After seeing the coming of age film 'A River Runs Through It' more than 20 years ago I could not help but be mesmerized by the majestic beauty of the Montana wilderness. Someday, I thought, I would travel to Montana, specifically to Missoula, Montana, to see it first-hand as well as to attempt to photograph some of its' stunning and compelling mountain and river landscapes. That someday is finally here. Next week I head out to Big Sky Country with my nephew. This trip (one I am calling the #21stbirthdayadventure as he turns 21at the end of July) will give the two of us time to explore Montana together as well as celebrate his significant (coming of age) birthday. And oh yes, Missoula is one of our destinations. That is, if I survive the 4th of July 5K race, the excursion to Lone Peak, and the hike in Beehive Basin (have already been warned about bear sightings in Yellowstone) in the 36 hours prior to actually arriving in Missoula.
Of course, I will come bearing gifts. What would a birthday be without them? Amongst the gifts will be a box filled with homemade cookies (me traveling with a cake on a plane is a recipe for disaster). Baking the cookies would be the easy part, deciding which cookies to bake is a little more challenging. My first thought was I maybe I should resurrect the chocolate chip cookie recipe, the one that used to be my all-time favorite, alway got rave reviews go-to cookie. It was also one of those recipes I sought to keep as a closely guarded secret (even from the Chief of Police in the town I worked in, but that's another story). Funny thing is, it wasn't even a recipe I could claim was technically 'mine'. Then one day I decided 'let it go' and submit it as my contribution to a community cookbook project (partly to rid myself of the guilt I was feeling over being so foolishly selfish, partly because not complying with a request from a Police Chief wasn't too wise, and mostly because I didn't want my name attached to a recipe that was God forbid just 'okay', even if it really wasn't mine).
It has been quite awhile since I have made these chocolate chip cookies (the Jacques Torres cookies pre-empted them several years ago). To jog my memory on how they looked and tasted I decided I need to bake a batch of them. This would also give me the opportunity to play with making at least two more changes to the recipe before deciding if they were 'birthday' worthy cookies. Replacing the semi-sweet chocolate chips with a combination of mini-milk chocolate peanut butter cups (Trader Joe's are the best) and chopped semi-sweet chocolate as well as topping them with sea salt were the most significant changes I wanted to make. Not exactly earthshaking changes, just slight variations.
Many years ago, someone by the name of Elizabeth published a recipe she called 'my best, big, fat, chewy chocolate chip cookies'. It was her recipe that I built my 'chocolate chip cookie baking reputation' on. Thank you Elizabeth whoever and wherever you are! If I tinkered a bit more with this recipe I might finally be able to actually claim it as my own. Sort of, maybe, kind of.
The use of the milk chocolate mini peanut butter cups from Trader Joe's are addictive all on their own. I was hoping they would have a similar effect in the cookies (Spoiler Alert: They did!). I used the entire 12 ounce container along with 4 ounces of coarsely chopped semi-sweet chocolate. The balance of these two chocolates was perfect. However next time I think I will slightly increase the amount of semi-sweet chocolate (maybe up to 6 ounces). Personally I like my chocolate chip cookies to specks or pieces of chocolate throughout them.
This is one of those melted butter (versus room temperature) cookie recipes. There is much debate on whether room temperature or melted butter creates a better cookie crumb and texture. 'Hot' melted butter will melt the granulated and brown sugars and have a significant impact on a cookie. I had learned the hard way (cookies with a not such a great texture) of the importance of allowing the melted butter to cool before mixing with sugar. This made a significant difference. To further ramp up the flavor in these cookies I used the slightly higher in fat content Irish Kerrygold unsalted butter instead of the usual Land O'Lakes (which turned out to be another good change).
In Elizabeth's original recipe she listed 'brown sugar' as one of the ingredients. Ever since first making these cookies I have used a proportional combination of light and dark brown sugars as there the dark brown sugar created an added depth of flavor to the cookie. I didn't see any reason to change this.
'Go big or go home' was the mantra for these cookies. An ice cream scoop having a two tablespoon capacity helped to achieve a larger, bakery looking cookie. Then borrowing from the Jacques Torres recipe, each cookie was topped with a generous pinch of sea salt.
These cookies spread when baking (suggest placing 7 or 8 dough balls spaced 2-3 inches apart on the baking sheet). In spite of their size, these cookies don't take very long to bake in a preheated 350 degree oven (about 12-15 minutes or until the edges just begin to become golden brown). The baked cookies remain on the baking sheet for a couple of minutes before being transferred to a cooling rack. The few extra minutes on the hot baking sheet gives the finished cookies a crispier outside finish to contrast with their softer interiors.
So the final verdict on these Chocolate Chunk (Peanut Butter Cup) Cookies? Amazing, the kind of cookie you don't want to (or really can't) stop eating at just one. The combination of the milk chocolate mini peanut butter cups, semi-sweet chocolate, and sea salt with the dough made for one wicked cookie. The decision as to which cookie to bring out to my nephew was made after I took just one bite. Definitely birthday worthy cookies.This variation of the chocolate chip cookie recipe I had made years ago has now permanently changed. Finally, a cookie recipe I feel is the one I really could put my name next to.
Chocolate Chunk (Peanut Butter Cup) Cookies (inspired by Elizabeth's Best, Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe)
Yield: 26-28 large cookies
Ingredients
2 cups plus 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda (Update: Baking soda can be increased to 1 teaspoon)
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
6 ounces (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, melted and cooled (recommend KerryGold butter)
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar (equal combinations of light and dark brown sugar)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon vanilla
1 large egg, room temperature
1 egg yolk (from large egg), room temperature
12 ounces milk chocolate mini-peanut butter cups (recommend Trader Joe's)
4-6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chopped
Sea salt for sprinkling on cookies
(Note: Another variation to theses cookies would be using 2 to 2/12 cups of semi-sweet or milk or a mixture of the two chips or coarsely chopped chocolate. If you are a big fan of M&Ms in your cookies, you could use them too!)
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Sift together flour, baking soda and Kosher salt. Set aside.
3. Cream the melted butter, granulated sugar and brown sugars until well blended in a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.
4. Beat in egg, egg yolk and vanilla until light and creamy.
5. Mix in flour mixture until fully blended.
6. Stir in peanut butter chocolate chips and semi-sweet chopped chocolate with a spatula.
7. Using a larger ice cream scoop (2 tablespoon equivalent), form balls and place on baking sheet. Note: Cookies spread so place only 7 to 8 dough balls per cookie sheet.
8. Sprinkle each cookie with a generous pinch of sea salt (recommend Maldon Sea Salt).
9. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until edges are browned. Cool on baking sheet for a couple of minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
10. Serve cookies or store cookies in a covered, air tight container.until ready to serve.
