Baking with the Cookie Dough Monster

After letting him lick the mixer attachment, Brooks turned into the quite the cookie dough monster. ;)  He was pretty devastated when I had to put the cookie dough in the fridge, and let it chill there for 36 hours.
YES, 36.

When I found this recipe last week I knew I needed to try them out myself.  So while Ava slept (in her swing, it was a miracle!), Brooks and I got to work...

And it's definitely going to be my new go-to recipe for chocolate chip cookies.  They got rave reviews after I delivered them to friends and some sweet neighbors who went above and beyond two weekends ago, and while Adam was out of town, came and mowed the lawn in our front and back yard. :)  So whether you just enjoy them at home with your family, or give as a "thank you" gesture, they're worth the time and patience to have them sit in the fridge for almost two whole days. Trust me though, it took every ounce of self-control not to take the bowl of dough out and share it with my Little B. :) 

THE ONLY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE

I WILL NEED TO KNOW HOW TO

MAKE FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE

by Kate Miss at For Me, For You

2 cups minus 2 Tbsp. (8 ½ oz.) cake flour
1 2/3 cups (8 ½ oz.) bread flour
1 ¼ tsp. baking soda
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
1 ½ tsp. coarse salt, such as kosher
2 ½ sticks (1 ¼ cups; 10 oz.) unsalted butter, softened
1 ¼ cups (10 oz.) light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. (8 oz.) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 ¼ pounds bittersweet chocolate chips or chunks, preferably about 60% cacao content, such as Ghirardelli
Sea salt or kosher salt for garnishing

Combine flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Whisk well; then set aside.

Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars until very light and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Reduce the mixer speed to low; then add dry ingredients, and mix until just combined. (Unless you have a plastic guard that sits around the rim of the bowl, this will make a big mess at first, with flour flying everywhere. I found that carefully holding a dish towel around the top of the bowl helped a lot.) Add the chocolate chips, and mix briefly to incorporate. Press plastic wrap against the dough, and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. The dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.

When you’re ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F. Remove the bowl of dough from the refrigerator, and allow it to soften slightly. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat.

Using a standard-size ice cream scoop – mine holds about 3 fluid ounces, or about 1/3 cup – scoop six mounds of dough onto the baking sheet, making sure to space them evenly. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt, and bake until golden brown but still soft, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then transfer the cookies onto the rack to cool a bit more.

** I used Guittard milk chocolate chips...my very favorite.

** I over baked the first batch...so I baked the rest of them for 13 minutes and they were perfect...less is more when it comes to the time you bake them! And I also took them off the baking sheet almost immediately to let them cool and set.

**************************************************************************

Spiritual Health:
Enjoyed some incredible profiles on mormon.org while Brooks napped, Ava slept in my moby wrap, and I folded laundry :)
Kristy Glass...a city girl from NYC who has an inspiring story of forgiveness after her heart was broken by her father at a young age.
Jeff Decker...a sculptor for Harley Davidson and I love how he said he finds refuge in the church.
Kathleen Peterson...an artist who lives in the country with her husband, and who made it a priority to travel all around the world with their children so they'd learn about and appreciate other cultures and faiths. Love that :)