PBS was the channel of choice when I was a kid. I think my mom loved Sesame Street and Mister Rogers more than I did. She always had it on. I distinctly remember Sesame Street with all the characters and learning songs with numbers and letters... you know, educational television. One of the mainstays of Sesame Street has always been Cookie Monster. He didn't say much, but he ate cookies - a ton of cookies. I have never been a giant sweets eater. I was never the kid begging for Halloween candy (chips and salsa, that's another story). I don't think I ever begged for cookies either. Macie is my opposite. Now that I am the mother, I turn PBS on in the mornings, Sesame Street is not the Sesame Street of my childhood. There are fairies and magic and odd life lessons with a whole thing about Elmo and Mr Noodle (can someone tell me what the deal is with Mr Noodle, I don't get it!) There is one thing that is the same about Sesame Street though, Cookie Monster. The only change now is that as soon Sesame Street comes on, I DREAD the sight of the Cookie Monster. He hits the screen with his cookie in hand and Macie immediately turns to me and starts begging for his cookie as though I can magically produce a GIANT cookie at 9am. Keeping in mind that my poor child is slightly sugar deprived because I barely give her sugar, she is all about cookies (and food in general). For some reason today I caved, had a soft spot and decided to make Macie some cookies during nap time.
I, of course went through Pinterest and found a couple of recipes that I liked but finally settled on a recipe from The Girl Who Ate Everything because it seemed like a good recipe that originally had come from Allrecipes and Allrecipes never steers me wrong - so off I went.
Can I tell you, these are the best cookies - no joke. They are HUGE HUGE HUGE, but they look like they could have come from a bakery. They are so good. I made them while Allen was at work and when he got home and saw the cookies, he stopped dead in his tracks in the kitchen. Without pausing he grabbed one, and Macie immediately started begging.
They both walked out the of kitchen with chocolate on their faces along with a look of satisfaction. Allen says they are the best cookies I've ever made. I consider that high praise because he's fairly picky about cookies. Since I am not a huge sweets fan, I changed up the chips slightly and used half semi-sweet and half bittersweet chips. The variation of chips gave the cookies a really interesting depth of flavor. I debated adding some coconut and espresso powder as well but decided to make a classic cookie to start and deviate on another bath. There will be another batch. Trust me. Did I mention these cookies are huge??
HUGE Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup bittersweet (60% cacao) chocolate chips
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper or silpat.
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper or silpat.
Melt your butter and set aside. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt;
set aside.
In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown
sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg
yolk until light and creamy (it starts to look like frosting). Mix in the
sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand
using a wooden spoon.
Scoop out a ¼ cup of dough onto your cookie sheet. You can roll it into a ball if you prefer. Place 4-5 cookies on the sheet (well spread out). Bake, reversing position of cookie sheets halfway through baking, until cookies are light golden brown and outer edges start to harden yet centers are still soft and puffy (approximately 12-15 minutes). When the edges are just slightly browned, the cookies are done. You don’t want to over bake them.
Cool cookies on baking sheet for 1-2 minutes until able to lift without breaking. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
You need to make these cookies, they are a must. Don't second guess me on this. You won't regret it.
