The cracks in my cookies are indicators of perfection.

If you’re anything like me, you’ve become disillusioned with St. Valentine’s Day and don’t care one whit about any of the pink-and-red nonsense.

If you’re like the other 99% of the world, however, you might be interested in this cookie recipe for any one of the following reasons:

1.  A gift of these cookies will easily get you a valentine, if you haven’t already got one.

2.  If you do have a valentine, gifting a plate of these cookies will secure him or her as your valentine for years to come.

3.  If you haven’t got a valentine and you swear you don’t want one, these will help get you through the day this Saturday.

Either way, you need to make these cookies.

Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

{This recipe I have adapted from some other website which I failed to bookmark.  If it’s yours, please don’t sue me for not linking.  I normally give credit where credit is due, honest!}
(makes 18 cookies)

Ingredients:

-2 C. all-purpose flour

-1/2 tsp. baking soda

-1/2 tsp. salt

-3/4 C. margarine (at room temperature)

-1 C. packed brown sugar

-1/2 C. white sugar

-1 Tbsp. vanilla extract

-1 egg

-1 egg yolk

-2 C. (1 regular-sized bag) chocolate chips

Method:

1.  Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease cookie sheets (unless you have non-stick sheets) or line with parchment paper.

2.  In a medium mixing bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

3.  In a larger mixing bowl, use a hand mixer (or a stand mixer if you’re lucky enough to own one [or your bare hands if you have neither—I won’t judge)] to cream together margarine and both sugars.  Add in vanilla, egg, and egg yolk, beating until the mixture becomes light and creamy.

Two yolks in one egg—isn’t that how twins are made?

It should look like this after the addition of the eggs and vanilla. If yours looks different, I won’t judge.  But it probably means something is wrong.

4.  Mix in dry ingredients until just blended. Stir in chocolate chips by hand.

Note: If you aren’t using milk chocolate chips, why are you even bothering to bake?

5.  Drop dough, 1/4 cup at a time, onto cookie sheets. (If you’re familiar with baking cookies, this might sound like an extreme amount of dough, but trust me: It works.  And the results are amazing.  Just do it.) These cookies are huge, so you won’t be able to fit the traditional 12 per cookie sheet, but that’s okay.  Place them 3 inches apart, and you’ll be golden.

I know it seems fussy, but they’d be ruined if they baked themselves into one glob.  Please just humour me.

6.  Bake for 15-17 minutes in preheated oven, or until edges are slightly toasted.

If they come out looking like this, you have achieved perfection.  You may now die happy.  I give you permission.

7.  Remove from oven and let cool on cookie sheets for 5 minutes before removing to cooling rack.

8.  Package them up nicely—presentation is key—and deliver to your lover/future lover/self.

*Note: If you don’t need to make 18 cookies, simply make the amount you need and freeze the dough. I prefer to ball it up into cookie-size portions and freeze for about 20 minutes on a cookie sheet until they are hardened.  Then, I remove them from the freezer, dump ’em in a labeled plastic bag, and save for later.

These are going into the freezer.  I’d never want to bake them this close together, because they’d become one massive glob of cookiness.  They will keep, frozen, for at least two months.  When ready to bake another batch, simply remove the dough from freezer and allow it to soften at room temperature until normal consistency.  Then continue baking as usual.

Anyone want to guess whether or not I actually tasted one of these beauties?

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