Buttery, Sugary, Chewy, Flat Cookies (the best ever)

Seriously, fluffy cookies are all fine and dandy. But these thin, buttery, sugary, chewy cookies are where it is at. The bees knees. The ultimate cookie, if you will. My love affair with cookies like this has been around longer than my dogs or my husband or my kids. Although, length doesn't dictate priority. :) I do not know what it is about these cookies that just does it for me. They almost have a toffee like flavor and texture to them because there is less flour than your typical cookie. The flavor effect that you get when you simmer butter, brown sugar and white sugar in a pan, is basically what you are getting in this cookie.

This blog post (and recipe type up) is a long time coming. I was playing around on Pinterest (Pinterest addict here) and saw these cookies that kind of resembled those thin cookies that I had always loved. I made the recipe. Success. Right then and there, the company in my house that evening named them "crack cookies". They were legit AF. The journey didn't end there. People asked what recipe I used, and I gladly passed along the information. They were so different than the ones I made. (I must also confess I am not a recipe follower. I gain inspiration and general guidelines from recipes. I look at a food photography and think of a new way to interpret that dish. But I do not ever follow recipes.) So one time a friend reported they were waaaaay to cinnamon-y (jokingly called cinnamon croutons). Another time they were way to greasy. So I tried to to follow the recipe again, one time with just the pinch of cinnamon I had used. Another time with different butter temperatures and so on. You get the point. But if I have made these for you, or if this is your first time even hearing of these; I have honed it in people. This is the mother ship of this cookie recipe. I have worked out the kinks.

Makes 3-4 dozen (depending on how much raw cookie dough you eat)

Ingredients/Instructions:

1 cup salted butter

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp salt

pinch of cinnamon

1 3/4 cup flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup chocolate chips (you could do 1 1/2. I don't like a ton of chocolate chips in my chocolate chip cookies. Strange, I know.)

1. Slice your butter into 1-2 tbsp portions and allow it to reach room temperature.

2. Add it to your Kitchenaid stand mixer.

3. Add 1 cup of brown sugar and white cup of white sugar.

4. Mix (using the paddle attachment) for 1 minute until it looks as it does below. Mix it at a 2 or 3 level. You do not want to over beat the butter.

5. Add the egg and the vanilla extract and mix again until blended.

6. Some people use a different bowl to combine dry ingredients. It is how you are "supposed to bake". But I just added them all together and mixed at the same time. It is your call. :) In which ever method you chose, add flour, baking powder, pinch of cinnamon and salt to your Stand Mixer.

7. Using the paddle attachment on your Kitchenaid Stand Mixer, stir again for another 30-45 seconds until everything is mixed evenly.

8. As I said above, I actually like "less" chocolate chips in my chocolate chip cookies than what is typically called for. I only used 1 cup. This recipe could totally support 1 1/2 cups if you want more of that chocolatey goodness. :)

9. Using a wooden spoon (or whatever), mix your chocolate chips by hand.

10. On a silicone mat (If you do not have one, use parchment paper. But I seriously recommend getting one. I use mine all the time.), add cookie dough in little 1 1/2" balls. Then slightly depress the top with your finger. You are only going to want to add 6 dough balls per cookie sheet, they will spread.

11. Bake for 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees. I found that my sweet spot was right at 9 minutes, give or take a few seconds. If this is your first time cooking these, maybe start turning your oven light on and peeking at 8 minutes.

12. After you remove them from the oven, allow them to sit on the silicone mat for another 2 minutes to continue to solidify the center.

13. If you do transfer them to a cooling rack rack, please line it with some parchment paper. The cookies are thin and buttery, so you don't want them to dip through. I promise, they do stay together. Just look at that beautiful stack below.

14. The cookies are not "greasy". But there will be a little bit of butter left on your silicone mat. I wipe it off between batches to make sure that I am not adding any more butter to the already buttery, sugary, toffee like cookies.

15. Continue this process till you have baked or eaten the remaining dough. :)

Enjoy!