Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cake

Several times a year, I make birthday cakes for friends or family members.  Last year, when it was my friend's birthday, I asked her whether she wanted a s'mores cake or a chocolate chip cookie dough one.  She chose the s'mores.  So, this year, when her birthday rolled around again, I decided that I'd do the chocolate chip cookie dough one.

For the decoration on top, I decided to make some mini chocolate chip cookies and spiral them on top.  You can use your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe if you want.  I used the Tollhouse Cookie recipe since it's quick.  To make them mini sized, I found that I had to scoop the dough no larger than the size of marbles.  Honestly, I've never made such tiny cookies in my life.  I was worried they might be too small, but they were just right.  Baking them for 11 minutes makes them a little crisp, but after sitting on top of the frosting for a while, they will soften up.  And, baking them firmer to begin with also ensures that they won't fall apart as you lay them on top of each other. 

I also decided to use a few of the cookies to decorate the sides of the cake.  I got a little whimsical and made some of the cookies look like a bite had been taken out of them.  I promise, it only "looks" that way.  I did NOT go and take a bite out of those cookies myself and then put them onto the cake.  :)

The cake was amaaazing!  I was absolutely thrilled with the way that it came out and the way that it tasted.  My only change would have been to put even more cookie dough balls into the frosting middles.  But, even so, this cake was enjoyed by all.    

 

  

Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake  

Golden Vanilla Cake (adapted from King Arthur Flour)

2 c. sugar
3 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
3/4 c. unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 c. milk
2 tsp. vanilla
4 eggs

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in the eggs and vanilla until well combined.  Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt, and sift the mixture.  Mix in half the flour mixture, then all the milk, then the rest of the flour mixture until well combined.  Divide into two greased and floured (I also line the bottoms with parchment paper) 9-inch round pans.  Bake at 350F for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.  Let cool in pans for at least 10-15 minutes before removing from the pans.  Then let cool completely on wire racks. 

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough (slightly adapted from Recipe Girl)

4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
1/4 c. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. baking soda
3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. mini chocolate chips

Cream the butter with the sugars.  Beat in the milk and vanilla.  Add the salt, baking soda, and flour and mix well.  Stir in the mini chocolate chips.  Chill the dough in the freezer until firm, about 30 min.  Once chilled, form the dough into marble-sized balls and keep them chilled until ready to use. 

Buttercream Frosting (Sweet as Sugar Cookies)

2 1/2 c. salted butter, softened
6 1/4 c. powdered sugar
5 tsp. vanilla
1-2 Tbsp. milk (to desired consistency)

Beat the butter in a stand mixer until creamy.  Beat in the powdered sugar until light and fluffy.  Mix in the vanilla and add milk as desired until you reach your desired consistency.  

Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies (slightly adapted from Tollhouse Cookie recipe)

1/2 c. + 1 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
4 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. sugar
3 Tbsp. brown sugar
1/4 tsp. vanilla
2 Tbsp. egg
1/2 c. mini chocolate chips

Cream the butter and sugars.  Beat in the egg and vanilla.  Mix in the flour, salt, and baking soda.  Stir in the chocolate chips.  Chill for 30 minutes in the freezer until firm.  Form the dough into marble-sized balls and drop onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet.  Bake at 350F for 11 minutes until golden brown.  Let cool.

For the assembly:

Slice each cake layer, horizontally, into two layers.  Place one layer on a cake plate and spread with 1/5 of the frosting.  Stud with half of the mini balls of chilled cookie dough.  Place the second cake layer on top and spread with 1/5 of the frosting.  Place the third cake layer on top, spread with 1/5 of the frosting and stud with the rest of the mini cookie dough balls.  Place the fourth cake layer on top and cover with the rest of the frosting, saving about 1/2 cup of frosting for decoration.  Once the cake is completely frosted, use the reserved frosting to pipe a decorative border around the top and bottom of the cake.  Take the baked chocolate chip cookies and spiral them on the top of the cake.  You can also use several of the cookies and place them around the sides of the cake, if desired.   

Levain Bakery Copycat Chocolate Chip Cookies

Last month, I finally fulfilled my long-time dream of traveling to New York City.  Talk about a foodie's paradise!  I got to eat at Bar Boulud, Cafe Boulud, Eataly, and Schnipper's Deli, all of which were absolutely fantastic.  But, if you've been following my blog, you know I'm all about the sweets.  And from hearing what other people have said about NYC, that meant it was time to go hunt down those chocolate chip cookies, namely Jacques Torres, Levain Bakery, and Thomas Keller.

To my disappointment, however, I found out that Levain Bakery's famous chocolate chip cookie is made with walnuts (I'm allergic) and they don't make a nut-free version.  My mom who came with me, on the other hand, has no such problem, and she gladly devoured the cookie we bought from there and proclaimed it the best out of the three places above.  She then went back into the bakery and promptly bought five more to take home.  Ha!

Cookie from Levain Bakery

Well, this just wouldn't do.  The "best" cookie in NYC and I can't even taste it for myself?  Oh no!  So, I had no choice but to hunt down a copycat recipe and make them myself, this time with no walnuts.  I came across this recipe on the blog, Parsley Sage & Sweet.  Since a lot of other bloggers commented on how close this one was to the real thing, I figured I couldn't go wrong.

The only thing I changed was to add 1 1/2 tsp. of vanilla.  Whether that made the cookie taste less Levain-esque, I don't know, but I simply have to have vanilla in my chocolate chip cookies.  I then followed a couple of recommendations on her blog and added 1 Tbsp. cornstarch and also froze the large cookie dough balls before baking them.  The result?  I got ooey, gooey centers in my cookies surrounded by a lovely crispy shell.  Then, there was all that chocolatey goodness melting in the middle.  Oooohhh!  I can't even describe how good that was.

My sister, who sampled one of the actual Levain cookies my mom brought back, took a taste too.  Unfortunately, she couldn't for the life of her remember what the original one tasted like, so she couldn't say whether or not this one came close.  And, since I hadn't tasted it either, I guess we'll never know.  But, what I do know was that these cookies tasted awesome!  My sister also loved the thick, chewy texture of the cookies.  She then proceeded to take a lot of them home with her to eat later on.  This one is truly a keeper!

 Levain Bakery Copycat Chocolate Chip Cookies (adapted from Parsley Sage & Sweet)

1 c. 'cold and cubed' unsalted butter (I used salted)
3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla (I added this)
3 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
3/4 tsp. kosher salt (I omitted this)
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 c. semisweet chocolate chips
1 c. milk chocolate chips

Cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy.  Beat in the eggs and vanilla.  Stir in the flour, cornstarch, salt (if using), baking powder, and baking soda until combined.  Mix in the chocolate chips.

Form into large balls, about 4 oz. each.  (I did about three of my cookies like this and made the rest of them into small, regular-sized cookies).  Freeze the dough balls for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Bake the large cookie dough balls for 15-20 minutes (mine took 23 minutes).  Bake the smaller, regular-sized dough balls for 12 minutes.  

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

It was a Sunday afternoon and I was craving cookies.  I'm sure you know the feeling.  I mentioned this to one of my family members and was asked, "Then, why don't you go buy some?"  Egads!  The very thought!  No, no, a thousand times no!  When I say I'm craving cookies, I don't mean that I'm craving some mass-produced, trans-fat loaded, disc with ingredients I can't even pronounce.  I want fresh, hot-out-of-the-oven, buttery, chewy, flavor loaded mouthfuls of delight.  Now that's a cookie! 

So, now that we have that out of the way, I went looking for the perfect recipe to satisfy my desires.  I was in the mood for chocolate chip and just happened to come across a link to these Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies, created by Joy the Baker.  Once I saw them, I couldn't resist.  Must . . . make . . . now!!!  I made a few changes to the recipe, such as leaving out the molasses (I didn't have any), omitting the pecans (allergies), and using milk chocolate chips (since I didn't have semisweet).  I also ended up chilling the dough for two hours, instead of only 30 minutes, but that was only because I was too lazy to bake them at the 30-minute mark.   

 

These cookies were fantastic!  I loved that they held their shape in my oven and didn't flatten out.  The result was crispy on the outside, chewiness in the middle, and that lovely caramelly flavor from the browned butter.  Although they still don't top my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe HERE, I have to admit that they are delicious indeed.  Craving satisfied! 

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies (slightly adapted from Joy the Baker)

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt (I decreased this to 3/4 tsp.)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon molasses (I omitted this)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate chips)

Brown 1/2 cup of the butter and then let cool for 20 minutes.  Cream the brown sugar with the remaining 1/2 cup of butter until light and fluffy.  Add the vanilla and mix well.  Beat in the browned butter (brown bits and all) and granulated sugar.  Beat in the egg and egg yolk.  Mix in the flour, baking soda, and salt, until well incorporated, then mix in the chocolate chips.  Wrap the dough in waxed paper and chill for at least 30 minutes. 

Form the dough into small balls and bake at 350F for 12-14 minutes (I baked them for 13 minutes, then left them in the turned-off oven for 1 minute more).  Let cool on baking sheet for a few minutes before cooling completely or eating.   

Nielsen Massey Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

HAPPY NATIONAL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE DAY!

And, what better way to celebrate than with . . . chocolate chip cookies.  But, these aren't just any chocolate chip cookies, oh no, these are special.  Wanna know why?  Well, about a month ago, Nielsen Massey contacted me to ask if I would like a sample bottle of their pure vanilla extract.  Considering that I've only ever bought cheap generic imitation vanilla, I was thrilled.  In exchange, all they asked was that I use the vanilla to make some of their awesome chocolate chip cookies and post about it today.  Seriously, quality vanilla and a batch of chocolate chip cookies to boot?  How could I say no?

The only changes I made was to use mini chocolate chips (since I didn't have any regular ones), added some grated milk chocolate, and chilled the dough.  Let me tell you, these chocolate chip cookies impressed me from the moment I saw them baking in my oven.  Unlike a lot of other recipes I've tried, these stayed thick and puffy till the very end.  Then, once I took them out, they turned into these crispy shelled, soft gooey middle-y, crinkled topped circles of buttery, vanilla-y perfection.

I took a bite and I was impressed.  What a cookie!  They had the ideal texture and were so full of flavor that I can only attribute to having used real vanilla to make them.  Thank goodness the recipe made three dozen cookies because one will not be enough for me.  Thank you Nielsen Massey for the opportunity to try your vanilla and your yummy cookie recipe!

Nielsen Massey Chocolate Chip Cookies

3/4 c. butter (I used salted butter)
1/2 c. + 2 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 c. + 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract
1 egg
2 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
pinch salt  
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 c. mini semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 c. grated milk chocolate 

Cream the butter with the sugars.  Beat in the vanilla and eggs.  Mix in the flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, and cream of tartar.  Stir in the chocolate chips and grated milk chocolate.  Chill the dough for 1 hour in the fridge or 30 minutes in the freezer.  Roll into small walnut-sized balls and place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.  Bake 14 minutes.  Let sit a few minutes on baking sheet before removing to cool completely on a wire rack. 

Brown Butter Ginger Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

Even though I've found the BEST chocolate chip cookie HERE, I still can't resist trying yet another recipe.  Besides, this recipe was kinda different from all the others since it called for the addition of ginger.  It sounded like a delicious twist to your everyday cookie.

What I really liked about these cookies was their texture.  They stayed thick, even after baking, and had this amazing crisp exterior that gave way to an absolutely perfect chewiness within.  It was the kind of cookie that you'd get from a bakery.  And, even though I couldn't taste the ginger, they still tasted fantastic.  I gave these to someone for their birthday and was told that they couldn't get enough of them and that they were gone in no time.  Which means that these cookies are definitely worth making (and giving if you can bear to part with a few of them).

Brown Butter Ginger Chocolate Chip Cookies
(adapted from Une Gamine dans la Cuisine)

11 Tbsp. butter, softened
1 Tbsp. vanilla
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. + 3 Tbsp. light brown sugar
1 tsp. ginger powder
1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 c. semisweet chocolate chips

Melt 10 Tablespoons of butter in a medium saucepan (set the remaining 1 Tablespoon aside). Cook over medium heat, swirling occasionally, until the butter turns brown and develops a rich nutty aroma- about 5-8 minutes, depending on the heat. {Note: The butter will go through a "foamy" stage, once it settles down, keep a close watch on the colour.} Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Set aside to cool to room temperature. 

Combine the cooled brown butter with the remaining 1 Tbsp. butter.  Beat with the sugars.  Add the egg and beat to combine.  Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and ginger powder.  Add to the butter-sugar-egg mixture and mix well.  Fold in the chocolate chips.  

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. For each cookie, measure out about a 1/3 cup of dough (I made my cookies smaller - about 2 Tbsp. each). Form each into a ball, place on the cookie sheet, and flatten slightly (to a little less than 1/2-inch thickness). Once all the dough has been measured out, cover the sheet with plastic wrap and chill for about 12 hours. {Note: The longer you chill the dough, the better the flavour!}

When you're ready to bake: Preheat the oven to 400 F. Line another cookie sheet with parchment paper. Place about 4 cookies on the sheet--leave about 1-inch of space between each cookie. Bake for 8-11 minutes, or until the cookies are light golden in colour.

Note:  I forgot to let them chill for the 12 hours, but will definitely do it next time.  Either way, the cookies still tasted great.   

Oatmeal Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies and My 2nd Blogiversary

As I mentioned earlier this week, I just couldn't decide on only one recipe from Fake Ginger's blog. So, I made not one, but two recipes from it. The first was these Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies. The second was these Oatmeal Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies. The title alone is a mouthful, but then again, these cookies are chock full of all sorts of goodness. You have lots of fiber from the oats, anti-oxidants from the cranberries, and white chocolate chips (cause you always need something sweet).


These cookies were absolutely delicious. It was a fantastic oatmeal cookie base, thick and chewy. I just know it would work well with spices added in or other fruits or nuts. As far as oatmeal cookie recipes go, this one's a keeper!

And, wouldn't you know, today is my 2nd blogiversary! It's been one amazing year with even more recipes, more blogger friendships, and tons of sweets that you've shared on Sweets for a Saturday. I've loved every day of it. Here's to another sweet year!


Oatmeal Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies (Fake Ginger)

2/3 c. butter, softened
2/3 c. brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 c. rolled oats
1 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
6 oz. dried cranberries
2/3 c. white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375.

Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar together in a medium mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs, mixing well.

Combine oats, flour, baking soda and salt in a separate mixing bowl. Add to butter mixture in several additions, mixing well after each addition. Stir in dried cranberries and white chocolate.

Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack.

Makes about 30 cookies

Red Velvet Chip Cookies

Well, after two months, the Secret Recipe Club is finally back!!! I couldn't be more excited. For this month, I was assigned to Amanda's blog, Fake Ginger. I've actually been following her beautiful and tasty blog for some time now, ever since we both participated in the 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies two years ago. She has a ton of delicious looking sweets on her blog, and you know how I love sweets! The only difficult part was choosing which sweet treat I wanted to make. The answer is that I wasn't able to narrow it down to just one, so I'll be posting about one today and the other one later this week.

Seeing as how it's getting close to Valentine's Day, and also how much my family loves red velvet cake, I decided to make her Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies. The red food coloring gives these cookies a total wow factor. The only change I made was to use a little milk mixed with vinegar instead of plain milk or cream. I figured it would give these cookies that twang that red velvet cake is known for.

So, I'm sure you're all wondering, did the cookies actually taste like red velvet cake? Not really. But, the thing is, when I took a bite of these cookies, with all that gooey, melty chocolate bursting out of every bite, my immediate reaction was, "I don't care what these cookies are supposed to taste like, because I LIKE how they taste!!!" I have no doubt that you're going to feel the exact same way if you try them.


There's only one thing I'd do differently the next time I make these and that is that I'd make MORE of them instead of just one batch. This time around, I was making them to give to someone else and, after setting aside that person's cookies, I only had three left to savor for myself. Yeah, with cookies as good as these, I think I need at least a dozen of my own to be fully happy.

Thank you Amanda for one awesome keeper of a recipe!

Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies (Fake Ginger)

1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 c. milk (I used 1 tsp. vinegar + skim milk to make 1/4 cup)
1 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/3 c. cocoa powder
1 tsp. red food coloring
1/2 c. chocolate chips (I used about 3/4 cup)

Preheat oven to 375.

Cream butter and sugars together until fluffy. Add egg, vanilla, and heavy cream and combine until smooth. Beat in red food coloring. Stir in cocoa, flour, baking soda and salt until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips.

Using an ice cream scoop, scoop out 1 tablespoon of dough and set on baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

*If you are using liquid food dye, you will need less milk. I suggest leaving the milk as the last step (before chocolate chips) and adding as needed.

Double Chocolate Mint Chip Cookies

Like I mentioned the other day, my sister requested that I send her lots of cookies for her birthday. Well, next to cookies, she is crazy about chocolate. So, I made sure to include a chocolate cookie in the package as well.

The recipe I chose was the Double Chocolate Cookies from Annie's Eats. I saw them on Pinterest and totally had to repin it. Then came along this perfect opportunity to go ahead and make them. The only change I made was to use a mix of chocolate and mint chips in place of the chocolate chips. Not that there's anything wrong with regular chocolate chips, but when that package of mint chips is on sale, well, what're you gonna do?

The cookies came out perfectly. Each one was nice and chocolatey with that cool breath of mint contrasting beautifully with it. I only wish that I had used dark cocoa powder so that I could get an even more intense flavor, though they were still totally good regardless. I just love it when I try a new recipe and it's a success!

Double Chocolate Mint Chip Cookies (slightly adapted from Annie's Eats)

1 c. cold, unsalted butter, cubed
1 1/4 c. sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 c. dark cocoa powder
2 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. coarse salt
1 tsp. baking powder
2 1/2 c. chocolate chips and mint chips

Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar. Beat together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Blend in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl as needed. Mix in the cocoa powder until well blended. Add the flour, salt and baking powder to the bowl and mix on low speed just until incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips with a spatula.

Place scoops of dough onto a prepared cookie sheet and bake for 12-15 min. Let cool on the baking sheets for 5-10 min., then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Butterfinger Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

"Nobody better lay a finger on my Butterfinger cookies!" At least that's what Bart Simpson would have said if he had a batch of these.

One of my favorite candy bars when I was a kid was Butterfingers. Not only because it's peanut butter and chocolate (which is like the greatest combo on earth), but you just can't beat that "crispety crunchy" texture. So, when I saw this recipe for Butterfinger Peanut Butter Cookies on Merlot's blog, Goddess of Baking, I just knew I had to make them.


I even had an excuse for baking (not that I need one of course) since my sister's birthday was coming up and all she requested was that I send her homemade cookies, lots and lots of cookies. Done!!! I ended up sending her a whole assortment and included at least a dozen of these in the package.

I'm telling you, you will love these cookies. They are wonderfully thick and chewy and full of yummy peanut buttery chocolatey flavor in every bite. Thank goodness I could send them off. Otherwise, I think I'd be tempted to eat them all myself. Yup, my sister's gonna devour these for sure.

Butterfinger Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies (from Goddess of Baking)

1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2/3 c. peanut butter (I used crunchy)
1/2 c. unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. chocolate chips
1 Butterfinger bar (2.1 oz.), chopped

Preheat oven to 350F. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

Beat peanut butter, butter, sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Reduce speed to low and add egg and vanilla. Mix until combined.

Add flour mixture and mix until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips and chopped Butterfinger candy.

Scoop dough onto a prepared cookie sheet. Bake cookies until edges are golden brown, 12-15 min., reversing sheets halfway through. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets about 3 min., then transfer to a wire rack and cool.

Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies

I was kind of bummed when I found out that we wouldn't be having a reveal day for the Secret Recipe Club this month. I had been assigned to the Beantown Baker and was totally excited since I've been a longtime follower of her blog. She has so many amazing recipes and I couldn't wait to make one of them and post about it. But, hey who says there needs to be an official reveal day? I decided to go ahead and do the assignment anyway.


I chose her Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies since I had some candy canes lying around the house. As I made them, I was kind of worried that the peppermint flavor would be a little overwhelming. But, to my surprise, I tasted one after they were baked and the flavor of the peppermint and chocolate chips actually blended together perfectly. The cookies were also delightfully chewy. My family enjoyed these every bit as much as I did.


Thanks Beantown Baker for opening my eyes to a new cookie recipe.

Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies (from Beantown Baker)

1 c. butter, at room temperature
1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
3 c. + 2 Tbsp. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt (omit if using salted butter)
1 c. crushed candy canes
1 2/3 c. semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, or lightly butter them, and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, or stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, or a large bowl if mixing by hand, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.

Sift the flour, baking soda and salt together in a small bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the butter-sugar mixture, and mix until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips and crushed candy canes.

Using a cookie scoop or two spoons, scoop cookie dough onto prepared pans. Bake 12-15 for smaller cookies, 14-17 for larger ones or until the tops are a light golden brown.

Cool the cookies on the sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

This recipe is linked to:
These Chicks Cooked
Bake with Bizzy
Crazy Sweet Tuesday
Mrs. Fox's Sweet Party

Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars - SRC

This has gotta be one of the best days of the month because it's REVEAL day for the Secret Recipe Club!!! What's the Secret Recipe Club, you ask? It's this really cool group that was started by Amanda of Amanda's Cookin'. Each month, all the participants get assigned to someone else's blog from which they pick a recipe to make and post, but it's all a secret until the big day. Anyone can join, just click HERE to sign up.

This month, I was assigned to Barb's blog, "Mom's Fridge" and the recipe I picked was one that she had linked up to my Sweets for a Saturday linky party - Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies. The one twist to this recipe is that it has cinnamon in it. Well, you know I can't resist trying another chocolate chip cookie recipe, especially one that's spiced up.


I did make a few changes to the recipe, however. I used dark brown sugar instead of light brown sugar and I accidentally put in baking powder instead of baking soda. Then, because the dough is very soft, I chilled it overnight in the fridge. Also, my oven tends to make cookies spread like crazy and I definitely didn't want that to happen. So, I put the dough into a pan and baked up some cinnamon chocolate chip cookie bars instead.


Oh man. Making these into bars was the best call ever! They were totally chewy and gooey on the inside and full of warm, melty chocolate running through every bite. I tell you, I was in heaven eating these bars. It took every bit of my self control to keep from eating half the batch. Thanks so much Barb for one yummilicious recipe!

Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars (Mom's Fridge)

3/4 cup butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar (I used dark brown sugar)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg, beaten

1 1/2 cups flour

2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda (I accidentally used baking powder)

1 package chocolate chips

Cream butter, sugars, vanilla and egg with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add dry ingredients, excluding chips. Stir in chips by hand or use the mixer on very low speed. Chill the dough overnight in the fridge in a covered container.

Put the dough into an 8x8 greased pan and bake at 375F for 40-50 min. until a toothpick comes out clean (mine took 50 min.).

The Chocolate Chip Cookie Winner

Whew! This Chocolate Chip Cookie Quest has definitely been a journey. I was basically baking two different recipes a day for an entire week. Needless to say, I am CCC'ed out (well, almost). Still, it was an eye opening experience and I've learned a lot about what makes a good chocolate chip cookie.

I've even made a table so you can see how each recipe compared to the others in terms of ingredients and the amounts used. It's included at the bottom of this post.

Okay, so this is what I learned. First of all, it's not necessary to go out and buy a high quality chocolate bar. I've made nearly all of these with my regular store-brand semisweet chocolate chips and I can tell you right now that the cookies tasted perfectly fine with them. Secondly, chilling the cookie dough is probably the very best thing you can do. It gives the brown sugar a chance to really meld with the dough and the flavors will deepen exponentially. Third, become friends with browned butter because it is awesome!

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for (drumroll please . . . ). The winner of the Great Chocolate Chip Cookie Quest of 2011 is . . .

1. Joanne Chang's Chocolate Chip Cookies

AND

King Arthur Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies

What can I say? I just couldn't decide between the two and neither could my family. Both of them were thick and chewy with crispy edges and chock full of rich butterscotchy flavor. Just one bite and you're in absolute chocolate chip cookie bliss.

2. America's Test Kitchen Chocolate Chip Cookies



With the depth from the browned butter, these cookies were a close second. Plus, they didn't require any chilling time, which means instant eating gratification.

3. Ultimate Stand Mixer Chocolate Chip Cookies


While these cookies didn't have the powerful caramel punch of the winners, they were still everything that a chocolate chip cookie should be in my book. They were thick, chewy, and tasted as though they came from a bakery. Just one isn't enough. Trust me, you'll be reaching for another, or a third.

I can't believe it. I started a quest to find ONE best chocolate chip cookie recipe and I ended up with FOUR excellent keepers. They are all winners in my book. Basically, it all comes down to one thing - how long are you willing to wait for your cookies?

If you can wait 48 hours, then by all means go for the King Arthur Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies.

If two days sounds like too long, then hopefully you can hold out for one day and make Joanne Chang's Chocolate Chip Cookies.

If you're the type that will literally have cookies on your mind until you eat them, then try the Ultimate Stand Mixer Chocolate Chip Cookies. They'll work their magic while you sleep.

Finally, if you're the type that finds it hard to even resist the cookie dough while it's still in the bowl, then America's Test Kitchen Chocolate Chip Cookies are for you. Just mix 'em up and bake 'em up and you'll have a delicious cookie in your mouth before you know it.

I just want to say a BIG thank you to all of you for following me on my CCC journey. I've enjoyed reading all of your comments and hearing your recommendations for other CCC recipes. You're all just the sweetest.

I'm definitely considering doing another quest in the future. I've thought about going for the best brownie but I'm open to other ideas.

So, what type of quest would YOU be interested in?

Baked CCCs	Ultimate Chewy	Auntie Pearl’s	“Best” CCC	Thick Chewy CCC	King Arthur Flour
2 ¼ c. flour	3 c. + 2 Tbsp. flour	2 c. flour	3 c. flour	2 ½ c. flour	2 c. flour
1 tsp. salt	½ tsp. salt	½ tsp. salt	½ tsp. salt	1 tsp. salt	½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda	1 tsp. baking soda	½ tsp. baking soda	1 tsp. baking soda	1 tsp. baking soda	1 tsp. baking soda
1 c. unsalted butter	1 c. unsalted butter	10 ½ Tbsp. butter	1 c. unsalted butter	1 c. unsalted butter	1 c. unsalted butter
1 c. brown sugar	1 c. brown sugar	2/3 c. brown sugar	1 c. brown sugar	1 ½ c. brown sugar	2/3 c. brown sugar
½ c. white sugar	½ c. white sugar	½ c. white sugar	1 c. white sugar	NO white sugar	2/3 c. white sugar
2 tsp. vanilla	1 ½ tsp. vanilla	2 tsp. vanilla	2 tsp. vanilla	1 tsp. vanilla	2 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs	2 eggs	1 egg	2 eggs	2 eggs	1 egg
2 c. choc. chips	2 c. choc. chips	1 ½ c. choc. chips	2 c. choc. chips	2 c. chocolate chips	2 c. choc. chips
			2 tsp. hot water		1 tsp. vinegar
					48 hour chill time

David Lebovitz	Olive Oil CCCs	ATK CCCs	Sugar Plum	Joanne Chang	New York Times
2 2/3 c. flour	2 ¼ c. flour	1 ¾ c. flour	2 ¼ c. flour	1 ¼ c. flour + 1 c. bread flour	1 ¾ c. + 2 Tbsp. cake flour + 1 2/3 c. bread flour
1 tsp. flaky sea salt	1 ½ tsp. salt	1 tsp. salt	¾ tsp. flaky sea salt	½ tsp. salt	1 ½ tsp. coarse salt
1 tsp. baking soda	1 tsp. baking soda	½ tsp. baking soda	¾ tsp. baking soda	1 tsp. baking soda	1 ¼ tsp. baking soda
1 c. salted butter	¼ c. EVOO*	4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted + 10 Tbsp. browned butter	4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, chilled + 8 Tbsp. browned butter	1 c. unsalted butter	1 ¼ c. unsalted butter
1 1/3 c. brown sugar	¾ c. brown sugar	¾ c. brown sugar	1 c. brown sugar	¾ c. brown sugar	1 ¼ c. brown sugar
1 c. sugar	¾ c. sugar	½ c. sugar	½ c. sugar	¾ c. sugar	1 c. + 2 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla	1 tsp. vanilla	2 tsp. vanilla	2 tsp. vanilla	1 ½ tsp. vanilla	2 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs	2 eggs	1 egg + 1 egg yolk	1 egg	2 eggs	2 eggs
2 2/3 c. choc. chips	1 c. choc. chips	1 ¼ c. choc. chips	1 ½ c. choc. chips	1 ½ c. semisweet choc.	1 ¼ lb. chocolate discs
	1-2 Tbsp. milk		1 tsp. active dry yeast	½ c. milk chocolate, finely chopped	1 ½ tsp. baking powder
				24 hour chill time	24-48 hour chill

Ultimate Stand Mixer CCC
2 ½ c. flour
½ tsp. salt
1 ¼ tsp. baking soda
1 c. unsalted butter, cold
1 c. brown sugar
¾ c. white sugar
1 ½ tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
3 c. chocolate chips
6 hour chill time

NOTES:

1) The first table contains variations of the basic chocolate chip cookie recipe. The second table contains recipes that use a lot of ingredients and methods that you don’t normally see every day.

2) EVOO = extra virgin olive oil

3) “Flour” always means all-purpose flour unless otherwise specified. “Butter” is always room-temperature/softened butter unless otherwise specified.

4) Any ingredients that would be considered “out of the ordinary,” or vastly different from those used in other recipes, are written in RED.

5) These charts are purely for comparison purposes so you can see how each recipe differed from the other. The complete recipes can be found in my blog posts for each one.

This is linked to:
A Little Birdie Told Me
These Chicks Cooked
Made it on Monday
Sweet Tooth Friday