Giant Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

What makes an ordinary chocolate chip cookie extra special?

I think it's the size.

Chocolate chip cookies are a classic favorite for all those cookie-lovers, but you have to admit: they can get a little boring sometimes. 

NOT that I would ever say no to anyone who offers me one. :)

But a little twist and a little surprise are always fun to find in those little babies.

Or in this case, HUGE babies!

These are actually white chocolate macadamia cookies, but you can omit the nuts and just use semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips if you'd like. It's pretty easy to adjust to your taste.

The one thing you MUST follow, of course, is the extra special size! 

(They are about 5" in diameter)

The edges are perfectly crisp, the center is soft, moist, and chewy, and every bite has a satisfying crunch from the nuts, and an irresistible, smooth, meltiness from the chocolate chips.

I guarantee that this perfectly sweet treats will be a "big" hit among the kids!

 

Giant Chocolate Chip Cookies
makes 8 (5-inch) cookies
Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart
Ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour, spooned and leveled
3/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
6 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup chopped macadamia nuts

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, with an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add egg and beat well. Mix in vanilla.
Reduce speed to low and add in flour mixture; mix until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips and nuts.
Drop by 1/4 cupfuls onto the cookie sheet, at least 4-inches apart from eachother. Bake until golden, 15 to 18 minutes. Cool 1 or 2 minutes on cookie sheets before transferring the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

 

See how wonderfully huge that is?

 

I made half the recipe and got four cookies - perfect for my family!

And yes, I used half an egg.

 

What's your way of making cookies special?

Betty Crocker's Jumbo Chocolate Chip Cookies

I'm trying to get the perfect chocolate chip cookie these days, so I've already tried about four different recipes just last week. 

One of them was the turtle cookies I posted a few hours ago, which was awesome, but that technically wasn't a chocolate chip cookie, and they had nuts in them.

This one's more of a pure, classic version:)

Of course, they're huge, soft, thick, moist, and chewy - just how I like'em!

I usually try to underbake my cookies so that there's a little cookie doughy bit inside:)))

And these cookies certainly gave me that!

Jumbo Chocolate Chip Cookies
makes 1 1/2 dozen 5-inch cookies
Recipe from Betty Crocker's New Cookbook
Ingredients:
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar*
1 cup butter, softened
1 egg
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour**
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F.
Mix sugars, butter, and egg in a large bowl. Stir in the flour, baking soda and salt.
Stir in the chocolate chips. Drop dough by 1/4 cupfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet, leaving 3 inches between cookies.
Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until edges are set but the center is still soft. Let the cookies cool for about 2 minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer to wire racks and cool completely.

Notes:
*I used splenda brown sugar blend, just to make it a little healthier:)
**I used 2 1/4 cups of self rising flour and omitted the baking soda and salt.
For regular sized cookies, drop by heaping tablespoons about 2 inches apart and bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Makes about 4 dozen.

Golden Pecan Pie (Pecan Tart)

Here comes Christmas holidays!

It feels great to look out the window and see all the decorations that my neighbors have put up on their houses.

It makes me feel all warm and cozy:))

I know it's not Christmas yet, and it's not the holidays yet either, but I wanted to celebrate the first of December with something holiday-ey!

I've never made a pecan pie before, but I've always wanted to try one, so I whipped up my favorite pie crust recipe and filled it with sweet, gooey, crunchy, nutty, indulgent pecan filling... YUM!

I had a problem with some filling being left over, but that's probably because I used a tart pan instead of a pie pan(which I sadly didn't have). But no worries! I simply baked the rest in some crushed graham crackers and called it an individual pecan pie:)

Golden Pecan Pie (Pecan Tart)
makes one 9-inch pie
Recipe from Pillsbury: Best Desserts
Ingredients:
For the Crust:
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup cold shortening
2 to 4 tablespoons ice water
For the Filling:
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons all purpose flour
1 1/4 cups light corn syrup*
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 eggs
1 1/2 cup pecan halves
2 tablespoon margarine or butter, melted

Directions:
For the Crust:
In a medium bowl, combine flour and salt; mix well. With a pastry blender or two knives, cut in the cold shortening until it resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of ice water at a time, mixing lightly with a fork. Add water until the dough is just moist enough to form a ball when lightly pressed together. Shape into a ball and flatten to a 1/2-inch thickness. On a floured surface, roll into a 11-inch circle, using gentle, light strokes from center to edge. Do not roll back and forth, or else it will become tough! Roll up the circle onto the rolling pin, place it just above the pie pan, and roll it off to place it on the pan. Gently press in the bottom and up the sides with fingertips. Do not stretch. You can trim the edges and use the scraps to fill in any holes.
For the Filling:
Preheat oven to 375F.
In a large bowl, combine brown sugar, flour, corn syrup, vanilla dna eggs; beat well. Stir in pecans and margarine/butter. Pour into pan lined with the crust.
Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until the filling is puffed and the crust is golden brown. Let it cool completely, then store in the refrigerator.

Notes:
*I found this a little too sweet, so I would reduce the corn syrup to 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) OR reduce the brown sugar to 1 tablespoon. But then again,  I don't even eat the icing on cupcakes because it's too sweet.