Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) of unsalted butter, softened at room temperature

1 cup of dark brown sugar

½ cup of granulated sugar

1 tsp of salt

1 tsp of baking soda

1 tsp of vanilla bean paste (vanilla extract will work too)

2 eggs

2 cups, plus 2 tbsp of flour, divided

Baking chocolate bars, chopped (optional)

Reese’s peanut butter cups, quartered (optional)

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375℉, and prepare a large baking sheet with a sheet of parchment paper. In the bowl of your stand-mixer, beat 2 sticks of softened butter, on a low-medium speed. You want the butter to almost look like buttercream, it should be light and airy, about 3 minutes. Add dark brown sugar and granulated sugar to the bowl of your stand mixer and continue beating on a low-medium speed for about 2 minutes.

2. Scrape down the sides of your bowl. Add salt, baking soda, and vanilla bean paste to the butter and sugar mixture. Beat on a low-medium speed for 1 minute, or until combined.

3. Add the eggs one at a time to the butter mixture. Make sure the first egg is fully incorporated into the butter mixture before adding the second egg. Mix on medium.

4. Add 1 cup of flour to the bowl of your stand mixer. Starting on low speed to avoid flour from kicking back up at you, beat the flour with the butter until they begin to combine, be careful not to over-mix and begin developing too much gluten. Add the remaining flour to the bowl and mix until fully combined. If there is any flour on the sides of your bowl, you can fold it into the batter when you add your chocolate. 

5. You can scoop this dough with a 2 tbsp scoop and it will make excellent vanilla-sugar cookies after baking for 10 minutes and allowing to cool for 5 minutes on the sheet tray, and then additionally on a wire rack. You can also fold in the chocolate of your choice, or anything else you feel like! Bake the cookies for 9 minutes and allow to cool for 5 minutes on the sheet tray before moving to a wire rack. 

*** I would not recommend baking these cookies in the oven more than one sheet tray at a time. Each cookie needs every bit of heat to make them perfect!