Thick Gooey Chocolate Chip Cookies

Stumbling upon a Pinterest picture of a cookie from NY's Levain Bakery was one of the best things to happen to my life. Apparently this style of cookie is from a super famous bakery that always has a line out the door. I see why if this cookie tastes anything close to the real thing..

Firm and crisp on the outside yet thick, goopy rich cookie dough on the inside. What else can you ask for in the perfect cookie? I made a few tweaks off some recipes I found to be the picture you see below.

There are many components to thank that make this cookie bypass your basic B from the back of the chocolate chip bag recipe.

For one, the extra hot oven temperature along with the massive size of the cookies allows the outside to crisp up quickly while keeping the inside slightly undercooked. Just as all cookies aspire to be. Next, is the cornstarch which thickens the batter and keeps it's tall shape. Lastly, there is some cake flour which makes the cookie very tender

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) butter cut into small cubes

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (apparently not in Levain's recipe but I prefer this vanilla taste included)

1 1/2 cups cake flour

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon cornstarch

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt (don't skip it enhances flavor)

1 1/2 cups of a mixture of semisweet chocolate bar (cut up roughly) and chocolate chips -I like both for different sizes of chocolate but you can totally stick to one or the other

1 cup of Walnuts chopped (optional) I know this world is divided on team nuts in cookies vs. team no nuts so you decide!

Other add ons: Oats 1 cup, peanut butter 1/2 cup

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 410 degrees.
2. In a large bowl combine the butter and both sugars and cream with a mixture until it's thick and creamy.
3. Add in eggs and vanilla and mix again.
4. In another bowl mix together the flours, baking soda, cornstarch, and salt.
5. With a spatula, stir together both mixtures just until combined. A basic rule to follow is never to overmix once you put together your dry and wet ingredients in cookies or it will make your cookie cakey instead of chewy.
6. Last, stir in your chocolate and nuts or whatever else you fancy.
7. Line your baking sheet with a silicone mat, tin foil, or parchment paper to help with cookie removal.
8. Make big cookie dough ball between the size of a ping pong and a pool table ball. You can fit about 6 at a time on a sheet.
9. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Cookie will be a little golden brown on top but still very soft.
10. Here's the hard part... Let the cookies set up for 15 minutes before picking it up to eat.. Unless of course your plopping it right into your vanilla ice cream!
11. Die a little because this is the best thing you've eaten ALL week!

Pumpkin Bread

It's the end of March and I made this bread. Who makes the rules that you can only have pumpkin things in the fall? This recipe makes for a sweet, moist, hearty bread that you'll want to make year round.

Ingredients

Dry

3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 Tablespoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar

Wet

1 can (15 oz) canned Pumpkin
1 cup oil
4 eggs
1/2 cup orange juice or water

Optional 

1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup dried cranberries

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix together all the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
3. Mix together the wet ingredients in another bowl.
4. Combine the wet and dry until just combined then add in your walnuts and cranberry if you like.
5. Bake in 2 loaf pans for 60 minutes or until a skewer or knife comes out clean from the center of the loaf.
6. This is so amazing to eat fresh out of the oven.