Predilection for perfection
If someone asks you what the best cookie you've ever had is, your answer, no matter who you are, is pretty much a given: Classic. Chocolate. Chip. Done.
It makes sense, then, that Serious Eats' "The Food Lab" column would attempt to tackle the "perfect" chocolate chip cookie. 1,500+ cookies later, they actually did. I only made a dozen of these babies, but they were well worth the extra effort.