My Current Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe | Sunday Baking

 Hi lovely reader! Happy Fall! It's kind of hard to believe that October is here but I'm ready to embrace it. The mornings and evening have started to get cooler where I am, pumpkins are popping up in front of the stores, my Instagram feed is filling up with cosy recipes, and it's great! 

    Today I wanted to share what I can confidently say is the best chocolate chip cookie recipe I have ever made. My mom who is quite the cookie critic is also in agreement so you know it's good! I found this recipe on @smallkitchensweets Instagram and had to give it a try. His page is full of beautiful photos of delicious sweets and teasers of recipes to come on his website. (Spencer, if you ever read this, we want more!) He posted a week ago that he is working on a pumpkin chocolate chip cookie recipe and I am praying that we get to see it because if it's anything like these chocolate chip cookies it will be AMAZING! 

As he notes on his blog, his NY Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe is inspired by the famous Levain Cookie. The one thing I did differently was that instead of making eight giant cookies, I kept mine on the smaller side while still following all of the steps and they turned out great! I will post the basics of the recipe below but I highly encourage you to check out his post on these cookies because it is full of great tips and tricks to get them to turn out perfectly.

INGREDIENTS:

• 226 grams / 2 sticks unsalted butter
• 150 grams / 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 100 grams / 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt + flaky salt for the top 
• 420 - 480 grams / 3 - 3 1/3 cup All Purpose flour *see tips in post
• 360 grams / 2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
• 180 grams / 1 (ish) cup walnut halves *optional

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400 F / 200 C and place a rack in the middle of the oven. Remove butter from fridge. Allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, add slightly softened butter and sugars together. Cream ingredients for 1 minute on high speed. Scrape down the sides of your mixer.
3. With mixer on low speed, add eggs one at a time and mix until combined.
4. Turn the mixer off and add the 420 g of the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Pulse the mixer until just mixed.
5. Add chocolate chips and walnut halves if you are using them. If you decide not to add the walnuts, add more chocolate chips or add 40 grams of extra flour. If the chocolate chips don’t combine completely, knead the dough a slightly to incorporate.
6. Divide dough into 8 pieces, about 6 oz. each. If making smaller, adjust baking time accordingly. 
7. Roughly shape each piece of dough into a ball. They should be rustic looking, do not flatten! Place each ball of dough onto a sheet tray and transfer to the freezer. Freeze for about 30-45 minutes. They should be quite firm. You will bake the cookies from frozen!
8. Bake 6 cookies at a time for 13-15  minutes. Rotate the tray halfway through the bake . The cookies will be *quite* golden on the top and bottom but gooey on the inside. Don’t overbake, they will continue to cook on the tray.
9. If you want to add flaky salt to the top, now is the time! Sprinkle over the top right when they come out of the oven!
10. Let the cookies cool for 15 minutes before serving.

The actual best! Sharing is caring and I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did! Xx

Some More S'mores Please | S'mores Cupcake Recipe

Hi lovely reader! I hope you are having a great Labor Day weekend! In honor of celebrating summer, even if it's been one of the least "summery" summers of all time, I wanted to share this easy and fun s'mores cupcake recipe that I found on Food Network's The Kitchen App (this is not a sponsored post). The cupcakes are perfect for a treat yourself kind of night or to share with family or friends.

Cupcake Ingredients:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup finely ground graham crackers

1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon fine salt

1 1/2 stick (6 oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2/3 cup milk

Chocolate Filling:

8 oz chopped bittersweet chocolate

1/3 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon light corn syrup

Meringue Frosting:

4 egg whites, at room temperature

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

Chocolate squares, for garnish

Graham cracker shards for garnish

This recipe does include a ingredients for the actual cupcake mix but if you want to simplify even more you could buy a boxed cake mix and then just whip up the filling and frosting! 

For the Cupcakes,

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line one 12-cup standard muffin tin with paper cupcake liners.

Step 2: In a small bowl, whisk the flour, ground graham crackers, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Step 3: In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and brown sugar on medium speed until combined. Increase the speed to medium-high and continue to beat, stopping once or twice to scrape down the sides of the bowl, until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until combined. Add the flour mixture and milk, alternating, starting and ending with the flour mixture, until just combined.

Step 4: Divide the batter between the muffin cups, filling each about two-thirds full. Bake until golden brown, or a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the top springs back to the touch, about 25 minutes. Cool in the tin 5 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the Chocolate Filling,

Step 5: While the cupcakes cool, prepare the filling: Combine the chocolate, cream and corn syrup in a medium bowl and microwave in 30-second intervals on high, stirring, until smooth. Set aside until cooled and thickened slightly, about 30 minutes.

For the Meringue Frosting,

Step 6: Bring 1 inch of water to a simmer in a saucepan that can hold a heatproof stand mixer's bowl above the water. Combine the egg whites, granulated sugar and cream of tartar in the stand mixer bowl. Set the bowl above the simmering water and whisk until the sugar is dissolved and the egg whites are warm to the touch, turn white and are beginning to get fluffy. Transfer the bowl to the stand mixer, fitted with a whisk attachment, and whip on high speed until the meringue is cooled, fluffy and very thick. Beat in the vanilla.

To Assemble,

Step 7: Place the chocolate filling in a pastry bag or re-sealable plastic bag fitted with a small round tip (about 1/8-inch diameter) and snip the end. Pierce the center of each cupcake with the pastry tip and gently squeeze in the chocolate filling until it begins to come out of the top of the cupcake. Repeat with the remaining cupcakes.

Step 8: Pipe or swirl the meringue frosting onto each cupcake. If desired, brown the meringue with a kitchen torch or place briefly under the broiler. Garnish with a chocolate square.

Enjoy! Xx

Classic Comfort Baking | DoubleTree Chocolate Chip Cookies

Hello lovely reader! I hope you are staying safe and healthy in these beyond crazy times. This pandemic is truly an unimaginable situation and I hope everyone is coping the best they can and that you are being kind to others and especially to yourself.

One thing that I have always found relaxing and therapeutic is baking and this time at home has allowed me to try new recipes and zone out for an hour or two. At the beginning of April, Hilton released their world famous DoubleTree Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe as a way for people to bring this iconic, warm, and comforting treat into their own home. I don't tend to stray much when it comes to chocolate chip cookies with my go to being our family recipe so I'm always a bit hesitant to give something else a chance...however, when in quarantine might as well! I decided to give it a go and I am glad that I did! The cookies are delicious, crisp on the outside, chewy on the inside and the walnuts add a great additional texture! 10/10 would recommend.

DoubleTree Signature Cookie Recipe (Makes 26 cookies)

Ingredients

½ pound butter, softened (2 sticks)

¾ cup + 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

¾ cup packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 ¼ teaspoons vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 ¼ cups flour

1/2 cup rolled oats

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

Pinch of cinnamon

2 2/3 cups Nestle Tollhouse semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 3/4 cups chopped walnuts

*Click here for recipe in metric units*

Cream butter, sugar and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer on medium speed for about 2 minutes. 

Add eggs, vanilla and lemon juice, blending with mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, then medium speed for about 2 minutes, or until light and fluffy, scraping down bowl. 

With mixer on low speed, add flour, oats, baking soda, salt and cinnamon, blending for about 45 seconds. Don’t overmix. 

Remove bowl from mixer and stir in chocolate chips and walnuts.

Portion dough with a scoop (about 3 tablespoons) onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper about 2 inches apart. 

Preheat oven to 300°F. Bake for 20 to 23 minutes, or until edges are golden brown and center is still soft. 

Remove from oven and cool on baking sheet for about 1 hour.

Cook’s note: You can freeze the unbaked cookies, and there’s no need to thaw. Preheat oven to 300°F and place frozen cookies on parchment paper-lined baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake until edges are golden brown and center is still soft.

Simple to make and really delicious!

What have you been baking during quarantine? Tried any new recipes? Xx

*This post is not an ad or in affiliation with Hilton or the DoubleTree*