ingredients, and now you’re using shortening and butter extract?!” I get it, I do.
Life is also about balance. Balance being absolutely decadent chocolate chip cookies. It takes these cookies to an entirely new level > refer back to “ultimate”. With the addition of butter extract, these cookies are so rich and irresistible.
AND THE CHOCOLATE.
I’ve said not too sweet, and I mean it. Just sweet enough. These ultimate cookies use high-quality dark chocolate chips – 60% cacao baking chips to be exact. Taking the cookies to another level of intense, rich, and irresistible.
So irresistible I need to wrap this post up and go bake another batch… because the amount of cookies I’ve eaten in the past month just isn’t enough. The Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies are also begging you to go turn on your oven, too.
Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup shortening, cold
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoon butter extract
- 1 1/4 cups 60% cacao bittersweet chocolate baking chips
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the together flour, salt, and baking soda.
- In another large mixing bowl, use a hand-mixer to cream together shortening, granulated sugar, and brown sugar. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing between each addition. Mix in the extracts. Then, add the dry ingredients and stir to combine; when only a little amount of flour remains, add and stir in the chococolate chips.
- Place about 1 1/2 Tablespoons of cookie dough on a baking sheet, with approximately 2 inches between each dollop of cookie dough. Bake for 9-11 minutes, until the edges are beginning to turn golden brown. Remove from the oven and let the cookies rest on baking sheet for 2-3 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool.
- Enjoy warm, or let cool completely and store in an airtight container.
Nutrition
Disclaimer: The nutritional information provided for this recipe is only an estimate. The accuracy of the facts listed is not and cannot be guaranteed.
This recipe is part of our State Fair Foods to Make at Home roundup. Check it out!
Liz
ohhmyyygoodnessss I just want to reach through the computer screen and grab one! These look absolutely PERFECT! And I’m totally with you on the balance girl—- sometimes you just need a REAL chocolate chip cookie 🙂
Becca
Thanks, Liz! ? Balance is KEY!
GLORIA MEDINA
I baked these tonight and O.M.Geeeeee! I can’t stop eating them! They are so good and even better with milk! I have not had a cookie as good as this in a long time. The dough smelled so good and I just wanted to eat the raw dough. The salt, butter, sugar is just a perfect mix! Soooooo YUMMILICIOUS!!!!!
Becca
I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed them! I can’t stop eating the dough either – I don’t know which is better, the dough or the warm cookies! Haha!
Haru
The cookies tasted great but it didn’t flatten like yours. But it tasted really good.
Becca Mills
Hi Haru! I’m so glad you enjoyed them! If cookies don’t spread, it’s often because too much flour has been added, which is really easy to do when using measuring cups. If you make them again, I’d recommend using a kitchen scale and the metric measurements in the recipe card to see if that helps. Thanks so much for making them!