I confess, my secret shame, and most ingrained addiction, is the need to eat a freshly-baked chocolate chip cookie for breakfast. I’m not sure when this affliction began to consume me, but it became a ritual I practised religiously until just a few months ago, when I realized the way I felt might be connected to the way I ate. Groundbreaking stuff.
I cut it all out in February-wheat, sugar, fried stuff, fun stuff, etc.-and actually had little regrets about my new lifestyle. I felt better, I could breathe right again, and was truly enjoying everything I was eating.
And then, well, you know what happened. In an effort to get a little cash flow going in a terrifying economic situation, I looked to my arsenal of skills and started selling cakes every weekend. Business is good, but now, the diet is bad. I daresay even Wonder Woman with a hangover wouldn’t be able to resist fresh-out-of-the-oven cake tops.
I fought hard to not fall back into my cookie habits though, that is until I saw this recipe for Josephine Estelle’s Chocolate Chip Cookies last week. I can’t be expected to just NOT try the recipe….right?
I whipped them up this morning, excited about the prospect of the ground oats the recipe calls for. I didn’t have a scoop which gives the restaurant’s cookies their signature mound-like appearance, and I only froze them for a short while before baking, so they flattened out more than expected. A good cookie overall with a nice texture from the ground oatmeal. Come to The Dark Side and make some for your breakfast tomorrow. Below is the recipe from Josephine Estelle:
Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Approximately 2 dozen cookies
Ingredients
8 oz softened butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups oats
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
4 oz dark chocolate
4 oz milk chocolate
4 oz blonde chocolate
4 oz white chocolate
1 cup chocolate cookie crumbs (see recipe below, or you can use crushed up store bought chocolate cookies)
Use a stand mixer with the paddle attachment to beat your butter and sugars on medium for 8 minutes, until light and fluffy. Meanwhile, grind oats to a powder in a food processor. In a bowl, combine ground oats with flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Pulse chocolate in a food processor and set aside.
Add eggs one at a time to the butter mixture, scraping between additions. Mix for another 3 minutes. Add vanilla extract. Add dry ingredients to creamed butter mixture until completely incorporated, but do not over mix. Scrape bowl well during the entire process to ensure an even dough.
Add chocolate to cookie dough and mix on low until just incorporated. Add in the cookie crumbs at the last few seconds, making sure not to break up the crumbs too much. Set dough in a bowl, wrap with plastic, and let chill slightly. Use a 1.33 oz scoop to portion out cookie dough. Set on a sheet pan and freeze dough completely before baking.
Preheat oven to 350º F. Pull cookie dough from freezer and place on a lined baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Sprinkle cookies with flakey sea salt and bake for 12–13 minutes, rotating halfway.
