These Chocolate Chip Cookies are
BIG and SOFT and CHEWY!
If you are looking for thin, crispy cookies: See my "Tips" section below!
If you want to make this recipe, but make smaller cookies: See my "Tips" section below!
I LOVE chocolate chip cookies! You know who loves chocolate chip cookies even more than I do? (Especially, THIS recipe) My husband! In fact, his birthday was a few days ago, and what did he want me to make for dessert? Not a fancy cake or pie, or homemade candy bars...Na! He wanted my Chocolate Chip Cookies with the addition of Heath toffee pieces! So...that's exactly what I made!
This cookie recipe will give you cookies that are not too thick, not to thin but juuuust right! They come out of the oven a tad "puffy" but then once they cool, they settle into themselves and become a soft, chewy, ooey gooey, magical moment of sweetness!
In my humble opinion, a cookie should be soft and chewy. I prefer this to cake-like cookies...because I'd rather just eat CAKE then! There is also a time and place for a thin, crispy cookie, especially if you want them to keep for longer than a couple days and still taste like they were made yesterday. However, for me, there's nothing like a warm chewy cookie, straight outa the oven!
Still, I realize, not everyone is like me, or my husband, or my kids...or...anyone else I know that loves this recipe. Some people (aka: my father in law, and a professor I had in college) prefer the thin crispy recipe. Or, the cakey recipe (aka: a family friend). So, if you are in one of these camps, don't worry! You can STILL use THIS recipe! You'll just have to make a few slight modifications. See my "Tips" section below and I'll line out the simple ways to make this recipe adaptable to any variety taste buds!
Ingredients: Big Chewy Cookies
All-Purpose Flour 2 Cups
Baking Soda 1/2 Tsp.
Table Salt 1/2 Tsp.
Butter 1/2 to 3/4 Cup or 1 to 1.5 sticks*
Optional: Replace 1/4 Cup of the Butter with 1/4 Cup Coconut Oil, if preferred. Adjust amount of butter accordingly.*
Brown Sugar 1 Cup
White Table Sugar 1/2 Cup
Vanilla Extract-1 Tbs.*
1 Egg
1 Egg Yolk*
Chocolate Baking Chips or Chopped Chocolate 2 Cups.*
* Using real butter will make a difference in the flavor of these cookies, do not use shortening or an oil-made "butter" product spread.
*Coconut Oil-This does not affect the texture of these cookies, only the flavor slightly if you choose to use unrefined coconut oil (which I personally prefer). Unrefined will have a slight coconut flavor in the background, while refined will not.
*Using a good quality vanilla ext. will make these cookies that much better because the real vanilla will help to balance the chocolate just as the salt balances the sweet. I always use a Double Strength Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Extract.
*YES! You need the extra Yolk!-This extra yolk makes the dough much more creamy and less grainy from the sugar.
*Use your favorite chocolate chips or baking bar, chopped into chunks. I always prefer to use Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate Chips or a mixture of milk chocolate and semi-sweet chocolate chips.
*Once you have the base cookie dough down, this is where you can have fun and make different variations of cookies. You can use white chocolate chips for instance, or add almonds or pecans to your cookies, or even Heath toffee pieces like I just did recently. The sky is the limit to the combos you can create!
Equipment:
Cookie Tray/Baking Sheet
Parchment Paper
Big Bowl-microwavable!
Medium Bowl
A good strong Whisk and your arm muscles!*
A spatula
Measuring Cups and Spoons for 1 Cup, 1/2 Cup, 1/4 Cup, 1/2 tsp., 1 Tbls.
*You can alternatively mix this together using a hand or stand mixer. However, in doing so the dough becomes a bit looser and may need to be refrigerated 10-15 minutes before scooping and baking.
Ready to Mix?
Preheat Oven to 350 F. Bake 12+ minutes. (read below)
Pull out a big sheet of parchment paper, enough to cover your cookie tray, and place the paper onto the tray so it will be ready to drop the cookie dough onto.
In the Large Bowl, place the butter (and coconut oil, if using). Place the bowl in the microwave and heat on high for approx. 1 minute or til the butter and coconut oil are completely melted.
Remove the bowl from microwave and set aside to cool while you prep the dry ingredients.
In the Medium Sized Bowl, add the 2 cups flour, 1/2 tsp baking soda and salt.
Whisk together. Set aside.
Get the Large Bowl again, add the 1 cup Brown Sugar and 1/2 cup White Sugar to the bowl with the butter. Whisk til the butter and sugars are well combined.
Next, add the egg and egg yolk and 1 Tbs. Vanilla Extract. Mix together with the whisk til well combined and smooth.
Next, get the Medium Bowl with the dry ingredients and slowly start to add it into the Larger mixing bowl. *Do NOT add all of it at once!
I usually just add about 1/4th of the dry ingredients at a time, mixing well with my whisk between each addition to make sure it is fully incorporated into the mixture.
If you aren't sure how much to add at a time, take a 1 cup measuring cup and add 1 cup at a time of dry ingredients into the Larger bowl, whisking in between each addition til it all is fully incorporated and looks/feels like cookie dough.
Lastly, add in all of your chocolate chips or chopped chocolate! Once you add the chocolate, use your spatula to slowly fold* the chocolate chips into your cookie dough.
*If you aren't sure what I mean by "fold", start at the top of your bowl around the edge and move the spatula under the cookie dough to the bottom of the bowl, lifting up some of the dough from the bottom and bringing it to the top. Continue to do this around the bowl til all of the chocolate is well incorporated and distributed throughout your cookie dough.
Use the 1/4 C measuring cup to scoop out cup fulls of the cookie dough and place the dough on the parchment lined cookie sheet. Make sure to place each scoop of dough 2 inches apart! This is important, because these are meant to be BIG cookies. They will spread in the oven as they bake. To insure they do not merge together during baking and become a HUGE Mega Cookie Mess on your tray!!....stick to the 2 inches apart. :)
Put the tray on the middle oven rack and bake for 12 minutes in the oven or til the edges are slightly browned and the tops of the cookies are puffed up a bit. As I mentioned before, they will look a bit puffy, but once they start to cool within a few minutes they will deflate to their normal chewy cookie state.
Cool these on the tray for at least 5 minutes and then move them to a plate or cooling rack to finish cooling. Serve while slightly warm if you prefer, or wait til they are cool to the touch...and devour! :)
Clarifications, Tips and Recipe Variations below!
Clarification:
Although I mention using coconut oil in this recipe, it is NOT completely necessary.
I always have coconut oil on hand, so I prefer to use it in place of some of the butter. However, I would never completely replace the butter with coconut oil because it would not have the same flavor! There needs to be more butter than coconut oil used in this recipe in order to get the same depth of flavor that butter gives.
In the same way, this is why I prefer to use an unrefined coconut oil when I choose to use it. The unrefined coconut oil has a slight coconut flavor to it. It shows up in a very slight way in the background tastes of the cookie, when used...which also adds some depth of flavor that I prefer. If you are not a fan of the coconut flavor at all, but still want to use it in the recipe, then I'd recommend using a refined coconut oil that will taste neutral (like nothing!) and will not impact the flavor of the cookie whatsoever. Or, just use all butter!
Tips:
1.) Use the BEST possible, vanilla extract and chocolate that you can buy!
2.) Do not leave out the brown sugar and try to replace it with regular sugar...unless you want a flat, semi chewy cookie that turns crispy fast! ...then do it!
3.) If you don't mind your cookies being a bit more dense and/or need to cut down on the sugar...the 1/2 cup of sugar can be replaced with a couple Tbls baking stevia without the taste being changed too much. Be prepared however, that the cookies may have a slight aftertaste from the stevia if you choose to use more stevia than this and/or if you do not use the full cup of brown sugar.
4. If you want more fluffy, cakey cookies. Add another 1/2 cup of flour to this recipe and do not melt the butter entirely in the microwave. Instead only "soften" the butter and then add the sugars and mix together the softened butter and sugar together. Proceed from there, and follow the rest of the recipe, as is.
5.) If you want thin, crispy cookies, use only 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1 full cup of the white sugar instead. By flipping the sugar amounts in the recipe, there is less molasses (which helps make the cookie chewy) and the cookie will also consequently spread more in the oven, making it a thinner cookie. These cookies will be thin and soft at first but after completely cooling off and being stored for a few hours, they will become crispier.
6.) In order to make this recipe and create smaller cookies, portion your cookie dough out onto a plate using a teaspoon and make whatever size cookies you'd like to make. Stick the plate into the fridge for about 15 minutes and let the balls of cookie dough chill before baking. By chilling the dough you ensure that the smaller amount of dough will bake slower, allowing the cookie to still maintain its same texture without spreading too thin in the oven and still leaving you with a chewy, but smaller version of this cookie. *Extra Tip: I like to portion them smaller like this, freeze them on a plate and them pop them in a freezer bag to take out and make when I get a craving or want to make cookies fast!
7.) Reversely, if you want to make a cookie pie out of this dough, you can! What about a cookie cake/pizza? Of course! If you want to make a cookie pie...actually, it will be cookie pies. You will need 2 pie pans/tins! Separate your dough into equal halves and press it gently into your pie pans. Do NOT spray the bottom of the pie pans, or "grease" them. Just press the dough into the pie pans using clean fingers. Make sure the dough is as even as possible around the pans. Baking time for the pie cookies will be a few minutes longer than usual (around the 15-16 minute mark) so keep an eye on them. When the edges are starting to slightly brown and they are puffing up slightly in the middle, they're done! Let these cool completely before attempting to slice into them, otherwise the warm dough will stick to the bottom of the pan.
For cookie cakes/pizzas, you'll need a pizza pan. Put parchment on the pizza pan and divide the cookie dough in half and bake half at a time on the pizza tray. After placing half the dough onto the middle of the tray, press it down using clean fingers. Press the cookie dough evenly onto the middle of the pan working from the middle of the pan outward til you have about a 1/2 inch thick cookie. Remember, the cookie is going to puff up and spread during baking, so make sure it is not to close to the edge of the pan, otherwise you'll have a mess in your oven! Baking time for this will be about 15 minutes or longer as well, so make sure to keep an eye on it and look for browning at the edges as always. As with the cookie pie, it is best to let this cookie pizza cool before attempting to slice into it. If it's not completely cool, you will not get a clean slice. Also! Don't forget! With a really big cookie "cake" like this, you always have the option to decorate it with frosting! Yum!
I hope that the next time you feel like making some chocolate chip cookies that you'll try out this recipe! It's a recipe I've perfected over the years and I use it myself in all the many ways I've described above! The cookie base is perfect for making all kinds of cookies with different "add ins" so have fun with it!
Let me know in the comments below if you like this recipe and if you try it out!
I'd love to know how you like YOUR Chocolate Chip Cookies!
-S💋
If you don't already follow me on social media, my foodie instagram is @stephsweetandsavory
If you're interested in makeup, you can also follow me on insta @stephykross
Or, look for my makeup reviews and chats on youtube @stefykross
Pull out a big sheet of parchment paper, enough to cover your cookie tray, and place the paper onto the tray so it will be ready to drop the cookie dough onto.
In the Large Bowl, place the butter (and coconut oil, if using). Place the bowl in the microwave and heat on high for approx. 1 minute or til the butter and coconut oil are completely melted.
Remove the bowl from microwave and set aside to cool while you prep the dry ingredients.
In the Medium Sized Bowl, add the 2 cups flour, 1/2 tsp baking soda and salt.
Whisk together. Set aside.
Get the Large Bowl again, add the 1 cup Brown Sugar and 1/2 cup White Sugar to the bowl with the butter. Whisk til the butter and sugars are well combined.
Next, add the egg and egg yolk and 1 Tbs. Vanilla Extract. Mix together with the whisk til well combined and smooth.
Next, get the Medium Bowl with the dry ingredients and slowly start to add it into the Larger mixing bowl. *Do NOT add all of it at once!
I usually just add about 1/4th of the dry ingredients at a time, mixing well with my whisk between each addition to make sure it is fully incorporated into the mixture.
If you aren't sure how much to add at a time, take a 1 cup measuring cup and add 1 cup at a time of dry ingredients into the Larger bowl, whisking in between each addition til it all is fully incorporated and looks/feels like cookie dough.
Lastly, add in all of your chocolate chips or chopped chocolate! Once you add the chocolate, use your spatula to slowly fold* the chocolate chips into your cookie dough.
*If you aren't sure what I mean by "fold", start at the top of your bowl around the edge and move the spatula under the cookie dough to the bottom of the bowl, lifting up some of the dough from the bottom and bringing it to the top. Continue to do this around the bowl til all of the chocolate is well incorporated and distributed throughout your cookie dough.
Use the 1/4 C measuring cup to scoop out cup fulls of the cookie dough and place the dough on the parchment lined cookie sheet. Make sure to place each scoop of dough 2 inches apart! This is important, because these are meant to be BIG cookies. They will spread in the oven as they bake. To insure they do not merge together during baking and become a HUGE Mega Cookie Mess on your tray!!....stick to the 2 inches apart. :)
READY TO BAKE?
Cool these on the tray for at least 5 minutes and then move them to a plate or cooling rack to finish cooling. Serve while slightly warm if you prefer, or wait til they are cool to the touch...and devour! :)
Clarifications, Tips and Recipe Variations below!
Clarification:
Although I mention using coconut oil in this recipe, it is NOT completely necessary.
I always have coconut oil on hand, so I prefer to use it in place of some of the butter. However, I would never completely replace the butter with coconut oil because it would not have the same flavor! There needs to be more butter than coconut oil used in this recipe in order to get the same depth of flavor that butter gives.
In the same way, this is why I prefer to use an unrefined coconut oil when I choose to use it. The unrefined coconut oil has a slight coconut flavor to it. It shows up in a very slight way in the background tastes of the cookie, when used...which also adds some depth of flavor that I prefer. If you are not a fan of the coconut flavor at all, but still want to use it in the recipe, then I'd recommend using a refined coconut oil that will taste neutral (like nothing!) and will not impact the flavor of the cookie whatsoever. Or, just use all butter!
Tips:
1.) Use the BEST possible, vanilla extract and chocolate that you can buy!
2.) Do not leave out the brown sugar and try to replace it with regular sugar...unless you want a flat, semi chewy cookie that turns crispy fast! ...then do it!
3.) If you don't mind your cookies being a bit more dense and/or need to cut down on the sugar...the 1/2 cup of sugar can be replaced with a couple Tbls baking stevia without the taste being changed too much. Be prepared however, that the cookies may have a slight aftertaste from the stevia if you choose to use more stevia than this and/or if you do not use the full cup of brown sugar.
4. If you want more fluffy, cakey cookies. Add another 1/2 cup of flour to this recipe and do not melt the butter entirely in the microwave. Instead only "soften" the butter and then add the sugars and mix together the softened butter and sugar together. Proceed from there, and follow the rest of the recipe, as is.
5.) If you want thin, crispy cookies, use only 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1 full cup of the white sugar instead. By flipping the sugar amounts in the recipe, there is less molasses (which helps make the cookie chewy) and the cookie will also consequently spread more in the oven, making it a thinner cookie. These cookies will be thin and soft at first but after completely cooling off and being stored for a few hours, they will become crispier.
6.) In order to make this recipe and create smaller cookies, portion your cookie dough out onto a plate using a teaspoon and make whatever size cookies you'd like to make. Stick the plate into the fridge for about 15 minutes and let the balls of cookie dough chill before baking. By chilling the dough you ensure that the smaller amount of dough will bake slower, allowing the cookie to still maintain its same texture without spreading too thin in the oven and still leaving you with a chewy, but smaller version of this cookie. *Extra Tip: I like to portion them smaller like this, freeze them on a plate and them pop them in a freezer bag to take out and make when I get a craving or want to make cookies fast!
7.) Reversely, if you want to make a cookie pie out of this dough, you can! What about a cookie cake/pizza? Of course! If you want to make a cookie pie...actually, it will be cookie pies. You will need 2 pie pans/tins! Separate your dough into equal halves and press it gently into your pie pans. Do NOT spray the bottom of the pie pans, or "grease" them. Just press the dough into the pie pans using clean fingers. Make sure the dough is as even as possible around the pans. Baking time for the pie cookies will be a few minutes longer than usual (around the 15-16 minute mark) so keep an eye on them. When the edges are starting to slightly brown and they are puffing up slightly in the middle, they're done! Let these cool completely before attempting to slice into them, otherwise the warm dough will stick to the bottom of the pan.
For cookie cakes/pizzas, you'll need a pizza pan. Put parchment on the pizza pan and divide the cookie dough in half and bake half at a time on the pizza tray. After placing half the dough onto the middle of the tray, press it down using clean fingers. Press the cookie dough evenly onto the middle of the pan working from the middle of the pan outward til you have about a 1/2 inch thick cookie. Remember, the cookie is going to puff up and spread during baking, so make sure it is not to close to the edge of the pan, otherwise you'll have a mess in your oven! Baking time for this will be about 15 minutes or longer as well, so make sure to keep an eye on it and look for browning at the edges as always. As with the cookie pie, it is best to let this cookie pizza cool before attempting to slice into it. If it's not completely cool, you will not get a clean slice. Also! Don't forget! With a really big cookie "cake" like this, you always have the option to decorate it with frosting! Yum!
I hope that the next time you feel like making some chocolate chip cookies that you'll try out this recipe! It's a recipe I've perfected over the years and I use it myself in all the many ways I've described above! The cookie base is perfect for making all kinds of cookies with different "add ins" so have fun with it!
Let me know in the comments below if you like this recipe and if you try it out!
I'd love to know how you like YOUR Chocolate Chip Cookies!
-S💋
If you don't already follow me on social media, my foodie instagram is @stephsweetandsavory
If you're interested in makeup, you can also follow me on insta @stephykross
Or, look for my makeup reviews and chats on youtube @stefykross
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