Made With ♥ Monday: Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Chip Cookies

(adapted from here)

If home were a mouthful, I have little doubt that it would taste like a warm, soft, fresh-from-the-oven chocolate chip cookie. Rainy days, job interviews, new schools, first dates, disappointments and unexpected pockets of joy - life is full of moments that demand comfort. And for me, as much as my body may loathe me for it (except for my stomach. We've always been BFFS), that means chocolate chip cookies. I am constantly on the hunt for the perfect recipe - something chewy and soft, without deviating too far from the taste that I grew up with. This, my friends, is attempt number one.

You'll need:

1 1/4 cups white sugar
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 cups softened butter or margarine
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
3 tablespoons instant coffee powder (depends how strong you take your cookies)
2 teaspoons of vanilla
3 eggs
4 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 pinch of salt
1 or 2 handfuls of chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F and grease a couple of cookie sheets. This is where the fun begins.

In a large bowl, combine butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add cocoa powder, coffee powder (you can dissolve this in a bit of warm water first, if you'd prefer the flavor a little more evenly spread. If you're in a rush, though, don't bother - the cookies should taste great anyways), vanilla and eggs and mix till well combined. The coffee's entirely optional--I found it added a little more depth of flavor, but also made it hard to sleep after scarfing three of these right before bed. So worth it.

Add dry ingredients and mix--with a spoon or your bare hands--until you don't see anymore white. Stir in chocolate chips and anything you'd like (nuts, seeds, oats, peanut butter, etc. The possibilities are endless. Except for raw meat. That's the end, right over there).

Scoop small mounds of cookie dough onto cookie sheets and bake for 8-10 minutes. I like my cookies pretty much as big as is physically possible--if you're like me, form a ball out of a small handful of dough, and pat it down a little to help it spread. Positive vibes, love and - oh right - ovens will take care of the rest.

Let cookies rest on the pan for a few minutes before transferring to a rack to cool. Or, wolf them down, pausing just long enough to calm your burning tongue with a tall glass of soy milk. To each their own.

Happy baking, no matter what day of the week it is!