Sometimes when the world’s a bit hectic and reality isn’t quite what you expected or want it to be, there’s nothing that can warm the soul quite like a freshly-baked chocolate chip cookie. The simpler the better too, because when everything else around you is moving at break-neck speed, you need a little stability and familiarity to bring you back down to the ground. A cookie can’t make the stress or the problems go away, but it can work a little magic nonetheless. From the taste buds to the soul, it can bring happiness and joy right back into your world.

Chocolate Chip Cookies
Recipe from the Kitchn

3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 stick butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 375°. Spray the cookie sheet with nonstick spray or you can use a liner, like silpat or parchment paper.

Mix together the two sugars. Be sure to break apart any hard chunks of brown sugar and get the two sugars fully mixed. Mix the softened butter into the sugar in globs.

Mix in the eggs one at a time. Crack the eggs directly into the bowl with the butter-sugar mix, and then use your spoon to lightly beat the eggs before stirring them into the butter and sugar.

Measure and mix in the vanilla, salt, and baking soda. Mix the batter as much as possible right now. Break apart any remaining clumps and make sure the batter is a consistent color throughout.

Add the flour all at once. At this point, you want to mix the batter as little as possible. Stop mixing as soon as there is no more visible flour on the dough or in the bottom of the bowl.

Add the chocolate chips all at once and use a folding motion to incorporate them into the batter.

Use a tablespoon to scoop the batter onto your baking sheet, forming rounded balls and spacing them roughly 2 inches apart.

Bake the cookies for 9-11 minutes. Take them out when they look puffy, are set around the edges, and dry to the touch. Let them cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet. As they cool, they will collapse back on themselves.

Transfer the cookies to a rack to finish cooling completely. Bake the rest of the cookies in batches. Makes approximately 40 cookies.