Living Large Chocolate Chunk Cookies Food

CHOCOLATE CHUNK COOKIES

Steps:

• In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and both sugars for 3 minutes, or until light, fluffy, and cafe au lait-colored (use high speed on a hand mixer and medium speed on a stand mixer). Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as necessary. Add the vanilla and eggs and beat for 2 minutes more. Scrape down the bowl. Add the salt and baking soda and beat briefly until evenly combined. Add the flour and both chocolates, and mix on low speed until the flour is completely blended and the chocolate is evenly distributed throughout the dough.
• Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or scrape the dough into an airtight container and let rest in the refrigerator until firm, a few hours. (Alternatively, if you don't want to wait, form the dough into balls on the baking sheet as instructed below and chill in the fridge until firm, about 30 minutes.)
• Preheat the oven to 350°F and set a rack in the middle position. Line a 13 x 18-inch baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Drop the dough in firmly packed 1.5-tablespoon balls onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart. (I use a #40/1.5-T cookie scoop with a wire trigger.) Bake for 11 to 13 minutes, until golden around the edges but still soft and pale in the center. Let cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining cookie dough. The cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
• Note: Some readers have had issues with the cookies being flat. This can happen as a result of using a "softer" flour. I highly recommend King Arthur All Purpose Flour for this recipe -- it's high in protein and gluten, and helps cookies hold their shape.
• Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The cookie dough can be frozen for up to 3 months. Roll the dough into balls, let set on a baking sheet in the freezer, then place in a sealable bag and press out as much air as possible. Bake as needed directly from the freezer. (Allow 1 to 2 minutes longer in the oven.) The baked cookies can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Let the cookies cool completely and store in an airtight container separating layers with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Before serving, remove the cookies from the container and let them come to room temperature.

THE BEST CHOCOLATE CHUNK COOKIES

Steps:

• Position racks in the center and top third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl. Set aside.
• In the bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar on medium speed until well blended, about 2 minutes; scrape down the bowl.
• Beat the eggs and vanilla in a small bowl. Add to the butter mixture and blend well; scrape the bowl again. On low speed, add the flour mixture and beat until just mixed; scrape down the bowl. Add the chocolate and optional nuts and mix until incorporated into the dough.
• Drop rounded tablespoons of the dough onto the prepared sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Bake, switching the position of the sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through baking, until the cookies are golden brown but the centers seem slightly underdone, about 13 minutes. Do not overbake or the cookies will be crisp throughout instead of chewy. Cool for a few minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to wire cooling racks to cool completely. The cookies will crinkle as they cool. (Store at room temperature in airtight containers for up to 1 week.)

SUPER CHUNKY COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream the shortening, butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add 1 egg at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in the remaining ingredients. , Drop by tablespoonfuls 3 in. apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350° until lightly browned, 10-12 minutes. Cool for 2-3 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely.

GIANT CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition until combined; mix in vanilla.
• With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture; mix until just incorporated. With a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir in chocolate chips.
• Drop 1/4-cup mounds of dough onto ungreased baking sheets, at least 4 inches apart and away from edges of pan. (You will fit about 4 cookies to a sheet; bake in 2 batches, using 2 baking sheets per batch.) Bake until golden, 15 to 18 minutes, rotating sheets front to back and from top to bottom of oven halfway through.
• Cool 1 to 2 minutes on baking sheets, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

LARGE BATCH CHOCOLATE CHUNK (CHOCOLATE CHIP) COOKIES (OAMC)

Steps:

• Preheat Oven to 325°F.
• In a VERY large mixing bowl or largest bowl of your Stand Mixer, add brown sugar, white sugar, and shortening. Cream together very well.
• In another large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set Aside.
• Add flour mixture and eggs alternately to the creamed mixture, mix well, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
• Dissolve baking soda in the 4 tbs of HOT water. Add baking soda mixture and vanilla to dough and mix well.
• Stir in nuts and chocolate chunks.
• Drop by heaping tablespoonful onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 325° for 15-17 minutes. I get 12 cookies to a standard sized cookie sheet.
• VARIATIONS/TIPS:.
• Nuts: Can use walnuts, pecans, macadamia nuts, etc. so long as you have a total of 2 lbs. I measure each type of nut used into it's own bowl, see reason below.
• Chocolate Chunks: I seldom use just the chocolate chunks called for in the original recipe. Instead I use a combination of 3 lbs of a variety of baking pieces, and put in separate bowls. Try chocolate chunks, semisweet chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, mini M&M's, vanilla baking chips, chocolate/caramel swirled chips, etc. so long as you have a total of about 3 lbs (about 4 - 12 ounce packages) I have already used a little less than 3 lbs when I just didn't have enough available.
• FUN TIP:.
• Before adding the nuts and chocolate to your dough, divide the dough into 2 bowls. Since you have measured out the nuts and chocolate (or variety of baking pieces)into separate bowls, you can now create a variety of cookie dough flavors. Add whatever combination you would like so long as you add approximately equal amounts to each bowl.
• FOR EXAMPLE: Divide cookie dough into 2 bowls. To first bowl add 1 pound chopped pecans, 1 pound chocolate chunks, and 1/2 pound butterscotch chips. To second bowl add 1 pound chopped walnuts, 1 pound caramel/chocolate swirled chips, and 1/2 pound vanilla baking chips. The possibilities are endless. Have fun with this!
• When I freeze the dough, I do use my food saver machine. I fill the food saver bag with desired amount of dough and flatten out slightly before vacuum sealing. This way the dough lays flat in the freezer to save space, and thaws more quickly. I take the dough out of the freezer and put in the fridge the day before I plan on baking.

CHEWY CHOCOLATE COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. In another bowl, whisk flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture. Stir in chips., Drop by teaspoonfuls onto lightly greased baking sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes (do not overbake). Cool on pans 1 minute. Remove to wire racks to cool.

JUMBO BROWNIE COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large saucepan, melt chocolate chips and butter over low heat, stirring until smooth. Remove from the heat; cool until mixture is warm., In a small bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar, vanilla and, if desired, espresso powder until blended. Whisk into chocolate mixture. In another bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt; add to chocolate mixture, mixing well. Fold in chocolate chunks; let stand until mixture thickens slightly, about 10 minutes., Drop by 1/4 cupfuls 3 in. apart onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake until set, 12-14 minutes. Cool on pans 1-2 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool.