Katharine Canfield cookies

These are them. These are the cookies of my childhood. I can't even begin to describe them. When made correctly, they are the best chocolate chip cookies you'll ever eat. When I was little my mom would pack them for me for lunch nearly every day. And nearly every day I'd end up with only one or two bites, thanks to my lunch pal's beg "pleeeease can I have a little?" In middle school I learned to savor them after lunch, carefully hiding the cookies at the bottom of my lunch pack so my friends wouldn't pester me for a bite. By high school they became known as "Katharine Canfield cookies," after my mom, Katharine Canfield. As in: "Ohmygod. Are those cookies Katharine Canfield cookies?" So, yeah. Among my friends they're kind of legendary.


For the cookies:

1 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 cup (packed) medium brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 stick unsalted butter, softened or melted
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Secret ingredient*

Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a medium bowl, mix butter, brown sugar, salt, baking soda, and vanilla together. Next, stir in the egg. Then, stir in flour. Last, add the chocolate chips and stir until well-incorporated.

On an un-greased baking sheet, dollop ping-pong-ball-sized bits of batter, leaving 1.5"-2" between each cookie. Bake for 8-12 minutes. What's more important, however, is that you take out the cookies a liiiiittle too soon, so they continue to bake once out of the oven and onto the cookie sheet.

With this recipe, make sure the measurements are exact. Especially on the flour. Too much flour will make the cookies puffy and they'll loose their moist gooeyness.

*Muh mom's love. I swear when she makes them they come out 3 times better. She's got some golden touch or something... However if you don't happen to have a Katharine Canfield lying around in your cupboard, then you can skip this step ;)