Lip smacking Mega Chocolate Chip Cookie

Warm chocolate chip cookies – crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside with the chocolate chips warm and melty on the tongue! Few can resist this decadence, be it plain or dressed up (ideas below). It has been a favourite with literally every single person who has ever tasted it.

While I have made cakes for decades now, I embarked on cookies only sometime last year, and most gingerly. With ALL chocolate chip cookie recipes calling for egg, I doubted whether a home made egg-less version would meet my standards. For my own cravings, I had always resorted to store bought Chunky Chips Ahoy cookies which never had egg in them. I decided I should attempt them, at the very least.

I have made these cookies several times in the past year and have kept improving on them. I am confident that this one below will meet even the most stringent “with egg’ standards. 🙂 It is also really easy and fuss free.

Unlike many other recipes, you do not need to refrigerate the dough prior to baking. You can mix and bake right away. You can make standard sized cookies individually or a few at at time (in which case, you can store the remaining dough in the refrigerator) or, as I have done this time, bake the whole batch as a Mega Sized single cookie (I felt rather lazy to shape and bake – also, I do not have a large enough cookie sheet at this time).

A note on measurements: ALWAYS use properly calibrated measuring cups and spoons (I use standard American measuring utensils). I cannot stress this enough.

To measure flour, spoon out the flour unto the measuring cup and level very lightly – DO NOT PRESS. Do the same with the brown sugar as well.

1 cup is ~237 ml; one teaspoon (tsp) is 5 ml and one tablespoon (tbsp) is 15 ml (or 3 teaspoons)

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (185 degrees C). Ovens should ALWAYS be preheated. Temperatures are based on large ovens. If yours is a smaller one or an OTG (Oven Toaster Grill or Toaster Oven), you should reduce the temperature, and baking times could also require adjustment.

Grease an 8″ by 8″ baking pan with ghee (solid ghee is particularly good for this purpose) and either line with parchment paper and grease again (as done here), or flour the greased pan well (drop 1/8 cup of flour on greased pan, move around so that bottom and sides are well coated. Tap the excess off.) While I recommend ghee, please do not buy ghee just for this. Oil or cooking spray would definitely suffice too. I find that light layer of ghee gives a lovely flavour to the base of the cookie besides excellent non-stick qualities.

Put the following ingredients in a bowl.

1/2 cup (8 tbsp) butter, melted (Take 1/2 cup of room temperature butter and melt it; it can be salted or unsalted – if salted, reduce the added salt below to 1/4 tsp)

3/4 cup dark brown sugar

2.5 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp salt

Mix the melted butter with the above to a wet slurry like consistency.

To the above slurry, add:

1 cup all purpose flour (maida)

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda (cooking soda)

Mix well.

Fold in 1 cup of chocolate chips/ chunks, or a mix of the two, to the mixture above. I prefer a combo of semi sweet chunks and dark chocolate chips. In India, where the chocolate chips are really not of good quality, I would suggest buying good quality chocolate bars, chopping them up and adding them in lieu of the chips. Spread and level unto prepared pan.

Bake for 20 to 30 minutes until well cracked above and golden brown on the edges. (Please be aware that baking times are based on large sized ovens and assumes lack of voltage fluctuation. In smaller ones or OTGs, it will probably take less time since the heat is concentrated in a smaller space. If the voltage is lower, baking times will increase and vice versa).

Let cool for 5 to 10 minutes. Cut into desired size. While it can be eaten at any temperature, there are few treats nicer than a warm cookie. Do try the warm cookie with a scoop of vanilla or chocolate ice cream which can be further topped with caramel or hot fudge or chocolate syrup.

In the unusual event of any leftovers, do microwave it lightly before eating to replicate the just baked feel.

Variations:

a) White Chocolate Macadamia – this is an ethereal combination – instead of the regular chocolate chips, add 1/2 to 3/4 cup of white chocolate chips (in India, try chopped Milkybar chocolate) AND 1/2 cup of chopped raw macadamia nuts.

2) Chocolate Chip Pecan or Walnut – reduce chocolate chips to 1/2 or 3/4 cup and add upto half cup of chopped pecans. I would recommend roasting or toasting the pecans or walnuts for even more flavour.

I often divide the mixture and make multiple varieties at once. The sky is the limit – one can try any types of chips or nuts in any combination. Do share anything you come up with that you like or dislike, in the comments field below.

Do share any and all feedback.