Recipe : Jacked Up Chocolate Chip Cookies

"Jacked up?" you ask. Yes. Jacked up. I can't take complete credit for the term. One of my favorite recipes in the entire world comes from one of my favorite bloggers in the entire world: Jacked-Up Banana Bread a la Smitten Kitchen. It's one I whip up for every holiday, and sometimes at random be there ripe bananas at hand. But that's beside the point. I've spent so much time staring at this recipe (and Googling it), that the name has stuck. But that banana bread seriously is jacked up. And so are these cookies. Maybe they can share the trademark.

I would love to call myself a chocolate chip cookie connoisseur (wouldn't we all?), but that might be stretching it. I am pretty experienced in the field, though. My father's love (I really do mean love) of chocolate chip cookies sparked many Sunday afternoons baking them up with my oldest sister (by that I mean propped up on an out-of-place kitchen chair fetching ingredients, eating dough, and waiting for my turn to mix). A hot batch of cookies and a NY Giants win is what the happiest of Sundays looks like in my book.

My sister, being an utter perfectionist and the eldest of six kids, was a stickler for not only her adaptation of the Nestle Tollhouse recipe we'd all known and loved, but also her particular baking habits. She knows the recipe like the back of her hand and was always quick to stop me when I over mixed batter or made a lump of cookie dough too big (I mean, c'mon). Once I was old enough, she jumped at the opportunity for someone to take over her cookie duties. I use the term "old enough" loosely. I was no older than nine, and had no idea how much flour to use and less of an idea about what step came next. At the time, it felt like orders were being barked at me from the next room over. I, the nine-year-old spazz (but really) and baby of the family, slaved away in the kitchen while my five predecessors lounged on the couch cheering on the football. It was all for the best though .. My love of chocolate chip cookies has grown due to those nostalgic Sunday afternoons and because of that, I've crafted the perfect recipe. Do read on, you won't be disappointed.

Jacked Up Chocolate Chip Cookies

adapted from handletheheat.com (the most important blog post you will ever read)

- 1 cup all purpose flour

- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

- 2 pinches salt

- 1 stick butter (softened)

- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup Ghirardelli semisweet chocolate chips
- coarse ground sea salt, for taste

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a medium-sized bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder (both powder and soda is totally and completely necessary), and salt.

3. In a large bowl, combine brown sugar, granulated sugar, and butter until smooth. I prefer to use a wooden spoon in a regular mixing bowl opposed to an electric mixer. Because of this, I soften the butter (not melted and not room temperature, somewhere in between) before adding it to the sugar. Add egg and vanilla extract, mixing well.

4. Gradually add flour mixture. I tend to add one third of the flour at a time, mixing well before adding another third.

5. Mix in chocolate chips. Ghirardelli really is the way to go. It's part of what makes these cookies so jacked up. Be careful not to over mix!

6. Scoop tablespoon-sized balls of batter and place on baking sheets. The entire recipe yields about 22 cookies, so each batch should be 11 cookies. Place cookie sheet in oven.

7. After about 8 minutes, or until edges begin to look golden brown, sprinkle coarse ground sea salt onto each cookie (the other thing that makes these cookies jacked up). Place sheet back in oven, cooking for about 2-4 more minutes, or until golden brown.

8. Once baked, place cookies on a cooling tray lined with tinfoil. This is the trick to a chewy cookie! Enjoy (with some vanilla ice cream to make things exciting!).

What's your favorite recipe from growing up?
xx MGR

PS : Do blog posts ever get dedicated to people? If so, this one's dedicated to my oldest sister (clad in her freshly highlighted hair, dark wash skinny jeans, and Anthropologie apron) who's getting married this fall. With a cookie bar at her reception. What goes around comes around.