More Chocolate Chips Than Cookie

How do you make the most perfect chocolate chip cookie? The key is to add lots and lots of chocolate chips....so you have almost more chocolate chips than you do cookie. This is a great recipe for vegan chocolate chip oat cookies, and using mini chocolate chips, you can stir a big bunch of chocolate chips into the batter and have a really chocolaty cookie that is best enjoyed hot from the oven!

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chippers

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chippers
1 cup soft margarine
3/4 cup granulated (white) sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375◦F. Prepare ungreased or lined cookie sheets.
In a large bowl, cream the first five ingredients. Stir in the flour, soda, and salt. Stir in the chocolate chips, dough will be stiff. 
Drop dough by tablespoons onto prepared cookie sheets, two inches apart. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes until light browned. Let stand on the cookie sheets for a few minutes before removing to cool. 

You won't even notice the fact that these cookies are whole wheat. The use of soft margarine also makes them a healthier choice.They are soft, chewy, chocolaty and super-tasty. They are also quite easy to make! Just watch carefully, they seem to have the tendency to burn easily.

Basic Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Chip Cookies: a classic, favorite, well-known recipe with so many variations. This is yet another chocolate chip cookie recipe we have tried in this house. My mother's typical chocolate chip cookie recipe is her recipe for oatmeal chocolate chip cookies that she has been using for years. My standard, go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe is the secret recipe I created myself, and I usually make them jumbo, soft and chewy cookies, but I have made regular-sized ones using the same recipe as well. I have tried a few other basic chocolate chip cookie recipes, some with good results, some just okay, but they were never quite as good as my version. The same goes for oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, my mom's take the cake (or cookie). I must admit, my grandmother's version is also good, with a little cinnamon added for flavor, but I like them both for different reasons. If I stray from my typical chocolate chip cookie recipe, it is usually just to make double chocolate chip cookies, or a different type of chocolate chip cookie. Double chocolate chip cookies are even better than just chocolate chip cookies, in my opinion, as I live by the motto, "The more chocolate the better." There are many really good double chocolate chip cookie recipe out there (or triple chocolate  or quadruple chocolate), that I have not chosen a favorite yet.
Anyways, the other day my mother was searching for another, easy, basic chocolate cookie recipe. I had a few suggestions in mind, but she settled on one she found. They turned out good, certainly not my favorite, but definitely nothing wrong with them. They simply tasted like a basic chocolate chip cookie, nothing special  just sweet, chocolaty, and tasty. The recipe said it was an easy cookie that didn't flatten too much, although both my mother and I agreed they did turn out a bit flat. These are also definitely a crispy cookie version rather than a soft and chewy one. I do prefer the latter usually, but nevertheless, this just goes to show how much variation there is out there in one simple baked good of chocolate chip cookies, and how everyone has different preferences. 

Giant Cookie On A Skillet

Yesterday I went to one of my favorite restaurants for lunch. Since that is the restaurant I visit the most often, I am quite familiar with the menu, and have already tried many of the items on the menu. I had a delicious panzerotti for lunch, which is basically an enclosed pizza. This is a pizza restaurant, and actually it is my favorite pizza aside from homemade. I wanted a little something different, so I opted for the panzerotti. Of course the panzerotti was delicious, with a perfect sauce, a nice crust, and an excellent filling (you can choose your filling ingredients).  However, the restaurant recently introduced a new dessert, and that is what I was looking forward to the most. For awhile now, this restaurant has always had a dessert called the "Brownie Skillet", which I thought was one of the best dessert inventions ever. Basically, you take a chocolate brownie, cook it on a skillet, then top it with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, and chocolate sauce. It gets delivered to the table, right on the skillet, piping hot. Sounds simple, but it is so genius. Now they have come up with a new creation: a cookie skillet. It is a giant (and I mean GIANT) chocolate chip and chunk cookie, the biggest I have ever seen, cooked on a skillet, then topped with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, and chocolate sauce. It is absolute heaven. And totally worth it (it's actually very reasonably priced in my opinion). The only complaint I have, is I would have preferred no whipped cream (not a huge fan), and double (or triple) the chocolate sauce (a huge chocolate fan). Other than that though, it was absolutely delicious, and I would definitely get it again. The menu states it as being "Delightfully Craveable" and the caption sums it all up very nicely, "Where have you been all my life?" Who knows, I might even try making it at home myself some day, and experiment with different kinds of cookies! Also: this divine dessert is waaaayy better than it looks. I don't think any picture could ever do it enough justice. You will just have to experience it for yourself!

PHOTO CREDIT:"PD2012_Web Dessert Menu (1)" http://www.pizzadelight.com/5-desserts-menu.html.Pizza Delight, n.d. Tuesday, May 22, 2012.

Signature Chocolate Chip Cookies

I don't know anyone who doesn't love a good chocolate chip cookie! There are so many different versions of this one popular treat out there. Everyone has their one favorite (or six favorite) kind; the ideal chocolate chip cookie. Some insist on oatmeal chocolate chip, some double chocolate chip, some people like nuts in their cookies, and some people like jumbo chocolate chip cookies. There are thousands upon thousands of different chocolate chip cookie recipes out there. It is difficult to believe that one simple treat could have so many variations, but it does. The size, texture, shape, taste, and ingredients can vary greatly.

These are the chocolate chip cookies my grandmother makes. They are one of my favorites, along with my mother's oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, my jumbo chocolate chip cookies, and the chocolate chip cookies at a nearby restaurant. I like them all for different reasons. I like my grandmother's because they have a unique texture - they contain just a touch of rolled oats which makes them nice and crisp and chewy at the same time. I like my mother's because they are chock full of oats, and have a nice balance of oats and chocolate chip all rolled together in a small, crunchy cookie. I like my jumbo chocolate chip cookies because they are soft and chewy with a hint of a secret flavor. The key is, if someone else tries to make my grandmother's or my mother's or my chocolate chip cookies, they won't taste the same. If I crave my grandmother's chocolate chip cookies, my mother's chocolate chip cookies just won't do, and vice versa.

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

What could be better than fresh, warm double chocolate chip cookies? How about fresh, warm double chocolate chip cookies with a glass of chocolate milk? This recipe is easy and quick, and you will be enjoying the cookies in no time. Even Cookie Monster wanted some.

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 cup butter or hard margarine, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups mini milk chocolate kisses (or substitute milk or semi-sweet chocolate chips)
1/2 cup coarsely chopped nuts, optional

Preheat oven to 350◦F. In a large bowl beat butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. In a separate medium bowl, stir together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Add to butter mixture, beat until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts, if desired. Drop by tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until just set. Cool slightly on baking sheet before removing to cool completely. 

The recipe comes from my big Hershey's Recipe Collection recipe binder. It called for mini milk chocolate kisses, but I substituted an equal amount of semi-sweet chocolate chips because I didn't think I had any mini kisses on hand (turns out I did, but oh well). The amount called for seems like a lot, but it just makes the cookies chock-full of chocolate! I didn't use nuts. I also didn't use an electric mixer, I just mixed the dough by hand, although it did get fairly stiff after adding the flour mixture. I also didn't drop the dough, but rolled it into 1-inch balls. This worked well because the dough was so stiff and not sticky at all. The cookies stay nice and soft, even after cooling. They are delicious!

West Side Publishing. "Hershey's Double Chocolate Mini Kisses Cookies." Recipe. Hershey's Classic Recipes, Lincolnwood Illinois: Publications International, Limited, 2009. 194.

Hershey's Kiss Surprise Cookies

Here are some excellent Christmas cookies. They all start with a classic milk chocolate Hershey's kiss. This gets encased with a decadent chocolate chip cookie dough and baked. Then, a final drizzle of melted chocolate and these cookies - a chocolate lover's dream - are ready to be devoured. Actually, I usually skip this final step, it really isn't necessary, the cookies are still divine without it. Usually the cookies aren't around long enough to withstand a chocolate drizzle anyway. It is fun to see peoples' faces light up when the bite into a cookie, thinking it is just a regular chocolate chip, and then they discover the surprise Hershey's kiss inside! My mother made this delicious batch of cookies, yum!

Hershey's Kiss Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 bag (10 ounces) Hershey's kisses milk chocolates
1 cup (two sticks) butter or hard margarine, softened
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup Hershey's miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips
Chocolate Drizzle (optional)
1/4 cup Hershey's miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon shortening

Remove wrappers from Hershey's kisses. Set aside. Preheat oven to 375◦F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, beat butter, sugars, and vanilla. Add flour, blend until smooth. Stir in chocolate chips.

Roll scant tablespoons of dough around each chocolate kiss, covering completely. Shape into balls, place on prepared cookie sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until set. remove from cookie sheets and cool, then drizzle with chocolate drizzle, if desired.

In a small microwaveable-safe bowl, melt the chocolate chips and shortening together on high (100%) for 30 seconds, stir until smooth. If necessary, reheat for an additional 20 seconds at a time, until chocolate is smooth. Drizzle over cooled cookies. Makes approximately four dozen (48) cookies.

Banana Chip Cookies

This cookie recipe is from a novel called "Plum Pudding Murder" by Joanne Fluke. This novel, along with the others in the series, include recipes to foods cleverly incorporated into the stories. I have tried several recipes from these books, and they have all turned out fantastic, so I was very confident in trying this one too! These cookies are a great change from the standard banana chip muffins. They are moist and soft and chocolatey, with just the right hint of banana! They were also quite easy and quick to make, and surprisingly, don't require any eggs! A good recipe to keep in mind if ingredients are running short and bananas are turning speckly.

Banana Chip Cookies
1 cup softened butter
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp lemon extract
1/2 cup mashed banana (1 medium)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups flour
1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Beat butter and sugar together until light and creamy. Add lemon extract. Mix banana in thoroughly  Stir in baking powder and salt. Add flour in half cup increments. Stir in chocolate chips.

Line cookie sheets with foil and spray (I used parchment). Use a teaspoon to drop dough 2 inches apart. Use a metal spatula to flatten the cookies. Bake at 400◦F for 8-10 minutes until golden on top (I found bottom to be a better indicator). Let them sit on cookie sheet 2 minutes before removing to cool. Makes 3 dozen large or 5 dozen small.

Fluke, Joanne. "Banana Chip Cookies." Recipe. Plum Pudding Murder, New York: Kensington, 2009. 222.

Mom's Famous Chocolate Chip Cookies

To my delight, when I walked in the door earlier today, I could smell the enticing aroma of my mother's famous Chocolate Chip Cookies. They are simple oatmeal chocolate chip, but my mom makes them like no one else! The recipe is actually from Company's Coming "Cookies". My mother has generously given the recipe to a few different friends over the years, but none of their cookies ever turned out like my mother's. They just were not the same thing at all. So I am sharing the recipe with you, but I'll bet yours won't be as good as my mom's!

Oatmeal Chip Cookies
1 cup butter or hard margarine, softened
2 cups brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 cups rolled oats
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugar together. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Add vanilla.
Add remaining ingredients. Mix well. Drop by spoonfuls onto greased baking sheet. Bake in 350◦F (180◦C) oven for about 8 to 10 minutes. Makes 5 dozen.

See, the recipe is quite simple. The original recipe also calls for 3/4 cup medium coconut, but my mother has never added that. It also says you can make an oatmeal chip pizza by pressing 3 cups dough into greased 12 inch (30 cm) pizza pan. Sprinkle with semisweet and butterscotch chips, nuts, coconut, candy coated chocolate (Smarties, M & M's), and any other treat you like. Allow a bit more time to bake. We have never tried the pizza recipe, but it sounds good!
A few more tips: my mother always lines the cookie sheets with foil. which works really well, and usually opts for hard margarine over butter, for a firmer, crispier cookie. These cookies are soft and chewy straight out of the oven, but once cool are very crisp and crunchy and delicious!

Paré, Jean. "Oatmeal Chip Cookies." Recipe. Cookies, Edmonton Alberta: Company's Coming Publishing Limited, 1988. 27.

Jumbo Soft & Chewy Chip Cookies

This is my own recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookies. They are big, chocolatey, soft, and delicious! Aside from the usual ingredients, I have a secret ingredient in these cookies, but I can't tell you what it is! Only a few select people know the recipe for my chocolate chip cookies, and even then, it takes special technique and practice to get these cookies just right. I know because I came up with the recipe myself. I have made these cookies a few times now, and they always turn out great. I have also tried making regular-sized cookies,  mini cookies, and crisp cookies with the same dough. They all turned out good, but the jumbo cookies are still my favourite!

Bull's Eyes

Despite the heat, I was really in the mood to bake squares today. I decided to try Bull's Eyes from "Mrs. Fields Cookie Book". This recipe simply involves making a batch of chocolate chip cookie dough (about 3 1/2 dozen), pressing it in a 9x13 inch pan, and sprinkling it with one cup of sweetened shredded coconut. Then, mix up half a batch of double chocolate chip cookies (2 dozen), shape them, and place one on top of each square, making a toal of twenty-four squares. Then bake at 300◦F for 50-60 minutes. This format makes the squares really easy to cut, and easy to know how much one serving size is. You could probably use any recipe for chocolate chip and double chocolate chip cookies to make these squares. Maybe you could even experiment with other types of cookies; try peanut butter cookies with chocolate chip banana cookies or molasses cookies with rasin cookies. The possibilities are endless. These truly are delicious squares, it's like eating two cookies in one!

Fields, Debbi. "Bull's Eyes." Recipe. Mrs.Fields Cookie Book, United States of America: Time Life Custom Publishing, 1992. 80.