Bleeding Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are my very favorite chocolate chip cookies!  I personally think they are the very best, and most delicious when eaten while they are still warm (or reheated in the oven for  few minutes).  I call them bleeding chocolate chip cookies because the proportion of chocolate to dough is amazing, and by using a good quality chocolate that pools when it melts instead of staying in "chip" form, the cookie if warm (as it should be) will "bleed" melty, glorious chocolate when the top of the cookie is gently pressed.  It's pretty much chocolatey amazing-ness!

Bleeding Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons turbinado sugar
3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour (220 grams-I always weigh my flour for this recipe)
8-ounces bittersweet chocolate, cut with a serrated knife into roughly 1/2-inch chunk
Flaky salt, for sprinkling

Heat oven to 360°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream the butters and sugars with an electric mixer until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.  Add the egg and vanilla, beating until incorporated.  Scrape down the bowl with a spatula.  Add the baking soda and kosher salt and beat to combine.  With the machine on low, slowly add the flour. When the flour is halfway absorbed, add the chopped chocolate and mix until the remaining flour is incorporated.

Scoop dough into mounds (I use a big scoop, probably close to 1/4 cup dough).  Space the dough mounds evenly apart on the prepared baking sheet and sprinkle with flaky salt.  Bake for 9-10 minutes or until golden brown, but still very gooey and soft inside.  Let the cookies cool slightly on baking sheet before transferring them to a cooking rack.

Recipe slightly adapted from Smitten Kitchen and originally from Not Without Salt

Healthier No-Bake Cookies

My kiddies love no-bake cookies!  They are an afterschool snack favorite. This recipe is awesome because it leans a bit more on the healthy side being that the cookies aren't loaded with refined sugar.  The one trouble with these little bites of chocolatey oatey goodness is that I am capable of consuming far more than would ever be considered "healthy".

 
Healthier No-Bake Cookies

1/4 cup coconut oil

1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup all natural peanut butter
1 cup rolled oats
Crushed peanuts
Flaky salt

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.

In a small saucepan set over medium heat, whisk together the coconut oil, maple syrup, and cocoa powder until everything is incorporated.  Next, add the vanilla and peanut butter and whisk until smooth.

Remove the mixture from the heat and using a wooden spoon or spatula, stir in the oats and salt.  Using a small cookie scoop or spoon, drop the mixture by the heaping tablespoon onto the prepared baking sheet and flatten a bit.  Top each cookie with crushed peanuts and a dusting of flaky salt.  Transfer the baking sheet to the freezer and chill 15-30 minutes before eating.  Store cookies in the refrigerator or freezer.

Recipe slightly adapted from Oh Ladycakes

Chocolate-Drizzled Oatmeal Shortbread

As I walked out the door this morning to take Stella to gymnastics, I grabbed two cookbooks.  (I use the term gymnastics very loosely.  It's more like playing on gymnastics equipment, mats, and a very long trampoline.  She loves it.)  It's nice to have something to do, like browsing through cookbooks, while Stella is hanging upside down from a bar, doing somersaults down wedge mats or bouncing up and down on a trampoline.  I also brought with me a few small pieces of cardstock to write down some of the recipes I would like to try and any ingredients that I may not have a home.  As I was browsing the pages of The Sprouted Kitchen, the women next to me asked me what cookbook I was reading.  I happily showed her the cover and shared my excitement for some of the recipes that I have already tried.  She seemed interested and wrote down the name of the cookbook and blog on a piece of paper and stuck it in her purse.   (Hopefully her purse isn't anything like mine which often resembles a deep abyss filled with receipts, grocery lists, change and half pieces of Extra gum that taste like pennies.  If it is, she may never find that piece of paper again.)  On the top of my "to make" list, were these cookies.  I had all the ingredients at home and with words like dark chocolate and flaked sea salt, not much convincing was needed.

Chocolate-Drizzled Oatmeal Shortbread 

From The Sprouted Kitchen: A Tastier Take on Whole Foods

1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup turbinado sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 egg
3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose or rice flour
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 1/2 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
Flaked sea salt, such as Maldon, for garnish (optional)

In a food processor, pulse the oats to create coarse flour.  You want a bit of texture to remain, not pureed until it is completely smooth.  Set aside.

In the food processor or using a bowl and wooden spoon, cream the butter and sugar together.  Add the vanilla and egg and mix again.  Add the oat flour, all-purpose flour, salt, and nutmeg and pulse a few times to combine, scraping down the sides of the food processor or your bowl as necessary.  The dough will be fairly tacky.

Using your hands, roll the dough into a uniform log about 3 inches in diameter.  If you like, sprinkle a handful of rolled oats and a few tablespoons of turbinado sugar on your work surface and roll the log in the mixture to create a crust.  Roll the log up in plastic wrap or parchment paper and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour, and preferably two.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Working quickly, slice the log into 1/2-inch coins and spread them on the baking sheet 2 inches apart.  Bake until the edges just begin to brown, 14 to 16 minutes.  Transfer the cookies to a wire rack.

Melt the chocolate in a heatproof glass bowl over a pot of simmering water, being careful not to let the bottom of the bowl touch the water.  Arrange the piece of parchment you used for cooking the cookies under the wire rack for easy cleanup.  Drizzle the melted chocolate on the tops of the cookies in a zig-zag motion.  Sprinkle a bit of flaked salt on the top of each cookie.  The chocolate will firm up in about 15 to 20 minutes. Store the cookies in an airtight container for up to a week.

Cocoa Coconut Bites

If you like chocolate, coconut and almonds...BEWARE!  These little bites are extremely addicting and with their size being "bite-size," eating a few too many can happen all too quickly!

Cocoa Coconut Bites

1 1/2 cups dried, unsweetened coconut
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/3 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt 
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

In a mixing bowl combine the coconut, cocoa powder, rolled oats and almonds together.  In a small bowl combine the maple syrup, coconut oil, vanilla and cinnamon; pour over coconut mixture and mix to coat everything evenly.  Set in the fridge for 20 minutes.

At this point you can eat them two different ways (both are delicious).  The first way is to scoop the coconut mixture into 1-inch balls and chill for an hour before eating.   The second way is to scoop into 1-inch balls, set them on a baking sheet lined with parchment and bake in a 215 degree preheat oven for 20 minutes.  Remove from baking sheet to cool (or eat warm).

Recipe slightly adapted from Sprouted Kitchen

Toasted Walnut & Raisin Oatmeal Cookies

I don't make oatmeal cookies with nuts very often because those I live with prefer them without.  Today, those people may be out of luck (more cookies for me).  My kind of oatmeal cookie is full of toasted walnuts, golden raisins and given a sprinkle of coarse salt after they come out the oven.  Today it's my kind of oatmeal cookie!

Toasted Walnut & Raisin Oatmeal Cookies

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

2/3 cup dark brown sugar, packed

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 1/2 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup chopped and toasted walnuts

Stir together flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon and salt and set aside.  In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and dark brown sugar until fluffy.  Add egg and vanilla and beat until combined.  Add flour and oat mixture and mix until combined.  Stir in toasted walnuts and raisins.

Chill cookie dough in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour.  Scoop the dough and shape into balls (about 2 tablespoons of dough).  Place on parchment lined baking sheet and bake in 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown around the edges.  Remove from oven and lightly sprinkle with coarse sea salt.