{the pastry queen’s} favorite chocolate chip cookies.

They look good, don’t they?

I must admit – I sort of cheated on this week’s edition of Project Pastry Queen. I made these cookies for a Labor Day celebration just a few short weeks ago. I couldn’t help myself. Chocolate chip cookies are just the quintessential American dessert – and thus perfect for a Labor Day picnic at the pool with friends. I considered other classics – like s’mores or whoopie pies, or s’more-whoopie pies, perhaps – but finally settled on these cookies, figuring someone in the group was bound to pick them for the Project.

I, of course, was right. How could you not want to know what the Pastry Queen herself deems to be her *favorite* chocolate chip cookies? I know I was curious.

As it turns out, they were good. Really good. The best I’ve ever had? I can’t be entirely sure of that, but they were definitely up there. What I can tell you is that everyone who came near these little mounds of goodness devoured them – each person eating 3 or 4, at a minimum – and no one could seem to stop raving about them. The cookies stole the show.

Rebecca didn’t specify which type of chocolate chips to use, and so I took the liberty of using both milk chocolate and semi-sweet, which is something I always like to do when given the choice. I like to keep a dangerous amount of various chips in my cabinet – dark, milk, mini, semi-sweet – so that no matter what, I can always whip up some kind of chocolatey treat.

The real stars in these cookies are the {3 cups of} nuts – both walnuts and pecans, toasted, of course. They add crunch, and they give the cookies that homemade quality that may make you wonder if Grandma is hiding somewhere around the corner. The cookies are crunchy themselves, but the great part is that there’s still some chewiness going on. I really liked the texture, but I’m venturing to say that some people who prefer a softer cookie – and there are a lot of people who do – wouldn’t call this cookie their favorite.

Me, on the other hand – I don’t think I could pigeonhole myself into liking one type of cookie best. Chewy, crunchy, tender, crispy, soft – I don’t discriminate. I like ‘em all.

Be sure to check out Kalyna’s fabulous blog for the recipe!