Everyone likes a good chocolate chip cookie, right?

Tonight after supper my kids asked if they could have cookies for dessert. I never pass up an opportunity to make cookies with my kids - we all enjoy it very much, so of course I said sure. Noah gathered the ingredients from the cupboard as Sam pulled up a chair. We decided against aprons since it was the end of the day and their clothes would be heading straight for the laundry after bathtime anyway. The measuring cups were pulled out and we started mixing. Here's our recipe.

Ingredients

1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar

Cream these two ingredients together and then add two eggs.

Add 1 1/2 tsp vanilla. Don't be stingy. Here is a photo of the vanilla I prefer to use - I call it the elixir of the gods. I get my vanilla at Penzeys Spices in Santa Monica, CA, whenever I am there. But if you can't make it all the way to the west coast, you can probably find Mexican vanilla at Kensington Market in Toronto, or Atwater or Jean Talon Markets in Montreal. Come to think of it, I am pretty sure I have seen Mexican vanilla at Bulk Barn. Of course, you can also just buy regular, straight up vanilla at your local grocery store.

Beat until light and fluffy. Now you must add the secret ingredient: 1/8 cup maple syrup. Mix again.

Then add 1 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup of white flour, 3/4 cup of oatmeal (not instant oats!), 1 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt. Mix until dry ingredients are absorbed and then add about 1 1/2 cups of semi sweet chocolate chips.

Now you're ready to form your cookies. But first, I recommend a quality control exercise whereby all Chefs get to taste the cookie dough, just to ensure it is super delicious. Taste it? Check.

Take two teaspoons. Use one to scoop up a small amount of dough and use the other to push that dough off the spoon onto the cookie sheet. Note: I use a Silpat on my cookie sheets which means you don't have to spray the cookie sheet with cooking spray, nor do you have to clean it afterwards - you just have to clean the Silpat.

Once your dough balls are on the sheet, take a small pinch of sea salt and sprinkle it over the top of the cookie. You won't regret it.

Bake at 375 degrees F for 10 to 12 minutes. I like to rotate my cookies halfway through the baking time to ensure all sides are even. If you prefer to cook on convection, lower the heat to 350.


Cool on a wire rack.

Put the masterpieces on a pretty plate. Watch out for small children.