Chocolate chip cookies are the only cookies I have never found a go-to recipe for. I have a favorite macadamia nut cookie, chocolate cookie, shortbread cookie, snickerdoodle and oatmeal raisin cookie, but no chocolate chip cookie. My guess is that this is because the bar is set high for chocolate chip cookies. I mean, who hasn't tried a million and one good chocolate chip cookies. I found this recipe on Jennie's Kitchen. The recipe calls for making the dough at night, refrigerating overnight and baking them the next day. I personally think this makes the whole recipe seem easy just because it breaks things up. This is her original recipe and she named them "My best chocolate chip cookies", so I thought I should give them a try.

Alas, the search is still on. These cookies were great, but they're not the cookies for me.  They were especially amazing right out of the oven, but once they cooled they were a little cakeier than I usually like. But, when I came back to my apartment after class, my roommate had already eaten three and said they were the best cookies ever, so maybe I'm wrong.  For some reason my brother put the ones I gave him in the refrigerator (not a clue why), but I actually really liked them cold too. The only other thing separating this recipe from being top notch is that they don't have any brown sugar in them. I firmly believe a little brown sugar in a cookie recipe makes them much better.
This recipe was so easy that I probably will mess around with the ingredients a bit and then make them again.

My best chocolate chip cookies
Recipe from In Jennie's Kitchen
Ingredients:
4 cups flour (18 ounces)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks butter, softened (8 ounces)
2 cups sugar (15 ounces)
2 tablespoons molasses
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate discs

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Beat butter, sugar and molasses until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla extract. Beat until well mixed. Add the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Stir in the chocolate discs. Let sit in refrigerator overnight before baking, and may be stored this way for up to two days.
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350ºF. Line baking sheets with silicon mats or parchment paper. Gently form dough into 1 1/2 to 2-inch balls and place 2 to 3 inches apart on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes on middle rack. Remove from oven and let cool on pan for 2 more minutes. Transfer cookies to a rack to cool completely if you have any will power left.

These peanut butter bars are so easy that I made them two days in a row. The second time I only made them because I got bored in the 15 minutes that some cookies were baking and decided I'd make another batch. That is how easy they are.
Let me also apologize for the extreme time lapse between my last post and this one. Unfortunately, I've been studying up a storm instead of baking up a storm. I guess that's good though, right? I also realized there may be a direct correlation between the 3lbs I lost and the break from blogging. Now time to gain them back!
Last year, the dorm I lived in had a food court on the bottom level. Yes, it was dangerous to be surrounded by an all-you-can-eat buffet the whole day. They also had late night food (chicken fingers, personal pizzas, cheesesteaks, etc.) until 11 p.m. every night. Places like this are the reason people gain the freshman 15. One of my favorite things to get from there was a delicious peanut butter bar that only showed up a few times a month. These bars were so good that if you went any later than 6 p.m. you could forget any chance of grabbing some. My tactic: go at lunchtime and get a stack of them to bring up to my mini-fridge. My love of desserts really is dangerous. However, I have just now realized that these amazing peanut butter bars were really a simple mix of five ingredients. 5! And it takes only a few minutes to make.
I crushed up my own graham cracker crumbs for the recipe. I found that I really liked the crunch of the small pieces that didn't turn into full crumbs.
So, two days in a row I've made this. We'll see what tomorrow has in store.

Peanut Butter Cup Bars
Recipe from Stylish Cuisine

1/2 cup butter
1 3/4 cups confectioner’s sugar
1 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
(Line a 8×8, 9×9, or 7×11 pan with foil for easy removal of bars later.) I used 8x8
Melt 1/2 c. butter of low heat. Remove from heat and stir in confectioner’s sugar. Add peanut butter and graham cracker crumbs, stirring until creamy. Spread mixture into pan, patting down evenly.
In same pot, on low heat, melt butter. Add chocolate chips and stir until chips are nearly melted and very soft. Remove from heat and continue stirring until chocolate is smooth and shiny. Spread over peanut butter layer. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Cut into bars.
Store peanut butter cup bars in refrigerator.
Yield:  16 or more bars (depending upon how big you cut them)