Little Miss Bake It: Happy National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day!

In honor of National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day, I whipped up a quick batch of chocolate chip cookies.

Enjoy these soft cookies!

Award Winning Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 cups butter, softened

1 1/2 cups brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup white sugar

2 (3 1/2 ounce) packages vanilla instant pudding mix

4 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 cups walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F

Sift together the flour and baking soda, set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Beat in the instant pudding mix until blended. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Blend in the flour mixture. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips and nuts.

Drop cookies by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Edges should be golden brown.

Yield: 72 servings (Serving size: 6 dozen)

Notes: I used Ghirardelli baking chips, and it was delicious! I also chilled the chocolate chip batter for a few hours before baking. It's a tip I learned from one of my girlfriends who graduated from Le Cordon Bleu. Refrigerating is supposed to help absorb all the ingredients.