I don’t have any cookies in my house at the moment. If I had them, I would eat them. I have no self-control when it comes to cookies. So I don’t make them often. When I do, they do a very quick disappearing act, because they are (if I do say so myself) spectacular.
These are one of my favorite cookies to make. My little spin on your basic chocolate chip cookie. I used to use half butter and half margarine or butter flavored crisco to make them a little fluffier. But these days, I’m using less and less “fake” food, which margarine is in my book (did you know it’s chemically very similar to plastic?) so now I use all butter. I think they taste better, but they do tend to come out a bit more flat. I don’t really have a problem with that, although they are not quite as pretty. But they still taste wonderful and I would happily sit down and eat a whole plate of them, were they here. It might be time to bake another batch.
Right now, I’m craving a cookie.
A stack of cookie love.
April’s Chocolate Chunk Cookies
2 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup butter (2 sticks, slightly softened)
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. finely grated orange rind
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
6 squares Bakers bittersweet chocolate, chopped up
1/2 – 1 cup walnuts (optional)
Preheat oven to 375˚. Combine dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt & cinnamon) in a small bowl. Set aside. In a large bowl beat or stir butter, sugar and brown sugar until creamy. Add eggs, vanilla, and orange rind. Beat until combined. Gradually beat or stir in flour mixture about 1/3 at a time. Fold in chocolate and nuts.
Chopped bittersweet or semi sweet chocolate. You could use chocolate chips if you want, but I love how you get varying sizes of chocolate bits with this method. Big chunks, tiny slivers, and a little chocolate dust to permeate the dough.
Drop by spoonfuls onto an ungreased baking sheet. If you prefer you can line your baking sheets with parchment for easier cleanup. Bake 8-10 minutes until just barely brown around the edges. Remove from oven. Using a spatula, transfer cookies to wax paper or cooling racks to cool. Try not to eat them all at once.
The perfect addition to any tray of treats.
3hungrymonkeys 