Sharing a recipe I go back to time and time again.   My go-to chocolate chunk cookies. 

This recipe is based off Baking Illustrated's Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie.  Baking Illustrated is a large baking book I received for Christmas back when I was in college.  It is the ultimate baking book. Seriously.     

Any party, birthday or get-together...  I always seem to bake some variation of these cookies. 

Some days I'll use whole-wheat pastry flour and other days I'll use all-purpose.  This weekend I used both. 

Nothing beats a classic! 

Chocolate Chunk Cookies

(adapted from Baking Illustrated)

• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar 
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 
• 1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour (or white whole-wheat flour) 
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk.
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 
• 2 cups good-quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped 

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours and baking soda and salt.  Set aside. 
3. In a mixer, beat the melted and cooled butter with the sugars until creamed together. Add in the eggs and vanilla and beat until combined. Slowly add the flour mixture to the batter and mix until just combined. 
4. Stir in the chocolate chunks.  Drop tablespoon-sized dough balls on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through baking.  Check the cookies at 10 minutes and bake for 2 more minutes if they do not seem done.  The edges should be golden brown and the middle should still be a bit undone (they will continue to cook on the cookie sheet)
5. Take out and cool the cookies on the baking sheet before removing to cool completely.

BAKING TIP:   Want to create a chunky look on the top of the cookies?  Scoop tablespoon-sized balls of dough and place them on the cookie sheet.  Then, one by one, take a dough ball and break it in half.  Turn the half dough balls around and press together.  So the broken edges are now facing the outside. Place them back on the cookie sheet and bake the cookies.  

The result?  Cookies with that chunky chocolate bakery-style look, every time.