The only things hotter than a St. Louis summer are molten lava and the sun. If the thought “Hey, I’d like to visit St. Louis in the summer” ever crossed your mind, IGNORE IT. Yesterday it was 106 degrees and today it was 102, but felt like 107. It’s so hot here that you start sweating just thinking about going outside. Blah. I’m moving to Ireland. It’s cold there, right? I mean you never hear about Ireland exporting bananas or coconuts, so it has to be cold.
As of right now, my friend is in Spain. For a month. I spent the other night helping her pack and listening to music we bought in 7th grade (and weren’t sure if we should be proud or depressed that we knew every lyric to every Miley Cyrus, Jonas Brothers, and Justin Timberlake song). It was really fun, until she started talking about Spain. She said “I think it’s going to be a breezy 80 degrees when I get there, and it’s right on the ocean so it won’t feel too hot.” Hate. Jealous. So many emotions. I threatened her with her life if she didn’t send me a postcard or buy me something, because…uhhh…that’s just the person I am. I’m not crazy, I promise. Or maybe I am, but people are just very accepting of me. I really appreciate it, guys.
Then I realized that almost most everyone I know is either leaving, going to college, or going to a Spanish speaking country. Or people on a Hispanic scholarship are leaving to go work at a college. Hmmm. I think I just need to kidnap all my friends and lock them in my closet. Would that be weird? Yeah, maybe just a little bit.
In order to ease the pain of people rudely leaving my life, I made cookies. I brought 9 over when I was helping my friend pack and we ate all of them in 20 minutes. I really appreciate people who have similar eating habits to mine. I’ve made these and posted about them before, but for those of you who just started reading my blog (hello, 6 new followers), let’s pretend that I’ve never made these before. HEY, look at this new recipe I found!
I’ve tried 20+ cookie recipes, and this is definitely my go-to recipe. Part of the reason they’re so good is that you get to tear them apart and then squish them back together. Fun and delicious. Could you ask for more? Well, yes. They would be much better if I had put Reese’s peanut butter chips in them. Every time I use peanut butter in a recipe my mom threatens to disown me a little bit more. Also, they would be much better if I had made these with Freddie Mercury. Although that might be creepy…? Since he, uh, bit the dust a while ago. But knowing me, I’d pull a Dr. Frankenstein/Igor and dig Freddie up from the grave. Aaaannnndddd now this is getting really weird.
Giant Chocolate Chip Cookies
From How Sweet It Is
makes 18 large or 36 small cookies
2 cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) of salted butter, melted and coole
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg + 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup mini m&m’s or anything else that you love. Don’t attempt to fold in Ryan Gosling. I already tried with disastrous results.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Mix the flour and baking soda in a bowl and set aside. Boring. I feel like every recipe has you combining the dry ingredients and then just ignoring them. In another bowl, mix the butter and sugars until they are combined. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and stir until mixed. Gradually add flour and mix until a dough forms. I made the first mistake of cookie making and dumped all the flour in at once, and then realize I forgot to put the eggs in. *sigh* Fold in the m&m’s.
Divide the dough how you choose (1/4 cup portions for 18 large cookies or 2 tablespoon portions for 36 smaller cookies). Shape each portion into a ball with your hands then pull each ball into two equal pieces. WHACHA. Turn each half so that the rough side of the half (what used to be the inside of the ball) faces upwards and then squish both halves together. Make sure to squish them, or they’ll look super weird. Place the dough rough-side up on a baking sheets. If you’re doing large cookies, I’d leave about 2 inches in between each.
Bake for 12-15 minutes (large cookies) or 8-12 minutes (small cookies) or until the edges are slightly brown. The centers should be soft and puffy. Do not over bake, or they’ll be gross. Let cool completely (or, uhhh, not), and I give you permission to eat all of them at all once.
