Chocolate Chip Cookies

This morning, the desire to make cookies suddenly overcame me. So this afternoon I found a reliable-looking recipe, gathered my ingredients, and made these delicious cookies.

I knew I wanted to make the original recipe a little more healthy. Thus I replaced half of the AP flour with whole wheat and used Demerara sugar instead of granulated. The large crystals from the Demerara sugar give the cookies a pleasing crunch.

We had used up the last of our pure vanilla extract, so I was forced to use *horrors!* imitation. Yes, that’s a bottle of pure vanilla in the picture. I just couldn’t bring myself to take a picture of GV imitation vanilla extract.

Then, after all of the cookies were done baking, our order of vanilla arrived.

Oh well.

They are still excellent cookies, if I do say so myself. Mom thinks they’re a little on the sweet side, and I agree with her. Maybe next time I’ll use only 1½ cups of sugar instead of 2.

And maybe next time I’ll use a full tablespoon of Madagascar Bourbon vanilla extract.

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:: Chocolate Chip Cookies ::

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Adapted from Allrecipes

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups Demerara sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1½ cups Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons hot water
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup toasted chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts are good choices)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Cream together the butter and Demerara sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Dissolve baking soda in hot water. Add to batter along with salt. Stir in flour, chocolate chips, and nuts.
3. Drop by large spoonfuls onto ungreased pans. Bake for about 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are nicely browned.
4. Remove from oven. Allow to cool for a few minutes on pan. Transfer to cooling racks to cool completely. Store in airtight containers at room temperature or in the freezer for longer storage.

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