As a food writer, I’m constantly creating recipes from Allrecipes. This year alone, I’ve tried everything from cheeseburger salad to chicken mole, all shared by the Allrecipes community – and all pretty tasty. I learned from my own experience that if there are lots of 5-star reviews, it’s probably worth making in my own kitchen.

When I was making a list of cookies I would bake for this year’s holiday baking day, I did a quick internet search for “chocolate chocolate chip cookies” and this recipe popped up at the top of the search results. For me it was a no-brainer to try it out.

Chocolate Chip Cookies: A 5-star favorite

Uploaded by Allrecipes user Kathy, this chocolate chip cookie recipe has received over 4,000 reviews on the site, most of them five stars. “These chocolate chip cookies are made with cocoa powder and chocolate chips to ensure a chocolaty taste in every bite,” Kathy shared. “My kids love them.” Based on the rave reviews, I had a feeling I would love them too.

Kathy’s chocolate chip cookie recipe is simple and includes an ingredient list full of items you may already have in your pantry. Sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt and chocolate chips are all you need, and you’ll have four dozen cookies – lots of chocolatey goodness for everyone.

My festive upgrade

But I was looking for a good chocolate chip cookie recipe for a reason. As a peppermint lover, I had purchased a package of peppermint baking chips while shopping and dreamed of a chocolate chip cookie with peppermint pieces instead of chocolate chips. I looked through the reviews for Kathy’s cookie recipe and found that many users had substituted other varieties for the chocolate chips: peanut butter chips and butterscotch chips were just a few of the variations mentioned. I knew this recipe would be perfect to complement my peppermint chips for the holidays.

Mixing and baking Kathy’s chocolate chip cookies was a breeze, and I followed her recipe exactly, except for the addition of peppermint baking chips instead of chocolate. I dropped spoonfuls of dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets, baked the cookies at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 10 minutes, then cooled them on a wire rack.

The result was a perfectly soft and chewy chocolate chip cookie with just the right hint of peppermint in every bite. Like many reviewers of Kathy’s cookie recipe, I was happy with the choice of substitution and will definitely try these cookies again with other types of chips. (I’m thinking salted caramel chips for my next round – and maybe a drizzle of chocolate on top.)

Here’s what the Allrecipes community has to say

“My family absolutely loved them,” one reviewer wrote. “They were gone in less than 24 hours. I’m not a huge chocolate lover at all, so I didn’t expect I would really like these. But I ate 10 of them. They’re the chocolatiest things I’ve ever tasted without being tooth-achingly sweet. They were just perfect.”

Other reviewers called the cookies “easy cookies,” “so easy to make,” and “the best cookies I’ve ever tasted.”

I have to agree.

As always, my holiday baking day went much more smoothly when I trusted tried-and-tested recipes from home cooks. I also found the perfect recipe for chocolate chip cookies any A type of flavored baking chip – one that I will definitely add to my baking routine and bake again and again.

Read the original article on ALLRECIPES