I learned how to make basic chocolate chip cookies taste even more amazing. Read on to learn the secret trick!

Do you want to know a secret? I bet you do. Well I actually know a lot of secrets, but I’m willing to share one with you today. Yes, it’s the secret trick to make your chocolate chip cookies taste AMAZING. Yep,plain old chocolate chip cookies. And it’s not because of some ridiculously high priced vanilla from an island that can only be reached by a canoe. Nope. And it’s not due to chocolate chunks that are made by Swiss monks who have used the same recipe for 1400 years. Although that would be pretty cool.

The secret is…

Wait for it…

The secret trick is to refrigerate the dough for 36 hours prior to baking. Yep, that’s it. All you have to do is refrigerate your dough for a day and a half before you bake it. I stumbled on to this gem of advice a couple years ago after reading this article from the New York Times. While the article has other tips for the perfect chocolate chip cookie, such as serving warm, the one that stuck with me and made the most different was the 36 hour rule. The best part about this is that you can use grandma’s amazing chocolate chip cookie recipe that’s been handed down for ages…your just making it better!

Why 36 hours? Apparently it allows the dry ingredients to fully incorporate the wet ingredients and the flavors really come out. Simple as that.

There’s a problem with this though…at least in my house. Cookie dough does not stick around that long. Sneaky fingers come out of nowhere and will  snatch a little bit of dough here and a spoonful there. Before you know it a batch of chocolate chip cookies is now half a batch. And before you start preaching about salmonella and how bad it is to eat the dough, I’ll tell you I’m an RN, I know very well the risks as does the owners of the sneaky fingers. I guess sometimes you choose to live dangerously.

So to get around this “problem,” I created 3 rules for making the 36 hour chocolate chip cookies:

1. Do not sample any dough while preparing it. That means no licking the spoon, beaters, fingers or the bowl. One little taste and you might be tempted for more.
2. Do not tell members of your household that you are making cookies. What they don’t know is better for them and you in the long run.
3. Hide the dough in the back of the fridge. It will be wrapped in plastic wrap. Stick it inside of an inconspicuous container if you need to. Just keep it hidden.

Tr this trick with your go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe. I promise it will change the way you bake your cookies. The recipe I used creates a chewy cookie with hints of caramelized sweetness.

Yield: 36

36 Hour Chocolate Chip Cookies

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Additional Time: 1 day 12 hours

Total Time: 1 day 12 hours 25 minutes

Print

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Cream together butter and sugars until it appears fluffy.
2. Add in vanilla and then eggs, one at a time. In a separated bowl, stir together flour, baking soda and salt.
3. Slowly add into wet ingredients, mixing well.
4. Stir in chocolate chips.
5. Form a huge ball of dough and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 24 hours, ideally 36 hours.
6. Heat oven to 375F degrees. Roll into 1 1/2 inch balls and bake for 8 - 10 minutes, you know so they are still a little gooey in the middle.

Linked to these awesome parties!