Cookie Monster Strikes Again!

I'm a sucker for a good cookie, but I expect alot and I won't settle for less. I deserve the best darnit! I definitely wasn't disappointed with my latest batch of cookies, and I didn't need any taste testers to tell me I had a hit on my hands with these. A couple days ago I was craving chocolate chip cookies, so of course I headed to the kitchen to whip up a batch. But rather than reach for my usual recipe I decided to try my first ever Cook's Illustrated recipe. I like my chocolate chip cookies thick and chewy, soft even, and my standby recipe is good for that, but I wanted better. I'm a perfectionist what can I say? When I find what I'm looking for, I start striving for better. Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies Makes about 18 large cookies These oversized cookies are chewy and thick, like many of the chocolate chip cookies sold in gourmet shops and cookie stores. They rely on melted butter and an extra yolk to keep their texture soft. These cookies are best served warm from the oven but will retain their texture even when cooled. To ensure the proper texture, cool the cookies on the cookie sheet. Oversized cookie sheets allow you to get all the dough into the oven at one time. If you are using smaller cookie sheets, put fewer cookies on each sheet and bake them in batches. 2 cups plus 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 12 Tbsp (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted & cooled until warm 1 c brown sugar, packed 1/2 c granulated sugar 1 large egg plus 1 yolk 2 tsp vanilla extract 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips 1. Adjust oven racks to upper & lower -middle positions & heat oven to 325. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. 2. Whisk dry ingredients together; set aside. 3. With electric mixer, or by hand, mix butter & sugars until thoroughly combined. Beat in egg, yolk and vanilla until combined. Add dry ingredients & beat at low speed just until combined. Stir in chips. 4. Roll scant 1/4 cup dough into ball. Holding dough ball in fingertips of both hands, pull into 2 equal halves. Rotate halves 90 degrees and, with jagged surfaces facing up, join halves at their base, again forming a single ball, be careful not to smooth uneven surface. Place formed dough onto cookie sheet, leaving 2 1/2 inches between each ball. 5. Bake, reversing position of cookie sheets halfway through baking, until cookies are light golden brown and outer edges start to harden yet centers are still soft & puffy, 15 to 18 minutes. Cool cookies on sheets. Peel from parchment when cooled. Ok, that whole splitting the dough ball in half & rotating it, sticking it back together - that was somewhat confusing without a visual, and just sounded like too much time and work involved. Besides that, looking at how much dough I had, I seriously didn't want cookies as huge as those would have been. So I used a small-ish dough scoop and made about 24 dough balls, making sure not to smooth out the dough, as noted in the recipe instructions. I cut down the baking time to about 12-14 minutes and the cookies were perfect! The original recipe called for 1-1 1/2 cups of chips. I added more like 2 cups which was more than enough. Anymore would have been too much. Also, I used a mix of semisweet chips and the caramel swirl chips from Toll House.