m&m cookies

After a trip to the grocery store the other day, my husband came home with a package of store baked chocolate chip cookies. That should of been my first clue. Then he told me that I was craving chocolate chip cookies, and it's been so long since I've made some, that I should just whip up a batch. So before he orders me to make some, I thought I would play nice and make him some.

It's been so long, that it took me a good 15 minutes to find my go to recipe. And my recipes are on the computer and searchable by keywords. I think about 156 recipes came up when I typed chocolate chips. I had to refine the search and type bakery. Because these are just like bakery cookies, only a thousand times better. Especially since the ones my husband buys are always past their best before date because he likes to shop on the 50% off rack.

But seriously. These are so good! I haven't tried the NYT recipe, but my husband prefers these to the Alton Brown Chewy recipe that used to be my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe. I don't know why I don't make these cookies more often, they're super easy. You don't even have to wait for the butter to come to room temp!

They were supposed to be St. Patrick's Day recipe, with the only thing in common with the Irish holiday being that I made them on March 17, and the fact that they were supposed to have green M&Ms in them, instead of the chocolate chips. Now when I bought M&Ms last night, I really don't know why I thought I could get a full cup of green candies out of a regular sized bag of multicolored M&Ms. Turns out, there's like, maybe 12 green M&Ms in a regular bag. The whole bag barely yielded a cup. I considered going back to the store for more, but then I got exhausted just thinking of dressing up the girls to go out, putting them in a stroller, going to the store, trying not to lose my mind trying to keep Cha under control... So I put the whole bag of multicolored M&Ms in the batter and that was that.

I've modified the recipe slightly to suit my preference, but I think it's originally from Baking Illustrated.

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes about 30 cookies

3/4 cup unsalted butter

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Melt butter in the microwave, and let cool in the fridge while you gather the rest of the ingredients. 

Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside

Measure the sugars into the bowl of your stand mixer, or another large bowl if using a hand mixer, and add melted butter. Mix until thoroughly blended. Beat in the egg, yolk, and vanilla until combined. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed just until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Using a 2 tbsp ice cream scoop, portion out the cookies, and drop them into the bowl you used to mix the dry ingredients. Cover with plastic wrap, and chill for about an hour.

Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Get your cookie dough balls out of the fridge. Hold the dough ball with the fingertips of both hands and pull into 2 equal halves. Rotate the halves 90 degrees and, with jagged surfaces facing up, join the halves together at their base, again forming a single ball, being careful not to smooth the dough’s uneven surface. Place the formed dough balls on the prepared baking sheet, jagged surface up, spacing them 2 1/2 inches apart.

Bake until the cookies are light golden brown and the outer edges start to harden yet the centers are still soft and puffy, 15 to 18 minutes. Cool the cookies on the sheet.