Like most people, I love chocolate chip cookies.

At my wedding, my grandpa took credit for fostering and fueling my love for baking by regaling guests with the true of story of how I baked my first batch of homemade chocolate chip cookies with him. He used the Nestle Tollhouse recipe on the back of the bag of semi-sweet morsels, and he always used Crisco in place of butter.

In high school, I started to become known for my cookies. This continued during college, and then grad school, and then after that.

This recipe is adapted from and inspired by some of my favorite cookies: Smitten Kitchen’s Consummate Chocolate Chip Cookie and any cookie by Christina Tosi.

• 2 1/2 sticks of butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups (240 grams) light brown sugar
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (225 grams) granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons milk powder (available from the grocery store or online)
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 3/4 HEAPING cups (223 grams) all-purpose flour
• 1 3/4 cups HEAPING (223 grams) whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 pounds (678 grams) chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 cups of shredded coconut
• 1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts
• 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
• Sea salt

1. Cream butter, sugars, and vanilla for three minutes in a stand mixer.
2. Scrape down sides and add eggs. Cream for eight minutes on medium high.
3. Scrape down sides. Add remaining dry ingredients (milk powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and flours). You might want to place a tea towel around your mixer to prevent any flour from flying out and speckling your counter. Turn your mixer on low and mix to combine.
4. Scrape around the cavity of the bowl to ensure no pockets of flour or butter remain on the bottom.
5. Add the chocolate chips, the nuts, and the coconut. Mix on low to incorporate.
6. Remove the bowl from the mixer and drag your spatula around the dough to better incorporate if needed.
7. Using a kitchen scale, weigh out the dough into 120 gram balls. This is a little smaller than a fist, like 3/4 a fist.
8. Sprinkle with sea salt.
9. Freeze dough for at least an hour. I freeze them close together, but not touching, on a flat surface, then transfer the frozen dough balls to a container or ziploc bag.
10. To bake, preheat oven to 350. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Bake for 12-15 minutes, depending on your oven and preferences. For my favorite kind of cookie, bake for 12 minutes, then pop into the freezer for five minutes before eating. This quickly sets the outside edges of the dough while leaving the inside warm and gooey.