When all is said and done, there is nothing like a good chocolate chip cookie to celebrate (we whipped a batch to celebrate the new site being launched.) Now I am pretty picky about my cookies and I have two recipes that I swear by. Mind you, I am not into the typical toll-house, thin, butter-soaked variety. I like my cookie to almost be a meal. So I have a few additions like a like to make to plump up my cookies and no one has ever complained. I am also not a fan of fussy recipes. There is no reason to have to have more than one kind of flour in your cookies, deal with separating eggs or other silly business. I can mix up a bowl of fantastic cookie dough in 5-8 minutes. So there is plenty of time to brew the coffee and nibble on dough while they bake– if they even make it into the oven.
My first favorite recipe was stolen from my friends at Ciao Thyme and I am not allowed to reveal the secret (other than it is packed with oats and coconut.) The other I adapted from a Cook’s Illustrated recipe. And yes, one of my additions is a bit surprising– but give it a whirl. You won’t be disappointed:
Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies with Dried Cherries and a Secret Ingredient.
makes about 16 large cookies
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour (scoop and sweep method please.)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 Tablespoons (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly melted
1 cup brown sugar, somewhat packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups chocolate chips (add more if you like)
1 1/4 cups corn flakes (not the extra sweetened kind)
3/4 cup dried, tart cherries or cranberries
Heat oven to 325, set the rack position to the middle and line a large cookie sheet with parchment or silicone mat.
Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt together and set aside.
With a mixer or by hand, mix butter and sugars until well blended. Beat in eggs and vanilla until just combined. Add flour mix and beat at a low speed until combined. Carefully stir in chocolate chips, cornflakes and fruit.
Grab a nice hunk (just under a 1/4 cup) of dough and form it into a very rough ball. If you make it too smooth, your cookies won’t have that nice chunkiness on the top. To solve this, rip the ball in half and then squish the two sides back together, rough side up. My sheet fits about 6 cookies at a time (I like to keep the rest of the dough unbaked until I know we are going to eat them all- even toss it in the freezer.) Bake for 12 minutes if using convection and around 15 minutes if not, until cookies have just slightly browned on the top (don’t let them go too long!) Cool on sheets and eat right away– but they are just as good the day after.
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