BACK TO SCHOOL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

You can't have too many chocolate chip cookies to put in that school lunch box! There are so many recipes and varieties of chocolate chip cookies. I bet you could make a different chocolate chip cookie recipe every day! Here's one more recipe for the start of school. This recipe is adapted from King Arthur Flour. It's a favorite! The vinegar is the trick!

BACK TO SCHOOL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Ingredients
2/3 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, either right from the fridge or at room temperature
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 teaspoon salt
 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon vinegar, cider or white
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 large egg
2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions
Preheat oven to 375°F
Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets.
In large bowl, combine sugars, butter, shortening, salt, vanilla, vinegar, and baking soda, beating until smooth and creamy.
Beat in egg, again beating until smooth.
Scrape bottom and sides of bowl with a spatula to make sure everything is thoroughly combined.
Mix in flour, then fold in chips.
Use spoon (or tablespoon cookie scoop) to scoop 1 1/4" balls of dough onto prepared baking sheets, leaving 2" between them on all sides; they'll spread.
Bake cookies for 11 to 12 minutes, until edges are chestnut brown and tops are light golden brown, almost blonde.
Remove from oven and cool on pan until set enough to move without breaking.
Repeat with remaining dough.

SESAME CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES: National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day!

Today is Chocolate Chip Cookie Day! What a day to celebrate. I came across this recipe for Sesame Chocolate Chip Cookies on the Whole Foods recipe page several years ago and adapted it slightly. I won't say it's totally healthy, but with sesame seeds, whole wheat pastry flour, and tahini, it's on the verge. I cut back on the sugar and chocolate chips. And who doesn't need another chocolate chip cookie recipe? Cookie Monster would love these. Perfect for Sesame Street and the Chocolate Chip Cookie holiday!


SESAME CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Ingredients
1/2 cup light brown sugar
8 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
2 Tbsp tahini
1 egg
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
3/4 cup dark chocolate chips (mini chips if you're making mini-cookies!)
1/2 cup sesame seeds, toasted and cooled

Directions
In large bowl, beat sugar, butter, and tahini with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add egg and vanilla and beat again until combined.
In medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt, and then add to sugar mixture and beat until combined. Stir in baking chips and sesame seeds and shape dough into 4 1/2-inch-long logs, wrapping them individually in wax paper and twisting the ends. Chill until firm, 4 hours or overnight. (To help maintain their shape, arrange the dough logs in a 9x13-inch dish to chill.)
Preheat oven to 325°F. Slice each log of dough into 12 (for bigger cookies) or 24 (for smaller cookies) coins, arrange on parchment-paper-lined (or silpat) baking sheets about 2 inches apart and bake until golden brown around the edges, 8 to 10 minutes for smaller cookies, 10 to 12 minutes for larger cookies.
Cool.

MILK CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES: National Milk Chocolate Day!

Today is National Milk Chocolate Day. If you read this blog, you know I'm a bigger fan of dark chocolate than milk chocolate, but there are certain recipes where I prefer milk chocolate. I've posted lots of chocolate chip cookie recipes, but this recipe from Jacques Torres, the King of Chocolate, is a no brainer. The real name is Jacques Torres' Secret Chocolate Chip Cookies. 

So for National Milk Chocolate Day, here's a recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookies using Milk Chocolate Chips.

MILK CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Ingredients

• 1 pound unsalted butter
• 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 2 1/4 cups packed light-brown sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 3 cups plus 2 tablespoons pastry flour
• 3 cups bread flour
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 pounds milk chocolate chips
  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats; set aside.
2. In bowl of with paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Reduce speed to low and add both flours, baking powder, baking soda, vanilla, and chocolate chips; mix until well combined.
3. Using a 4-ounce scoop for larger cookies or a 1-ounce scoop for smaller cookies, scoop cookie dough onto prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake until lightly browned, but still soft, about 20 minutes for larger cookies and about 15 minutes for smaller cookies. Cool slightly on baking sheets before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Tollhouse Stars & Stripes Cookies: Fourth of July

From the Nestle Toll House Kitchens comes this recipe and photo for Toll House Stars and Stripes Cookies. How can you go wrong with a Chocolate Chip Cookie, America's Favorite Cookie? Perfect for the Fourth of July!

These cookies are great to make with kids. The fact that this recipe uses refrigerated cookie bar dough makes these cookies quick and easy. You can always make your own chocolate chip cookie dough. I have star cookie cutters.. well... I have a lot of cookie cutters. This recipe decorating technique should give you lots of 'food for thought' for other celebrations.

TOLLHOUSE STARS & STRIPES COOKIES

Ingredients
1 pkg (16.5 oz.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Refrigerated Chocolate Chip Cookie Bar Dough
1 pkg (8 oz.) light cream cheese (Neufchâtel), at room temperature
1/3 cup granulated sugar
24 fresh, medium strawberries, sliced
3/4 cup fresh blueberries
2 tablespoons NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Mini Morsels

Directions
1. PREHEAT oven to 350º F.
2. ROLL cookie dough to 1/4-inch thickness between two pieces of wax paper. Remove top piece of paper. Cut cookie dough into stars with 3-inch star cookie cutter. Transfer cookies to ungreased baking sheet(s). (If stars are too hard to remove from wax paper, refrigerate rolled dough for 10 minutes.) Roll remaining dough to 1/4-inch thickness; cut out additional stars.
3. BAKE for 10 to 12 minutes or until light golden brown. While hot, reshape and pat edges of each star back into shape with knife. Cool on baking sheet(s) for 2 minutes; remove to wire rack(s) to cool completely.
4. BEAT cream cheese and sugar in small mixer bowl until fluffy. Spread onto cooled cookies. Place strawberry slices onto each cookie pointing outward. Place 5 to 6 blueberries in center of each cookie. Top each cookie with morsels.

Photo: Nestle Kitchens

ESPRESSO CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES: National Espresso Day!

Today is National Espresso Day!You can always have an espresso at your favorite cafe or in your own kitchen, but I love this recipe for Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies! That's how I celebrate!

This recipe calls for a baking stone. You can use a pizza stone. If you don't have one, you can make these Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies the traditional way. The stone helps make them soft on the inside and crispy on the outside. I've adapted this recipe from ehow.com.

ESPRESSO CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES 

Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 fresh large eggs (room temperature)
2 cups brown sugar
6 Tbsp granulated sugar
5 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp sea salt
3 - 1/2 cups flour
4 tsp ground espresso beans (or finely ground coffee beans). Try this recipe with ground chocolate covered Coffee beans. You'll have a bit more chocolate!
16 oz dark chocolate (65-70% cacao), chopped (or dark chocolate chips)
Baking Stone

Directions
Toss butter in microwave for 20 seconds to SOFTEN not melt the butter. (or leave out in advance, so it's already softened)
Cream butter and sugars together until fluffy. Mixture should be well blended but firm.
Add 2 eggs. Beat. Add Vanilla. Mix well. Set aside.
Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into another bowl. Add ground coffee or ground espresso beans.
Add dry ingredients to wet mixture, beating in a little at a time. Fold in chocolate pieces (or chips). Possible to add walnuts, if you want them. I didn't put them in the ingredients above, but I always like chopped walnuts in my chocolate chip cookies.
Put Cookie Dough in refrigerator for 2 hours to firm up. Put wax paper on top to prevent drying.
Pre-heat oven to 350. Put hot stone in Oven.
Take hot stone out of oven. Drop cookie balls (use a small scoop or form balls) onto stone, smashing with fork after dropping. Put back in oven on stone.
Cook for about 8 minutes. Depends on your oven, of course.
Transfer with spatula to Wire Rack.
Hint: Check the first one. If the cookies fall apart or aren't cooked all the way, give them another minute.

VETERANS DAY TOLLHOUSE COOKIES: Vintage Ad with Recipe!

This Vintage Nestle Ad for Toll House Cookies from Good Housekeeping 1943 seems appropriate for Veterans Day. Toll House Cookies: "Make up a batch of those golden-brown, crunchy Toll House Cookie and send to that soldier boy of yours.' These are still terrific cookies for the Veteran in your life, as well as our men and women still in in service. Recipe below.

Cartoon of the Day: Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

BACK TO SCHOOL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

So many kids are already back in school. It still seems odd to me, since when I was in school, we always started the day after Labor Day. Nevertheless, many schools are already in session for the 2024-2025 year. With that in mind, you can't have too many chocolate chip cookies to put in that school lunch box! There are so many recipes and varieties of chocolate chip cookies. I bet you could make a different chocolate chip cookie recipe every day of the year! I just love Chocolate Chip Cookies! Here's one more recipe for the start of school. This recipe is adapted from King Arthur Flour. It's a favorite! The vinegar is the trick! 

BACK TO SCHOOL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Ingredients
2/3 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, either right from the fridge or at room temperature
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 teaspoon salt
 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon vinegar, cider or white
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 large egg
2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions
Preheat oven to 375°F
Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets.
In large bowl, combine sugars, butter, shortening, salt, vanilla, vinegar, and baking soda, beating until smooth and creamy.
Beat in egg, again beating until smooth.
Scrape bottom and sides of bowl with a spatula to make sure everything is thoroughly combined.
Mix in flour, then fold in chips.
Use spoon (or tablespoon cookie scoop) to scoop 1 1/4" balls of dough onto prepared baking sheets, leaving 2" between them on all sides; they'll spread.
Bake cookies for 11 to 12 minutes, until edges are chestnut brown and tops are light golden brown, almost blonde.
Remove from oven and cool on pan until set enough to move without breaking.
Repeat with remaining dough.

Chocolate Chip Cookies aka Toll House Cookies: Vintage Ad and Recipe for National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day!

Who doesn't love chocolate chip cookies? Today is National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day. Here's the recipe for the original Chocolate Chip Cookie aka Toll House Cookies. And, here's a link to a post about Ruth Graves Wakefield, the originator of the Tollhouse Cookie (synonymous with chocolate chip cookie!)

These are the Chocolate Chip Cookies I grew up with. I thought I'd post this Vintage Ad for Toll House Cookies, along with the Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe on the back of the bag of Chocolate Chips!

Nestle Chocolate Chips Bag with Toll House Cookie recipe

Original Toll House Cookie Recipe

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened (sweet)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
1 cup chopped nuts

Directions:
PREHEAT oven to 375° F.
COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.
BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

TUESDAY TIPS: How Temperature, Butter, and Sugar Affect Chocolate Chip Cookies

Who doesn't want to know how temperature, butter, and sugar affect Chocolate Chip Cookies?  This is a great Tuesday Tip from Delish. Bake-on!

LEMON JUICE: A Secret Ingredient in Chocolate Chip Cookies

Today is National Lemon Juice Day. I have several lemon trees, mostly Meyer lemons, so I could easily make lemonade for National Lemon Juice Day, but instead, I'm sharing a secret. Lemon Juice is a secret ingredient in making chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies. So if you're given lemons, make Chocolate Chip Cookies! You're not going to taste the lemon juice, but it will make for a chewier cookie. And, the reality is that since you only use a teaspoon in the batter, you can make lemonade with the rest of the juice to go with these cookies!

Chocolate Chip Cookies Secret Ingredient: Lemon Juice

Ingredients
1/2 cup rolled oats, ground to fine powder in blender or food processor
2-1/4 cups flour  (if you have bread flour, give it a try.. it will make an awesome cookie)
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 cup unsalted butter, softened (do not microwave)**
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp fresh lemon juice 
2 eggs
3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips or dark chocolate chopped into chunks

Directions
Grind rolled oats in blender or food processor until very fine.
Measure flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in blender jar and use blender to combine all dry ingredients.
Cream together butter and both sugars. Add eggs, lemon juice, and vanilla. Stir after each addition. Beat until fluffy.
Combine dry ingredients with wet stuff, and mix until fully combined.
Add chocolate chips and stir by hand or fold in chopped chocolate chunks (or chips).
Refrigerate dough for an hour.
Drop dough by large spoonfuls or using an ice cream scoop onto ungreased cookie sheet. Allow room for cookies to spread as they cook.
Bake in preheated  350 oven for approximately 16 minutes, or until barely golden and still slightly raw.
Cool cookies in pan for five minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

SESAME CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES: National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day

Today is Chocolate Chip Cookie Day! What a day to celebrate. I came across this recipe for Sesame Chocolate Chip Cookies on the Whole Foods recipe page several years ago and adapted it slightly. I won't say it's totally healthy, but with sesame seeds, whole wheat pastry flour, and tahini, it's on the verge. I also cut back on the sugar and chocolate chips. And who doesn't need another chocolate chip cookie recipe? Cookie Monster would love these. Perfect for Sesame Street and the Chocolate Chip Cookie holiday!


SESAME CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Ingredients
1/2 cup light brown sugar
8 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
2 Tbsp tahini
1 egg
2 tso pure vanilla extract
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
3/4 cup dark chocolate chips (mini chips if you're making mini-cookies!)
1/2 cup sesame seeds, toasted and cooled

Directions
In large bowl, beat sugar, butter, and tahini with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add egg and vanilla and beat again until combined.
In medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt, and then add to sugar mixture and beat until combined. Stir in baking chips and sesame seeds and shape dough into 4 1/2-inch-long logs, wrapping them individually in wax paper and twisting the ends. Chill until firm, 4 hours or overnight. (To help maintain their shape, arrange the dough logs in a 9x13-inch dish to chill.)
Preheat oven to 325°F. Slice each log of dough into 12 (for bigger cookies) or 24 (for smaller cookies) coins, arrange on parchment-paper-lined baking sheets about 2 inches apart and bake until golden brown around the edges, 8 to 10 minutes for smaller cookies, 10 to 12 minutes for larger cookies.
Cool.

ELVIS'S PEANUT BUTTER, BANANA, BACON, CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES: National Peanut Butter Day!

Today is National Peanut Butter Day! I recently watched the movie Elvis. I know, late to the party! But the film is brilliant. It really captured the life and times of an American icon. The film didn't go into his favorite foods, but we all know Elvis loved peanut butter and banana sandwiches. But I'm going to take it one step further today for National Peanut Butter Day. Here's Elvis' Cookie recipe for Peanut Butter, Banana, Bacon, Chocolate Chip Cookies from the Cooking Channel. Some interesting ingredients, as well as preparation in muffin tins! These are cake-like chocolate chip cookies!

ELVIS'S PEANUT BUTTER, BANANA, BACON, CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES!

Ingredients 
10 slices bacon
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
8 ounces unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup mayonnaise
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped salted peanuts
1/2 cup sweet dried banana chips, roughly chopped

Directions 
Cook bacon in skillet until crisp, then drain on paper towels. Once bacon is cool, roughly chop it (you should have about 1/2 cup).
Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl.
In large bowl, beat butter, mayonnaise, and sugars with mixer at medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until well blended. Add peanut butter and vanilla and beat until combined. At low speed, add flour mixture in batches, beating until just combined.
Using wooden spoon, stir in chocolate chips, bacon, peanuts, and banana chips.
Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill at least 30 minutes or overnight.
Position racks in upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Line 2 muffin tins with paper liners. Fill muffin tins about halfway full with batter (a 2-inch, 2-ounce ice cream scoop gives you just about the perfect amount, and helps prevent spilling).
Bake until tops are slightly golden and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. (The cookies won't rise and form a dome like a cupcake.)
Let cool in muffin tins on wire racks for about 10 minutes, then unmold cookie cups and transfer to racks to cool completely.
Cook's Notes: The mayonnaise in this recipe makes these cookies especially soft. 

Elvis has left the building, and he took these cookies with him!

RAINY DAY SALTED CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

I live in Northern California, and if you check the news, you'll see we've been had weeks of atmospheric rivers, cyclone bombs, Pineapple Express, rain, hail, wind, and flooding. The land is saturated, the creeks and rivers are overflowing, the sewers are backing up, and sink holes are popping up everywhere. Hopefully this will end the past four years of drought, but in the meantime, it's pretty damp out there, and the weather report says the storms will continue though next week with no break! So what to do? Make Rainy Day Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies, of course.

You can never have too many chocolate chip cookie recipes! I have all the ingredients in my pantry and fridge, and I bet you do, too. I won't have to go out in this rain. Have fun!Your house will smell great, too!

Rainy Day Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients 
2-1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter
1-1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, plus 1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract
1 Tbsp plain Greek yogurt
2 cups dark chocolate chips or chocolate chunks
Coarse sea salt

Directions 
Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and set aside.
Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. When butter begins to foam, start whisking to prevent burning. After couple of minutes, butter will begin to brown on bottom of saucepan; continue to whisk and remove from heat as soon as butter browns and gives off nutty smell.
Immediately transfer butter to bowl to prevent burning. Set butter in refrigerator for 15-20 minutes or until room temperature.
Meanwhile mix together dry ingredients (except 2 sugars).
Once butter has cooled to room temp, with electric mixer, mix butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Beat in egg, yolk, vanilla, and almond extracts, and yogurt until combined. Add dry ingredients slowly and beat on low-speed until just combined. Gently fold in all of the chocolate chips.
Chill dough for 2 hours in refrigerator, or place in freezer for 30 minutes if you are in a hurry (DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP).
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Once dough is chilled measure about 1 heaping tablespoon dough and roll into ball.
Dip top of the ball into coarse sea salt.
Place dough on prepared cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake cookies about 11 minutes or until edges of the cookies begin to turn golden brown. Hint: Cookies will look a little underdone in middle, but will continue to cook once out of oven.
Cool cookies on sheets at least 2 minutes. Then transfer cookies to wire rack to cool.

 

GLUTEN-FREE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES: 2 Recipes for Gluten-Free Day!

Today is National Gluten Free Day! So many of the readers of this blog are gluten-free, so I thought I'd post two of my favorite Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies recipes. Do you have a favorite? Post a link below.

The first recipe for Gluten-free Chocolate Chip Cookies is from King Arthur Flour. This is my favorite. I definitely want vanilla in my chocolate chip cookies! If you're not following King Arthur Flour on Twitter or Facebook, it's time. I get their emails, too. Their photos are enticing, but even more, their products and recipes are fantastic! Just a heads up, I usually bake with unsalted butter, especially when I'm adding salt to the recipe, so I've designated that in both the following recipes. The original recipes didn't.

1. Gluten-free Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp gluten-free vanilla extract
1 tsp salt
2 large eggs
2 1/3 cups King Arthur Gluten-Free Multi-Purpose Flour
2 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups chopped nuts, optional

Directions
Beat butter, sugars, vanilla and salt till fluffy.
Beat in eggs one at a time, being sure to scrape down sides and bottom of bowl midway through to make sure everything is well combined.
Whisk together flour or flour blend, xanthan gum, baking powder, and baking soda.
Beat dry ingredients into butter mixture, then blend in chocolate chips and nuts. Again, scrape bottom and sides of bowl to be sure everything is well blended.
Cover bowl and refrigerate for 1 hour, or for up to 2 days.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a couple of baking sheets, or line with parchment.
Scoop tablespoon-sized balls of dough onto prepared baking sheets; a tablespoon cookie scoop works well here. Leave space betweencookies so they can spread.
Bake cookies for 9 to 11 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from oven and let rest on baking sheets for 5 minutes, to set, before transferring to racks to cool completely. Or allow to cool right on baking sheets.

This second Gluten-free Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe is from Rachael Ray. It's quick and easy. As I've said before, you can never have enough recipes for Chocolate Chip Cookies, especially Gluten-Free. Try both recipes and see which you like better. 

2. Rachael Ray's Easy Gluten-free Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 egg
2 1/4 cups of gluten-free baking flour
1 tsp baking soda 

1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup chocolate chips
3/4 cup of crushed pecans

Directions
Pre-heat oven to 375°F. Grease baking sheet.
In medium sized bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add egg and stir until blended. Slowly add gluten-free flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.
Drop teaspoon sized cookies onto prepared baking sheet and bake in preheated oven for about 8 minutes or until slightly brown and not wet.
Let cookies cool for 5 minutes before taking them off sheet.

VANISHING OATMEAL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES: National Oatmeal Month!

It should come as no surprise that January is National Oatmeal Month! Cold snowy and rainy days are the perfect time to have a steaming bowl of oatmeal, but you can also have oatmeal goodness in a cookie! Traditional Oatmeal Cookies are made with raisins, but really? what's a cookie without chocolate? So, here's an adapted recipe from Quaker Oats for Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies but the raisins are switched out with Chocolate Chips. The original recipe is found on most Quaker Oats boxes...and on the website.

VANISHING OATMEAL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Ingredients
1/2 Cup plus 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
3/4 Cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 Cup granulated sugar
2 Eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1-1/2 Cup all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp salt
3 Cup Quaker® Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
1 Cup Chocolate Chips 
 (optional) 3/4 cup chopped walnuts 

Directions
Heat oven to 350°F.
In large bowl, beat butter and sugars on medium speed of electric mixer until creamy.
Add eggs and vanilla; beat well.
Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; mix well.
Add oats and Chocolate Chips and chopped walnuts (optional); mix well.
Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown.
Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely.

Alternative: Bar Cookies
Press dough onto bottom of ungreased 13 x 9-inch baking pan.
Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until light golden brown.
Cool completely in pan on wire rack.
Cut into bars.

APRICOT CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES: National Apricot Day

Today is National Apricot Day. And, since this is a chocolate blog, what could be better than making Apricot Chocolate Chip Cookies. This recipe calls for dried apricots, a staple in our house. I use dark chocolate chips, but you can also use milk chocolate or white chocolate chips. Not into apricots? You can substitute dried cherries or cranberries or blueberries. This is a very versatile recipe.

APRICOT CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Ingredients
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature (refer to Tips for Making the Very Best Cookies)
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped into quarters or 1/4" pieces
1/2 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped
4 ounces dark chocolate chips (or milk or white chocolate chips)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°.
Cream butter & brown sugar in medium-size mixing bowl until blended.
Beat in egg and vanilla.
Add flour, baking soda, and salt, stirring mixture into smooth dough.
Fold in apricots, nuts, and chocolate chips, making sure to distribute evenly.
Drop batter by tablespoonfuls onto un-greased cookie sheets, spacing about 2 inches apart.
Bake for 10 minutes, until edges are lightly browned.
Cool cookies on sheet for 2 minutes before transferring with spatula to wire racks to cool.

1943 NESTLE AD WITH RECIPE FOR TOLLHOUSE COOKIES: Veterans Day

This Vintage Nestle Ad for Toll House Cookies in Good Housekeeping 1943 seems appropriate for Veterans Day. Toll House Cookies: "Make up a batch of those golden-brown, crunchy Toll House Cookie and send to that soldier boy of yours.' These are still terrific cookies for the Veteran in your life, as well as our men and women still in in service. Recipe below.

PUMPKIN SPICE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES: Homemade Cookie Day & Pumpkin Spice Day

October is my favorite month. I love pumpkins, Halloween, and the turning leaves. Today is both National Homemade Cookies Day and National Pumpkin Spice Day. So here's the perfect recipe to celebrate the day: Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip Cookies! October is all about Pumpkin Spice, so feel free to make these cookies all month long! You can make your own pumpkin spice, or just use pumpkin pie spice. As I always say, you can't have too many Chocolate Chip Cookie recipes. And, in case you think Pumpkin Spice is new, scroll down to see more retro Pumpkin Pie Spice containers.

PUMPKIN SPICE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 

1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice 

1/2 teaspoon baking soda 

1/2 teaspoon baking powder 

1/2 teaspoon salt 

2 sticks cooled melted butter 

2 eggs 

3/4 cup granulated sugar 

3/4 cup brown sugar 

1 teaspoon pure vanilla 

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips 

Directions

 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. 

Whisk flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in large bowl. 

Whisk melted butter, eggs, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla in second large bowl. 

Add flour mixture and stir to combine with a wooden spoon. 

Fold in the chocolate chips.

Scoop dough onto the parchment-lined baking sheets and bake until golden, 16 to 18 minutes.

PUFFY CHEWY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES: National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day!

Today is Chocolate Chip Cookie Day. Now, if you read this blog regularly, you'll know that there's more than one 'official' Chocolate Chip Cookie Day. But really isn't every day Chocolate Chip Cookie Day? 

I've posted many recipes for Chocolate Chip Cookies, but I think this one is unique: Puffy Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies. As I've said many times, you can never have enough Chocolate Chip Cookie recipes. This is an easy puffy chewy chocolate chip recipe. You'll find it quite different from the usual Toll House Cookie recipe on the back of the chocolate chips bag, but I know you're going to love it.  

PUFFY CHEWY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES 

Ingredients
3/4 cups unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cornstarch
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions
Preheat oven to 350. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

In large bowl using mixer (hand or stand with paddle attachment), combine butter, sugar, and brown sugar, and cream until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Beat in egg and vanilla.
In separate bowl, combine flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Add to wet ingredients and beat on low until combines. On very low speed, beat in chocolate chips, or fold in evenly.
Cover dough with plastic wrap and chill for at least an hour. (You must chill this dough!)
Remove from fridge and let sit at room temp for 10 minutes.

Roll balls of dough into about 1.6 Tbsp each. Put onto parchment-lined baking sheets, 6 per sheet.  (these are big puffy cookies..I sprinkle with sea salt)

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until barely golden brown on edges and puffy, checking cookies after 5 minutes. Rotate baking sheet for even browning, if necessary. Cookies will look very soft.

Transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.