Cake Batter Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

I am adding these thoughts to the post I wrote over the weekend for these cookies.  It is now Wednesday morning and a lot has happened.  In the day to day, as a busy Real Estate Investment sales guy, I just got back from 2 days of meetings in LA.  I was up around 4:30am on Monday and did not return home last night until after 10pm. I share this for 2 reasons.  The first and of lessor importance is a reminder that this blog is about my journey as a busy guy with a full time job and a family that comes first.  The blog is my Zen, my outlet where I derive a lot of joy.

The second and more important is that we got terrible news that one of our cousins is gravely ill.  As I sat on the airplane and thought how exhausted I was, I reminded myself how much worse Keith, my cousin, and so many people in the world are than being a little sleep deprived.  I only ask each one of us to appreciate what we have and keep in perspective our challenges, our stress.

For those that believe in the power of prayer, I ask that you join me in putting Keith in your prayers and pray for the miracle he needs.

I ask that if there is someone you wish for me to add to my prayers, please comment in this post and let me know.

Now back to the post and the joy of family.

Guess whose home?  You guessed it.  My daughter.  We all know what that means.  More baking.  Her 1st love is definitely baking which she acquired from her mother and her mother acquired it from her mother.  It is definitely in the genes.  So how do I fit in?  My mom was, is an excellent cook and baker as well.  So much of cooking, as I have learned is the experience.  This is no different than any other opportunity/challenge.  Experience is a great teacher.

Her first offering that we were going to make together but I was cleaning and she just kept going are these Cake Batter Double Chocolate Chip Cookies.  What makes these so good is the batter.

Ingredients (adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction)

• 1 and 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 and 1/4 cup yellow or white boxed cake mix
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 egg, at room temperature
• 1.5 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 cup chocolate chips (I used a blend of white and semi-sweet chocolate chips)
• 1/2 cup sprinkles

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, mix the flour, cake mix, and baking soda. Set aside. In a separate bowl, cream together the butter and sugars on medium speed. Add the egg and vanilla until creamy.
2. Add the dry ingredients, the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Be sure not to overmix the dough. Finish by folding in the chocolate chips and sprinkles.

 

1. Cover and refrigerate dough for at least 1 hour.  Don’t rush this step, longer is better.  The dough is pretty sticky, so chilling the dough will make it so that the dough does not spread too much.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
3. Using a small ice cream scooper, form round balls of the cold dough and place onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes until edges are slightly browned.  The centers will still appear very soft, but the cookies will set as they cool.

 

1. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.  Enjoy!