For years I have been a back of the bag chocolate chip cookie maker.  The Toll House recipe never fails and always pleases, especially when family comes to town with the little ones in tow.  A few weeks ago my husband asked me to make cookies for his office.  They were hosting Senator Jeff Sessions for a few hours and did not want to feed him grocery store cookies.  So I decided to bake chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin, the two most red, white and blue American cookies I could think of.  I started digging around and looking at an alternative to the Toll House cookie and wound up looking at a recipe on allrecipes.com.  The recipe itself is pretty standard, however in the comments, is where I found the goldmine.  One person suggested using cream of tartar to get the wrinkled edges.  I use that in my snickerdoodles and love the look.  Another reviewer stated that she used mostly brown sugar to get them chewy.  It was then that my wheels started turning and Senator Sessions was going to be my cookie guinea pig.  Brave, huh?  They turned out so good that I now have a new go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe.  I hope you enjoy them as much as the Senator and my husband’s co-workers.

3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 (12-ounce bag) semi-sweet chocolate chips (2 cups)
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment or a Silpat liner.  Although you don’t need to grease an unlined baking sheet, I find using a liner makes clean-up much easier.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and cream of tartar.  Using an electric mixer, cream together the butter, granulated sugar and light brown sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs and vanilla.  Mix well, scrapping down the sides of the bowl occasionally.  Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed until the flour is almost incorporated.  Add the chocolate chips and nuts (if using) and mix on low speed until everything is evenly incorporated and no trace of flour remains.

Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart.  Bake for 11-13 minutes until light golden brown on the bottom.  Cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

makes around 3 1/2 dozen cookies (I was able to get 45 cookies using a medium cookie scoop)

adapted from Toll House Chocolate Cookies and Best Chocolate Chip Cookies