Cookie Carnival: Chocolate Chip Cookies

I've been skipping out the past couple of months on the Cookie Carnival cookies, as they really weren't up my cookie alley. When the recipe was posted this month, I was on the fence about it because there are so many chocolate chip cookie recipes and everyone makes them. Rather than skipping out again this month, I decided to go for it, with the majority of cookies being frozen for a cookie drive coming up in December in which I will need a ton of cookies to donate. After making them, I decided I am going on a quest to find MY favorite chocolate chip cookies. This recipe provides soft, almost cakey, cookies. I want a dense, soft, full of chocolate cookie that doesn't spread too much during the baking process. So, over the next month or so, I'll be trying out some new recipes in hopes of finding my favorite. Here's the first subject in which I evaluated:

Oops, Santa must have stopped by to see who's being Naughty or Nice!

The Ultimate Chewy and Soft Chocolate Chunk Cookies - Regan Daley
1 cup unsalted butter at room temp

1 cup tightly packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

3 cups plus 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

16 oz. flavorful bitter or semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used half bittersweet and half white chocolate)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, or lightly butter them, and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, or stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, or a large bowl if mixing by hand, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. Sift the flour, baking soda and salt together in a small bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the butter-sugar mixture, and mix until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chunks. Using your hands, shape knobs of dough about the size of a large walnut and place them 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Stagger the rows of cookies to ensure even baking. Bake 12-15 for smaller cookies, 14-17 for larger ones or until the tops are a light golden brown. If the cookies are neither firm nor dark when they are removed from the oven, they will cool chewy and soft. Cool the cookies on the sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely. (I halved the recipe and ended up with 3 dozen cookies!)