Bad night for the Colts, but a good night for cookies…

I guess my “Go Colts” cookies were not enough to earn a win last night. The Saints played a good game, and so I wish congratulations to their team, and the fans. But, at least one great thing did come out of the evening… I found a great recipe for making BIG cookies. Remember the Hershey’s Cocoa Cookbook that I got in my Chocolate Lover’s gift basket? This is the first recipe I have tried from that book, and so far I am very pleased.

In the past, I have tried making big cookies by just using the regular chocolate chip recipe and smashing it out on a pan. Somehow they always seemed to not work out. Either the edges would be burned, or the middle would not be quite done enough. Well, let me just say these cookies turned out perfect. Seriously, they were just like the huge ones you can get at that store in the mall. I would not be surprised if this is their actual recipe (or very close anyway).

Note in the pictures how I left a little room between the dough and the edge of the pan. This was definitely needed, because they expand during baking, and leaving the extra space kept the edges more uniform, instead of puffing up like a pizza crust. The dough is very thick, and almost seemed a little too crumbly at first (I suspect this is because there is only 6 Tbsp. of butter in the whole batch). When flattening the dough into the pans, I found that using a spoon / spatula just made it worse. The dough would stick to the spatula, and then pull apart when I picked it up to change areas. I started using my bare hands, and that method worked much better. I think that also helped to give the cookies a smooth, uniform surface.

As much as anything else, the best part about these cookies is that you don’t have to spoon out each individual portion. That is always such a time consuming part of the cookie baking process, and with these, you just smooth them out in a pan, and you’re done. Plus, using the aluminum foil makes them easy to remove from the pan, and saves one extra step in cleanup.

Milk Chocolate Chip Giant Cookies

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INGREDIENTS

• 6 Tbsp. butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 2 cups (11.5 oz. pkg.) milk chocolate chips

METHOD

1. Beat the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla extract until well incorporated. Add egg and beat well.

2. Stir together the flour and baking soda, and gradually add to the butter mixture. Add the chocolate chips, and continue to stir until the chips are distributed evenly.

3. Divide the mixture in half, and put each in a foil-lined 9 inch round baking pan. Press the dough with your hands until it is about 1/2 an inch from the edges. Again, they do spread when baking, so leaving this space will keep them from bunching up against the walls of the baking pan.

4. Bake at 350° for 18-20 minutes, or until lightly browned. After the cookies have cooled completely, carefully remove them from the pan by lifting the foil, and then the foil should peel away easily from the bottom of the cookies.

Recipe from Hershey’s Cocoa: Easy Baking