Marry Me Chocolate Chip Cookies

We are an ingredient household. I am a firm believer in the “we have it at home” saying. At least most of the time, and when it comes to cookies, we have the simplest and most delicious ingredients on hand that I feel most people have as staple items in their pantries. Even the secret ingredient in these babies I feel most people have on hand, ESPECIALLY if they have kids around.

There are a few types of natural sweeteners and flavor enhancers I enjoy using that don’t pack the same unwanted side effects of your processed store bought cookies. Sweeteners such as cane sugar, brown sugar ( which you can also make yourself we’ll save that for another day), maple syrup, agave nectar, honey, etc. Even the cookies you purchase from the bakery can contain high amounts of highly processed, bleached sugar, high fructose corn syrup, dyes and other ingredients we are quickly learning are not only terrible for our health long term, but have some pretty terrible effects on our MENTAL health as well. Do NOT get me started on red dye and potassium bromate (which is in most of our bread and is BANNED in other countries, okaaay?) Another ingredient you should be looking for when purchasing flour for bread making and really any baking purposes, really.

I actually discovered these cookies while scouring the internet for something a little different as I am on a mission to become the baker of my family. My mom is an amateur chef, I take mostly after her and make many of my meals by taste almost always failing to write down the ingredients and their specific amounts. So nothing comes out the same twice, keeps everyone on their toes. But one thing I have always wanted to master is the art of baking. I HATE BAKING.

Everything has to be so precise and if you are even slightly off, it can ruin the entire recipe. Scales, scrapers, dough cutters, sifters, BAKING DISHES! It’s an expensive hobby in itself, and yet one we literally can’t live without. As this economy gets harder and harder to navigate, more and more of us millennials are taking it back to our roots and trying like the dickens to learn everything our school system and overworked parents failed to teach us as quickly as possible. Why? Because, much like our great grandmothers, the threat of impending doom is lurking around every corner, the cost of living is forcing more of us to stay at home to raise our children rather than sending them off to some expensive day care that will MORE than likely mess them up more than us not having a village EVER will, and they’re poisoning all of our food so we are all trying our best to minimize the amount of TOXICITY we’re exposed to….. BACK TO THE COOKIES!

I am so serioud when I say I DESPISE BAKING.

My entire family has tried these cookies in many different forms with MANY different add ins, yes even my in-laws, and they are a serious hit. They won’t last long enough for you to have to worry about storing them, and no one will dare question your authoriteh after they taste these devilish treats. find the origional recipe here, honestly her blog is an incredibly entertaining read and I LOVE HER COOKIES!

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter melted and then cooled (until no longer warm to the touch)

1 ½ cups light brown sugar firmly packed

½ cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs (room temperature)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ cup maple syrup²

3 ¼ cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup chopped dark chocolate

1 cup chopped milk chocolate (or 2 cups of whatever mixins you want honestly)

Instructions:

1. In a medium size bowl sift together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt then set aside.

2. In a separate large bowl, mix together sugars and butter. Mix until thoroughly combined.

3. Then add eggs, one at a time and mix thoroughly.

4. Stir in vanilla and maple syrup.

5. Slowly add flour mixture to the wet ingredients until completely combined, then add chocolate chunks. Then allow to chill for one hour or overnight.

6. While chilling, preheat oven to 350 degrees and prep your cookie sheets.

7. either cut your dough into one 1 1/2 inch squares (or scoop 2 tbsp) and roll into a ball. Place at least 2 inches apart to allow spreading

8. Bake for about 13 minutes (it may appear underdone in the center but should be golden brown on the edges)

9. Allow to cool completely and serve. Keep unbaked cookie dough in the fridge while waiting to put the next batch in the oven.