Big Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies

Big Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies

A Cookie Monster favorite

Cookie Monster

“It’s not a silly thing.”

East of Eden, John Steinbeck

Inspiration

I am not bold enough to say these are the best Chocolate Chip Cookies, but they are mighty fine. No obscure ingredients, no overnight chilling time, just a huge batch of scrumptious Chocolate Chip Cookies. These are everybody’s favorite cookie, including the Cookie Monster at my house. I don’t even consider making a small batch of this recipe any more. We keep the dough chilled in the refrigerator and bake them a tray at a time. That way we can enjoy them warm from the oven. The aroma of chocolate chip cookies baking is one of life’s little pleasures.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

The business of food blogging can get so very serious. The comments on this well written, thoughtful post about blogger burn-out and crazy real expectations shine a light on the whole mess. I hope you don’t mind that I’m just shrugging my weary shoulders and recalibrating to enjoy the fun and whimsy that had me start this little place on the web.

Essentials

This recipe is from Williams Sonoma Cookies written by Marie Simmons. I found several other Williams Sonoma Chocolate Chip cookie recipes on the web, but not the one from the Cookie cookbook. The original recipe has been doubled, it is the maximum that fits in my 5-quart Kitchen Aid mixer. I added more chocolate chips, a thick pour of molasses and swapped the vanilla for vanilla bean paste. None of these changes are necessary, just highly recommended. If we are going to indulge in warm Chocolate Chip Cookies, they had better be spectacular.

Making Chocolate Chip Cookies

For this batch I used See’s semi-sweet chocolate chips. I really like the big chocolate chips in my cookies. I enjoy going into See’s to buy chocolate chips instead of a big box of candy. (I know my purchase isn’t saving any calories, sigh.) Regular Hershey’s semi-sweet chocolate chips make an outstanding cookie too. A word of caution, I used to get uneven results with this recipe. Sometimes the cookies would be stiff and have a domed shape, other times the cookies would melt and fuse together while baking. When I began to weigh the ingredients the recipe had a much better outcome. Now my Cookie Monster cookies are just like the ones in the Cookie cookbook.

Big Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies
2C/250gr walnuts
3-2/3C/440gr all-purpose flour
1t baking powder
1t baking soda
1t fine grain sea salt
1C/250gr unsalted butter, softened
1C/250gr granulated sugar
1C/210gr light brown sugar
1T molasses
1T vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
2 eggs, room temperature
2-2/3C/454gr/1lb semi-sweet chocolate chips
  1. Heat the oven to 350°. Spread the walnuts across the surface of a sheet pan and toast for 10-12 minutes. The walnuts will become fragrant and just begin to change color when done. Let cool and then chop. If baking the cookies, leave the oven on at 350°.
  2. In a medium size bowl sift together or shake through a sieve the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
  3. In the bowl of a stand mixer beat the butter until it is pale yellow and fluffy, 3-5 minutes. Add both sugars and beat again. Stop to scrape down the sides and bottom of the mixer bowl. The original recipe recommends beating until “the mixture is no longer gritty when rubbed between your finger and thumb”. (When I make the recipe the mixture always seems to retain some amount of the sugar’s gritty texture, I beat for another 3-5 minutes.) Add the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly before adding the second egg. Mix in the molasses and vanilla. Stop to scrape down the sides and bottom of the mixer bowl. Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed, mixing just until combined. Again, stop to scrape down the sides and bottom of the mixer bowl. Add the walnuts and chocolate chips, mix until just combined. The cookies can be baked now or later. Keep the unbaked dough refrigerated.
  4. To bake the cookies heat the oven to 350°. Line a sheet pan with parchment. Use an ice cream scoop (or large spoon, or small cup) to measure uniform sized cookies. For really uniform sized cookies, weigh the dough for each cookie. Place them 2 inches apart on the sheet pan. Cold, refrigerated dough, will bake into a more domed shaped cookie. Flatten the tops of the scooped dough (just a little) with the palm of your hand. The warmth of your hand and flattening the cookie will push the cookies back into the classic shape. Baking times will vary depending on the size of the cookies. I used a red handled, color-coded ice cream scoop. It scoops 1.75 ounces, to make a fairly large cookie that takes 13-15 minutes to bake. Smaller cookies will take less time to bake. The cookies are finished baking when the edges start to brown. Let them cool on the sheet pan for 5 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack.

Big Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies

Big Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies

22 Replies to “Big Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies”

    1. Thank you Karen! I think you are right, who doesn’t like a homemade Chocolate Chip Cookie?

  1. A cookie monster favorite is right! I’m all in! Love it that you used molasses. Everything is better with molasses! Pinned to my cookie monster board. 🙂

    1. Thank you MJ! I agree, molasses is an under used ingredient. It adds such a nice caramel flavor.

  2. What an adorable post. Who can resist Cookie Monster’s charm. I’m sure that if he has a favorite cookie, it just might be Chocolate Chip. I love CC Cookies and make them all the time. Molasses is a new addition for me, and one I must try. Thanks for giving me a reason to make a batch of cookies.

  3. I think my favorite part is going back to a no-chill dough here–I used to make cookies in our “cookie monster” class as a kid, and I loved the fact that we could bake (and enjoy!) right away. Saving this, Deb!

  4. Yum! There is nothing quite like a warm chocolate chip cookie fresh out the oven. And I do love your cookie monster too. 🙂 I usually use vanilla beans in baking and scrape out the seeds, which must be the same as paste I presume…. I must google that one!

    1. Thank you Cathy! Yes, scraping the seeds from a vanilla bean will work instead of the vanilla bean paste.

  5. I’m all for a spectacular chocolate chip cookie and these look phenomenal! Love the vanilla bean paste and the addition of toasted walnuts for nutty richness!

  6. I’ve seen molasses in a chocolate chip cookie recipe two other times: both in my favorite chocolate chip cookies (Thomas Keller’s version and the NYT version), so I know how much flavor it adds and how magical it can be when added in. These look fabulous! Not nearly enough people include walnuts in cookies and brownies nowadays, and I don’t know why. Love that you toasted these prior! Definitely going to try making these someday, Deb.

    1. Thank you for stopping by and commenting Shannon! I like the caramel flavor a hint of molasses adds to the recipe. Dark brown sugar could be used instead of the light brown sugar and molasses.

    1. Thank you! I’m pleased you liked the post! (Never sure, when I color outside the lines!)

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