During the holidays, one of my favorite things to do is baking.  It’s this beautiful meditation as baking takes a patient heart, a careful eye and most certainly a sweet tooth.  When the weather is cold outside, the kitchen becomes my favorite place of solace — as it’s always been my most sacred spot to relax.  I always believe that homemade gifts are the ones people remember, so what better way to spread the love than baked homemade gifts?  For years I’ve searched long and hard for the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe, the kind that you can’t stop eating, the ones with just the right about of crunch, chewiness and chocolate.  I’ve tasted some great chocolate chip cookies in my lifetime but never found a home recipe to match.  But ALAS, right in time for the holidays I’ve finally stumbled across the best chocolate chip cookie I’ve ever tasted.

Jacques Torres, Mr. Chocolate himself was kind enough to share his chocolate chip cookie recipe via the NY Times.  Thanks to the Master Pastry Chef, this recipe will now become a family tradition for me and I can hardly wait for the memories that’ll surround these cookies.  I’m not sure if the magic lies in the combination of cake flour and bread flour in the dough, or that it HAS to be refrigerated for a solid 24 hours — but whatever it is, don’t change a thing.  I haven’t tasted a better masterpiece.

(If preferred, you can add a whole vanilla bean in place of the extract as I’ve done.  Just simply scrape the seeds and mix into the dough!)

The best part about cookie dough is it’s simple to make and you can portion ahead.  What I did was quadruple the recipe, freeze overnight, slightly defrost the next day and portioned out around 75-65 3 ounce cookie balls using a cookie scooper.  Then I refreezed for an hour and placed half a dozen to a dozen in individual ziplock bags.  Don’t forget to write the date!  Then you can simply bake a batch whenever needed as they take only abou 10-12 minutes in the oven and VOILA!  The best chocolate chip cookies will be ready for delivery .  Whether its for a party, a gift for family or friends — this recipe will leave any loved one with a happy tummy and full heart.  Thank you Jacques Torres for the genius recipe and NY Times for sharing the love.  Happy Holidays!