Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie

I find the best combination when it comes to cookie making is white sugar and brown sugar. Half of each, normally, will allow a crisp outside and a gooey interior. If you need to make cookies and can't find this blog - remember that...

Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie

2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 c. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 c. white sugar

3/4 c. packed light brown sugar

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1 (8 oz.) block dark chocolate, coarsely chopped

Preheat the oven to 350º F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.

Place the butter, sugar and brown sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer; cream together on medium speed until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Beat in the vanilla and eggs.

Gradually ad the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture and contine to mix until a smooth batter forms.

Turn off the mixer and fold in the chocolate chunks using the spatula.

To form the cookies, scoop about 1/4 c. of the cookie dough into your hands and roll it into a ball; place them about 3 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets - you should get about 4 cookies on each pan. Press down the tops of the dough slightly and bake until the cookies are light brown, 12 minutes for chewy cookies or about 15 minutes for crispy cookies.

Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough/cookie sheets.

Mexican Chocolate Chip Cookies

Mexican Double Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon (I used Vietnamese cinnamon because it is one of the most potent in flavor)
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. coarse salt
1/8 tsp. finely ground black pepper
1/4 pound coarsley chopped good quality dark chocolate (I used the last of my Valrhona bittersweet chocolate)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 325ºF

Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and black pepper. Set aside.
In a small heatproof bowl set over a small saucepan of simmering water, melt the coarsely chopped chocolate with the butter. Let cool slightly.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the melted chocolate mixture with the sugar, eggs and vanilla. Mix on medium speed until combined. Reduce speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Line a 17-by-12-inch cookie sheet with parchment. Using a 1 1/2 inch ice cream scoop, drop the cookie dough onto the paper, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake the cookies for about 15 minutes, until they look flat and the surfaces crack (cookies should still be soft in texture). Let the cookies cool on the parchment on wire cooling racks. Store at room temperature for up to 3 days. (As if they'll last that long)

Haagen Dazs Mayan Chocolate ice cream in the middle of two cookies... Death...

Triple Chocolate Cookies

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Outrageous Triple Chocolate Cookies

Recipe as discovered on Laura Rebecca's Kitchen:

8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, roughly chopped
4 TBS. unsalted butter, softened
1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
3/4 c. packed light brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
6 oz. dark chocolate chunks or chips (recommended Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate chips)
6 oz. white chocolate, chopped (recommended Green & Black's White Chocolate bars)

My changes - I added 1 tsp. of instant espresso powder because I just do that with most anything I make that has chocolate in it and I could not find Green & Black's White Chocolate bars, so I used Ghirardelli's white chocolate. Also, I am a dork and only bought 1 (3.5 oz.) white chocolate bar, so I subbed 3 oz. of Lindt semi-sweet chocolate for the missing white chocolate - because God forbid there is less chocolate than called for in ANY recipe I make.

Preheat oven to 350º F.

Heat chopped semi-sweet chocolate and butter in a microwave safe bowl in 20 second increments, stirring between each, until almost melted; do not overheat. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.

In a mixing bowl, beat eggs, brown sugar and vanilla on high speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low; beat in melted chocolate. Mix in flour mixture until just combined. Stir in chocolate chunks. (Note: Don't worry if the batter seems thin. It should look more like a brownie batter than a cookie dough.)

Drop heaping tablespoons of dough 2 to 3 inches apart onto baking sheets. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are shiny and crackly yet soft in centers, 12 to 15 minutes. Do not bake the cookies to a crisp; they are meant to be soft and chewy.

Cool on sheets 10 minutes; with a thin metal spatula, transfer to racks to cool completely. Store them in an airtight container at room temperature for two to three days.

Makes 2 dozen.