August 31
One of the biggest perks of teaching is that we are off on school holidays. My friends who actually use their law degrees? Not so much. So sometimes they let me hang out with their kids… and sometimes, I get those kids to make cookies with me, since my kids (sigh) are kinda over it most of the time.
These are our family’s favorite cookies. Crisp on the edges, soft in the center, and filled with just the right mix of chocolate flecks, chips, and chunks.
Speaking of flecks — this is going to seem a little high maintenance, and most of the time I do use plain old semi-sweet morsels… but for truly amazing cookies, I like to take the big Ghiradelli chips and coarsely chop them. This ensures not only big chunks of melted chocolate, but those little random flecks scattered through the cookie.
It helps when you have a strong (notice the shirt) almost-sixth-grader to do the chopping. As soon as I told the younger kids they couldn’t do the knife work, he stepped right up and was interested again (albeit briefly).
The best part of these cookies? I usually freeze them on a cookie sheet overnight. Then the next morning, I scoop them into a gallon ziploc to store in the freezer. We take out the frozen dough, a dozen at a time, and bake. So on any given afternoon, they are just as easy as “storebought” — but soooo much better.
Adapted from my favorite food blogger, Deb Perelman over at smitten kitchen
Ingredients:
- 2 cups flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 cups melted butter
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 cups chopped chocolate (or semi-sweet chips)
Procedure:
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper (trust me, it’s worth it).
In a stand mixer, cream the melted butter and both sugars. Add the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk, and beat for at least 3 minutes.
Add the flour, baking soda, and salt, and mix until just combined. Add the chocolate chunks (or chips) and mix until just combined (a few seconds is all this will take).
Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes OR (even better) scoop dough balls onto a cookie sheet that will fit into your freezer (oh, and turn off your oven, since you won’t be baking these until tomorrow).
Depending on the size of your scoops, the cooking time will vary. In my house, we use a small-ish ice cream scooper, and cookies typically bake in 8-10 minutes.
Enjoy!
Turns out that even after you’re kinda over making cookies with your mom, you still show up to eat them 🙂
And possibly the only thing that just might be better than warm-out-of-the-oven cookies? According to some fans, getting to scrape the dough bowl:
Louisiana Pickle 