Stand Mixer Sunday: Double Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Mmm, cookies. There's something about a freshly minted PR and an afternoon to myself that makes me want to bake. And when the fancy strikes, who am I to resist?

I've been thinking about revisiting my best-ever chocolate chip cookie recipe for a while to see what else I could do with it. Once you have a method for a particular recipe down, you can experiment with it and see what other combinations can be made. I wondered what would happen if I swapped the sugar-free vanilla pudding (the secret ingredient!) with sugar-free chocolate pudding. And while I was at it, I incorporated dark-chocolate cocoa powder and incorporated dark chocolate chips, white chocolate chips and butterscotch chips. I also used sea salt instead of kosher salt.

What I ended up with is a more sophisticated, complex version of my original recipe. It has a slight crunch when you bite into the cookie, with a fluffy and chewy interior.  There are several different levels of chocolate, which layer and complement one another within the cookie. And of course, the salt add crunch and counterbalances the sweetness of the brown sugar, which keeps the cookies moist.  The pudding is the task master of this recipe, leavening the cookie and adding a touch of chocolate flavor. Also, this is the combination  of chocolate I used, but feel free to change the measurements to suit your palate. It's Easter time, so this would be a great way to use all that candy that's clearanced out now.

Double Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup dark-chocolate cocoa

1 1/2 sticks salted butter, melted until liquid and cooled until room temperature

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

2 room-temperature eggs

1 package sugar-free chocolate pudding

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup dark chocolate chip

3/4 cups white chocolate chips

1/2 cup butterscotch chips

Sea salt, as needed

Start with sifting together the flour, baking soda and cocoa. Set aside.

Affix the paddle attachment to your stand mixer and cream together the butter and sugars on medium until the mixture is light yellow in color and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time until incorporated, then slow the mixer down to medium and add the pudding and vanilla extract.

Gradually add the dry ingredients until incorporated, then add the various chocolate chips.

Refrigerate the mixture for at least 30 minutes to allow all the ingredients to gel together. I usually use a 3-Tablespoon scoop to portion these and freeze them, then bake them straight from the freezer. You can either add the pinch of salt before freezing or right before baking, it won't change how it tastes. 

Bake for 12-15 minutes at 350 degrees. Do not overcook. My particular oven took 13 minutes.

Eat and enjoy!