Wherein I Say The Word "Cookie" A Lot

My friend E. makes the best cookies in the world. I am not exaggerating.

Not that my cookies are bad - not at all - and any homemade cookie can beat any grocery store bagged cookie any day of the week, but E. has a special cookie gift. She has a rare cookie talent. One of these days, she WILL write a cookbook (Possible titles: "These Cookies Are Better Than Yours"; "Finally, Beck Will Stop Bugging Me For My Recipes.") and that knowledge makes her a bit shy with her recipes, which is a shame when you're sitting at home all weekend quite sick and wanting her rather magical double chocolate chip cookies. So, being the resourceful type, I flipped through my cookbooks until I found a recipe that sounded similar and set to work.

The first thing I had to do was to preheat the oven to 350 and line my cookie sheets with parchment paper - but I was off in the washroom blowing my nose (isn't that an awesome thing to write in the middle of a recipe? Yes.) and so I had my long-suffering husband line the cookie sheets for me.

Then I creamed together:

1 cup softened butter

3/4 cup white sugar

1/2 cup PACKED brown sugar (that means that you smack it all down with your fist, because loose brown sugar can be really light.)

Once that was fluffily mixed together, I added 2 eggs and 2 teaspoons of vanilla. Proof!

I always double the vanilla in recipes, by the way, since vanilla is PRETTY tasty. Don't double THAT amount of vanilla, because I think four teaspoons of vanilla would be pushing it.

In a medium-sized bowl, I mixed together:

2 1/4 cups flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder - OH NO! I was out of cocoa powder! My poor husband sighed and put on his boots and walked to the store for the THIRD TIME THAT DAY and brought me back some cocoa powder. Thank you, honey.

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

Then I stirred that with a wooden spoon into the creamed butter stuff, and then I added a whole bag of white chocolate chips. Which was probably a bit more than one cup, in case you buy your white chocolate chips in mighty bagfuls or something.

I used a tablespoon to drop them onto the cookie sheets, leaving space for them to spread as they cooked (although I didn't find them terribly oozy cookies), and baked them for 12 minutes. (you may want to turn your sheets at the six minute mark.)

And WERE THEY AS GOOD AS E'S MAGICAL COOKIES?

Nope.

They WERE pretty astonishingly tasty, though - buttery and chocolatey with the creamy richness of white chocolate, and my children ate DOZENS of them. And until my friend E. FINALLY writes that cookbook, these are probably your best bet and one of the very best homemade cookies I've ever had.

Comments

[chaotic joy]

Hey Beck! I just wanted to let you know that I just finished taking the last batch of these out of the oven. I decided to redeem myself from the brownies from a box by making one of your cookie recipes. Actually, I thought, hey...I have everything to make these and my MIL is coming by and I need something to offer her. The kids helped me. They were simple and very yummy. My only change was to cook less time because my oven cooks hot. Thanks for the recipe!

[chaotic joy]

Hey Beck! I just wanted to let you know that I just finished taking the last batch of these out of the oven. I decided to redeem myself from the brownies from a box by making one of your cookie recipes. Actually, I thought, hey...I have everything to make these and my MIL is coming by and I need something to offer her. The kids helped me. They were simple and very yummy. My only change was to cook less time because my oven cooks hot. Thanks for the recipe!

[Michelle]

they look like pretty yummy cookies! and what a sweet husband you have to go to the store for you so often :)

[chelle]

Oh My GOSH those look so yummy!!!
I am so going to try these at some point!! mmmmm

(husbands are great eh?)

[Marta]

All you have to do is say the word chocolate and you have me hooked! I'm going to give them a try!

[Karla ~ Looking Towards Heaven]

I made some awesome cookies today. Very different recipe - I'll email it to you.

These sound yummy!

Blessings,
K

[badness jones]

You are determined to sabotage my diet, aren't you? Lol! They look and sound fabulous. Maybe I'll make them for the kids for Valentine's day...

[jody]

Yum. Those look sinful!!

[amreen]

those sound absolutely delicious...any good recipes for oatmeal choc chip cookies? i'm having a major craving

[Jenny]

They look luscious!

[bren j.]

Those look good and that mixer attachment looks somehow sci-fi to me. I made choc. chip cookies today - my first batch of the year. With the exception of the last panful getting a wee bit brown, they were fantastic. There's something about a homemade cookie and a tall glass of something when you've just had your third snow-day in a row....

[jenn]

Yum!

[Pieces]

Those look so fabulous. And I was going to try to get back on track this week. With my eating. And weight gaining. You may have just derailed me on day one.

[morning]

Now this kind of recipe is why a) none of my clothes fit anymore and b) my 'sweets' recipe book is overflowing but my 'savouries' folder is flat and pathetic.

[nomotherearth]

I would never have thought to double the vanilla. You rock my world. :-)

[Beck]

Okay, Guinivere - "creaming" butter and sugar just means mixing them together really well. You can do it very nicely with a hand blender, or even a wooden spoon. It just means to mix them until they're full of air and kind of fluffy.

[hairlinefracture]

Mmmmmmmmmm. Putting the recipe in my file. To make soon. If you keep doing this I am not going to stay at my goal weight very long!

[Guinevere Meadow]

I've got another dumb (she's-obviously-never-baked-in-her-LIFE) question.

When you say, "cream together," is that a particular method of mixing? Will plain old stirring not cut it? What if I don't have a fancy stand mixer like that, just a standard little handheld electric mixer?

You are so patient with me. I am grateful.

[Guinevere Meadow]

I think it's WONDERFUL that you shared with us your nose-blowing activities whilst in the middle of preparing these cookies. How else could we TRULY experience the wonder that is Beck's baking? ;)

[E.]

Thanks for the vote of confidence Rebecca. However, I am so NOT a cookie master! More cookies find their way to the shadowed back of the cupboard than to a sharing plate.
The best tip in the world that I have ever received is to buy the best cocoa that you can find. Although I am mostly cheap, I never buy grocery store cocoa. Thanks to my mom I always buy a nice dark cocoa from our local health food store. Well, that's it. Now I will have lost my cookie-edge forever. Otherwise, I bumble.

[Susan]

Those look so yummy! And 3 times to the store in one day!?! I'm in shock. My husband had me convinved that more than one trip to the grocery store per week would cause him to grow breasts. Just wait till he hears this!

[Susan]

Those look so yummy! And 3 times to the store in one day!?! I'm in shock. My husband had me convinved that more than one trip to the grocery store per week would cause him to grow breasts. Just wait till he hears this!

[Heidi]

I had thought I had convinced myself that doubling the vanilla with cookies changed the texture. That might not be a bad thing for some cookies though. I do add more vanilla in a lot of things though.

Those ones look tasty!

[bubandpie]

Alas, my tantrum did not produce anything like such good results.

[Kyla]

Your husband went to the store three times in one day? Wow.

Josh and I have this thing where we can pass once a day on a request made by the other one, and store trips are definitely on the list of things we are known to pass on. And once you pass on something, you can't be asked again that day, or else it would defeat the pass system. ;)

[Susanne]

Yummy, making these right now.

[Megan (FriedOkra)]

Ha! I always double the vanilla too! Soul mates!

I'd make these but I'm still plowing through the brownies I made from your post a couple weeks ago. YUM.

[Maddy]

I am especially grateful for the tip about 'packing it down.' I never have quite got to grips with cup measurements.
Cheers

[Kathryn]

OMG!!! Those looks so good! I have to try that recipe.
Like your friend I am always greedy with my cookie recipes too. I like to be the only cookie baking genius, I guess. I'm such a bag that way sometimes. I have only posted one cookie recipe on my blog. And it is for my favorite white chocolate chip and macadamia nut cookies. They are heaven.
Ok. I'm making cookies today.
Although I'll have to wait to make yours because I am out of cocoa powder and I was just at the store this morning. I'm not dragging the boys back there AGAIN in the -9 degree F weather. Bah!

[heather]

These are my mom's absolute favorite cookies ever--really. And it looks like a very similar recipe to the one she uses, though I think hers calls for unsweetened chocolate bars AND chocolate syrup.

[Hetha]

I love making cookies now that I have a Cuisinart mixer. It makes a HUGE difference. I've finally learned one of the tricks of the trade of good cookies vs. great cookies: that you have to let them cool slightly on the baking sheet, then move them to a cooling wrack. Duh! I've been letting them cool on the sheets for ages and always wondered why they would get so hard!

[flipflopmamma]

I have to make these! I love Subways double choc chip cookies and these look similar! I have been on a major chocolate kick lately, I try telling my hubby that I must be lacking some cocoa vitamin or something!!! heehee

[Becky]

Those really do look good. Delicious in fact. I am going to go eat another heart shaped brownie from my kitchen so I can end this craving, or feed it, whatever.

[Janet]

Those do look mighty tasty.

I made similar cookies on Friday, except they were like a cross between a brownie and a cookie with white chocolate chunks in 'em. They didn't last the evening.

[Rosebud & Papoosie Girl]

I just about always double the vanilla too! These do look good.

[Aliki]

I have a bag of milk chocolate chips waiting in my cupboard--I t hink I'll try these with those chips (I have to say I am--gasp!--not a huge fan of white chocolate).

Thanks!

[Tracy]

mmmmm....my hubby would love these. He adores the white chips.

[Soul Fusion]

great, now I want cookies. What a compliment to your friend - I want to taste her cookies!

[Angeline]

Ain't you blessed with such a great husband, who just sighed and then off he goes to help you complete your masterpiece?

Yummy yum yum! I love anything and I mean anything that has chocolate in them.

Your photo-taking skills are also getting better, they cookies looks more than just delicious!

[christine]

i love anything with white chocolate in it!

[Sister Honey Bunch]

Double the vanilla-great tip. I loves me some vanilla.

Thanks!