I’m posting a chocolate chip cookie recipe today. Not because the internet needs another one, but because I want to look back 10+ years from now and be able to easily access MY cookie recipe that I enjoyed during the winter of 2017….isn’t the internet marvelous???
That’s one of the beautiful things about having a food blog. At least, that’s what I’ve been telling myself since I started mine in 2014. I said “even if no one ever reads this, it will be a collection of recipes (and now memories, travel diaries, inspiration, etc.) that my loved ones and I can access at any time, and from any place.” And honesty, that is one of the sweet gifts the blog has given to me. I love going through the archives to read, remember, and revisit recipes from months and years past. It’s fun to make them again, share them with new friends, and make new memories around old ideas.
This particular recipe for my take on chocolate cookies came about 12+ years ago – before I had been to culinary school or started a blog. It was a heavily adapted version I had made in college from my grandma’s church cookbook; and one that my family enjoyed many times during my days of living at home and going to school. I hadn’t written the modified version down, I just knew what needed to be done/changed when I looked at the old recipe.
I ended up making the recipe seven years ago for my coworkers at the outpatient cancer center where I worked as a dietitian. The day I brought them in happened to also be a day when one of my favorite patients was schedule to receive a 6+ hour chemo infusion in our small area for clinical trials. I always became so close to the patients on clinical trials because I would see them all throughout the day as I went to and from the clinic.
It was always my mission to find a special treat to offer them during the long and exhausting course of their day – if they felt like eating at all. My special patient friend, we’ll call him “Clarence,” was delighted to get a fresh cookie and loved it so much that he asked for the recipe so his wife could make them again. I gave him a hand-written version of the recipe I then knew by heart, and made a copy for myself, just in case I ever forgot.
I recently came across the copied version of the cookies I had shared with Clarence and made them during a week where nothing sounded better than a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie. Clarence’s cookies are special because not only do they contain chocolate chips, but also chocolate chunks! And a good dose of whole grains (whole wheat flour + oatmeal); to make them extra hearty and satisfying. I’m sharing the cookies on the blog now with the hopes that I’ll get to make them for other special people in the years to come – and that you will enjoy them too!
- 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
- 1 ½ cups old fashioned rolled oats not instant
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
- 2 sticks unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- ¾ cup dark brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 eggs
- ¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ¾ cup dark chocolate baking chunks I like Private Selection brand at Kroger/Gerbes
- Sea salt flakes
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In a medium bowl, combine the flour, oatmeal, salt, baking soda, and espresso powder. Set aside.
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In the bowl of a mixer, cream the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar on medium speed until the sugars are incorporated and the mixture is pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
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Add the vanilla and eggs to the butter mixture and blend until incorporated, about a minute.
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Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix on low speed until just incorporated and a soft dough ball is formed.
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Fold in the chocolate chips and chunks using a rubber spatula.
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Cover the dough and chill until completely firm, about 3 hours.
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
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Drop the chilled cookie dough by rounded tablespoons onto baking sheet, placing each dough ball 2’’ apart from the others.
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Bake the cookies for 10-14 minutes (depending on size of cookie) until the edges are golden brown and crisp and the centers are set.
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Remove from oven and sprinkle the tops of cookies with sea salt flakes. Let cookies cool for 2 minutes before serving warm or transferring to a wire rack to cool completely before storing.
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Baked cookies will keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Cookie dough can be refrigerated for up to 2 weeks or frozen for up to 3 months.
Did you make this recipe? If so, I’d love to hear how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below or upload a pic of your creation to Instagram or Twitter with the tag @sweetcayenne5.
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