As you can probably tell, I love cookies. They are my favorite dessert. I can pass up cakes, pastries and pies for one good cookie...preferably chocolate chip. The reasons I like cookies...
1. They take little to no time to produce a single or double batch.
2. They are quick treats you can be eat with your hands.
3. There are never any leftovers (people love cookies and eat them all).
4. It puts a smile on your face. Watch people's face's light up when you say "homemade cookies".
I was heading to an event on Thursday and wanted to make a batch of cookies. I only had an hour so I was looking for an easy drop cookie recipe. I really loved David Lebovitz's Salted Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies, so I went to his site looking for a chocolate chocolate chip cookie recipe. I couldn't find what I was looking for so I went to the Food Network and found Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies created by Cathy Lowe.
I took the recipe and changed it a bit. I used 1/2 dark brown sugar and 1/2 light brown sugar to get that wonderful caramel chewiness. I used kosher salt to get that sweet and salty balance and finished with bittersweet chocolate and heath bar bits instead of semi-sweet chocolate and nuts. I really like the bittersweet chocolate versus the semi-sweet chocolate in chocolate chip cookies. I think the bittersweet balances the sweetness of the cookie, giving it a better flavor. You taste the cookie as well as the chocolate.
I brought the cookies to the event and came home with an empty bag. Everyone loved the cookies and sometimes it is for one good reason...they are homemade. Whenever I offer someone a cookie their first response is , "Are they homemade?" When I say yes, they get a big smile on their face, grab two (because you need one for each hand) and enjoy the moment. A really good homemade cookie!
My two cents...they were easy and delicious. I got two thumbs up from my family. I am seriously thinking of putting them in my 12 Cookies of Christmas, possibly replacing the Mocha Walnuts. If I still need that coffee flavored treat, I can add a tablespoon of instant coffee to this recipe.
Make some cookies, put a smile on someone's face!
Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon of kosher salt
1 teaspoon of baking soda
2 sticks of butter, softened
1 cup of granulated sugar
1 cup of packed brown sugar (1/2 cup light brown, 1/2 dark brown)
2 large eggs, beaten
1 tablespoon of vanilla
1/2 cup of unsweetened cocoa
2 cups of Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Premium Baking Chips
1 cup of Heath Bar Bits
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl stir together flour, salt, and baking soda. In another large bowl stir together butter and both sugars, then add the eggs, vanilla and cocoa. Gradually stir flour mixture into butter mixture and mix until combined. Stir in chocolate chips and Heath Bar bits and stir to distribute evenly.
Drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto greased baking sheets and bake about 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven when the tops of the cookies are dry and the edges are slightly golden. Cool on a baking rack.
I made mini cookies (about a rounded teaspoon of dough) which took 8-10 minutes to cook and regular sized cookies (about a rounded tablespoon of dough) which took 10-12 minutes.