The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies. I promise.

This is, by far, my favorite recipe for chocolate chip cookies. I promise you won't be disappointed, and I promise they're worth the longer-than-average list of ingredients. The original recipe can be found over at allrecipes.com, but I've made a few changes and added a few things here and there.

The Ingredients:

4 1/2 cups of flour
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups of butter
1 1/2 cups of brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 (3.4 oz.) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
One bag of milk chocolate chips

The Directions:

Mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt together in a small bowl. Set aside. Bonus points if you sift the mixture together instead of just stirring.

Cream together the butter (no--I do not want to talk about the fact that this recipe calls for four sticks of butter.), and both sugars. Make sure they're really, really well mixed. Walk away from the mixer for a minute or two if you have to.

Slowly add the two pudding mixes to the butter/sugar mixture. Again, mix very well, and only add a little at a time.

Add the eggs and vanilla next, and don't be afraid to add even a bit more vanilla. I promise, you won't do anything but good. Oh--and please, please do yourself a favor. Buy *real* vanilla, and not that imitation stuff.

When all of the 'wet' ingredients are combined, slowly add the flour mixture. Only about 1/2 cup at a time, taking care to mix very, very well.

(...are you tired of me telling you this yet? Trust me--it's worth it, and it WILL make a difference.)

Finally, fold in the chocolate chips. Add some chopped walnuts if that's your thing. It's not my thing.

Refrigerate the dough for at least 45 minutes, preferably longer, and then scoop cute, round cookie dough balls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for about ten minutes.

If you have a melon baller or a small scoop, get it out. It's much easier to scoop round, even cookies if you aren't using a spoon.

Hints:

Let the butter come to room temperature before use. Don't WARM it, but let it come to temperature on its own.

While you're at it, let the eggs warm to room temperature too.

Use milk chocolate chips, not semi-sweet.

Cold dough will make nicer, slightly "puffier" cookies than warm dough.

Cool your cookie sheets between each batch. If you don't have enough to rotate them, run them under cold water. Putting them outside will do the trick too.

Remember, you're only adding the powdered pudding mix. Don't MAKE the pudding.

Try a different pudding flavor for variety.

Take the cookies out of the oven when the edges are only slightly golden brown. The top of the cookies WILL look undercooked. Pleased trust me. Please take them out of the oven before they appear to be completely done. They'll finish cooking on the pan, because you're going to be patient and allow them to sit for a few minutes before scooping them off and putting them on a rack to cool.

Speaking of pans, you'll have better luck with a dark, coated pan. Not a shiny pan.

Remember not to grease your pans.

Oh--and one last step. It's extremely important that you pose your cookies for a photo shoot while your husband sits on the couch and rolls his eyes at you. And teases you. Trust me, it's all a part of the process.