Best Chocolate Chip and Sea Salt Cookies Ever

Author Notes

I originally got a fabulous recipe for chocolate chips cookies from a public health nurse I worked with back in Alaska, incredibly tasty, but replete with old-school ingredients like margarine. I've been refining and tweaking the recipe in the many years since, and have stumbled upon a few key revelations along the way: always use room temperature butter to keep your cookies soft and pillowy (not spread out and crisp, which some might like, but not me), and be generous with some coarse sea salt to complement the semisweet chocolate and rich buttery, brown-sugary goodness of the cookie dough. I usually make a big batch, bake up about a quarter of it, and freeze the rest in cookie-sized balls, so I can pull out a few on a cold evening when I need just one (or five) fresh warm and melty delicious cookie(s) and a glass a milk. Just add a minute or two onto the baking time if baking from frozen. Note: this makes a lot. If making a half-recipe, use two eggs, and everything will turn out fine. —margaretlynne