The Cookies of Champions

Chocolate Chip Wheatie Cookies, originally uploaded by miss.mallory.

Just a quick post. I know I haven't been consistent with my blogging, at least not as much as I had been over the last couple of months. I really enjoyed writing and sharing recipes on a regular basis. However, with the mix of my tooth debacle, the end of Spring quarter that included a gaggle of graduations (and family that followed), not to mention a lovely visit last week from two amazing Norwegian relatives, all made it difficult for me to focus on my biggest passion, creating in the kitchen and sharing that here on my little site.

As of this morning life has begun to slow down a bit. I'm back in school and as the hot summer heat rolls in, the pace of everyday life seems to relax, allowing me to refocus on blogging, baking, and cooking.

Is it just me or have the last couple of months been inundated with post upon upon post on many a food blog claiming to have the ultimate chocolate chip cookie? I'm not going to claim that the recipe I'm about to share with you are the ultimate chocolate chip cookies, I won't even hint at it. I will, however, attempt to share with you how ambrosial and worth your time they are. Completely worth the 15 minutes it takes to whip them together. They have an incredible golden crust with deep crevices and cracks of gooey goodness running along the exterior. The chips and cereal pieces pop through as if to say 'hello, please eat me'. Every time I bake these cookies up they come out of the oven an appealing golden brown color with a texture that almost can't be beat. Soft on the inside with an amazing light crisp-ness on the outside. It's all about balance when it comes to chocolate chip cookies for me. I don't like them too soft (some people enjoy them almost uncooked soft) and I don't want them to be totally crunchy throughout. It's about gradual balance, a crisp exterior that as you work your way in remains so, yet caves into the soft interior. I like to add a little something extra to my cookie dough on occasion that may sound a bit odd to you at first, but is oh-so amazing, Wheaties. Like I said, I love the balance of soft and chewy with crisp and crunchy. When you add Wheaties you will find that you get an unexpected mysterious crunch in almost every bite. When the edges of crisp cereal bits that stick out of the dough roast up they almost resemble the flavor of toasted marshmallow. I can't explain it. All I can do is urge you to give it a shot.

Chocolate Chip Wheatie Cookies, originally uploaded by miss.mallory.

Recipe: Chocolate Chip Cookies of Champions

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 cups Ghiradelli milk chocolate/white chocolate chips mixed (or whatever kind of chocolate you prefer)
1 cup Wheaties cereal lightly crushed

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.

Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. I like to use an ice cream scoop to portion out drops of cookie dough. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.

Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Don't forget to enjoy warm, with a tall glass of cold milk.