How to make best chocolate chip cookies

Don't over-mix the cookie dough. Cream the butter and sugar for only as long as you need to– a recipe usually specifies the amount of time. Don't begin beating then leave the room with the mixer running. Whipping too much air into the dough will cause your cookies to collapse as they bake.

Butter contributes milk solids and water to a cookie, both of which soften it. Brown sugar contributes molasses – again, a softener. Using lower-moisture sugar (granulated) and fat (vegetable shortening), plus a longer, slower bake than normal, produces light, crunchy cookies.