Crispy Crunchy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Not the regular toll house type of CCC, a good hard crunch in every bite!

I think that most people I know, even if they claim to be on a strict diet, will unbend enough to eat a cookie. The thing is, I love chocolate chip cookies warm from the oven but after they harden, even if I like the chewy kind, it’s delish but…a bit less chewy. So, I knew I needed an alternative as well and I searched for the perfect crispy cookie for a long time, reading many articles about “how to” and testing upon my unwitting family many different variations.

At long last, I found my crispy cookie, based on the Ratner’s cookbook, they called these Chinese cookies, I know not why and of course, I changed stuff. The dough makes a ginormous amount, on purpose, since it freezes amazingly well, both in its dough form, unbaked, and baked. It gives a rounded dome shape if you scoop it with a cookie scoop or a nice risen shape that doesn’t flatten out and it is so crunchy, that one nice cookie is enough to put you in a good mood. You bake it for much longer than a regular chocolate chip cookie, and yes, don’t cheat, it needs the time or it’ll be that awful between of not chewy and not crispy and that’s just wrong. In my oven, I bake it for a full 18 minutes. My oven is properly calibrated so that’s the correct time but if you aren’t sure or your oven has hot spots, check after 15 minutes (pull out a cookie carefully) and you will only know for sure when cooled. But, I’ll show below how it should look in terms of browning (not much on top) but when you flip it over, it’ll be medium brown. We will get to that below.

The great joy of this recipe is that after you beat the cubed softened margarine/butter and sugar just till mixed, you just toss all the ingredients in together, easy peasy and mix till combined.

And the final mixture (all beaten in about less than 5 minutes

I use a combo of chocolate disks of 72% chocolate and small disks of 55% for a lovely mix of flavor, but you can use regular good chocolate chips, but also it sorta self marbelizes the cookie when you use the disks. Looks really cool. This also has a nice added secret flavor of a scant teaspoon of almond extract which adds a nice, hmm what is that interesting flavor in there moment.

Now you can bake the whole batch up and I bake it in tablespoons, or you can bake a half or a quarter and wrap and freeze the rest (or bake them, cool them and freeze them, also comes out great and stays crispy!) in two ways- just pack into a ziploc

Then, use a tablespoon scooper, like Oxo and scoop and place on cookie sheets

They come out neat and domed and pretty.

Alternatively, roll them in balls and they are more free form but maintain a high shape and don’t flatten.

or freeze them in logs and then you can slice and bake.like so:

See what I mean about the marbley look? Very nice.

and to know that they are properly baked, gently turn over one or two, they should look like so:

The top, as you can see, stays lighter brown but that’s how it should look. Let it cool (try, really) and you will take a bite and crunch away. These are born to dunk into any beverage you prefer but if you aren’t a dunker, I like a nice hot cup of coffee with a crunchy CCC. Okay, maybe two…

Crispy Crunchy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yields approximately 8 dozen cookies, really a huge amount!

2 cups white sugar (do NOT sub brown sugar or it won’t be crispy)
2 cups butter/margarine (450 grams), softened
6 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 scant teaspoon almond extract (a subtle and nice added flavor)
3 cups of combined chocolate chips, buttons, disks – can be semi sweet or dark

Directions:

Take sugar and softened margarine and beat briefly till incorporated and fluffy. Add all the other ingredients except the chocolate chips. Beat together till combined and then add chocolate chips. At this point, I refrigerate the dough for about half an hour. It’s firmed up, easier to work with – however, you can just go straight to cookie making/baking if you wish.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Start either cookie scooping (with tablespoon scooper) or pinching off a tablespoon worth with your fingers and rolling, or freeze some of the dough (as described above). Space about an inch apart on your cookie sheets, it’s sufficient since the cookies hardly spread, they rise. Bake in hot oven for 15-18 minutes till pale brown on top and medium brown on the bottom. Let cool completely for the awesome crunch.

Nice thing about these cookies, they don’t lose the crunch even after you’ve frozen them. They keep well for over a month in the freezer, however, predators in my house (you know who you are) who’ve discovered they are even excellent not defrosted (just don’t break a tooth!) have left me oftentimes with a sad box in the freezer with 2 cookies left inside. Oh dear.