Sweet Tooth: Mayhem Chocolate Chip Cookies

Cookies are hands-down, my number one, go-to favorite treat to bake.  I came up with this chocolate chip cookie variation several years ago and they are definitely the tastiest cookie I make - they are also Steven's favorite (in fact, he came up with the name) so I try to indulge him occasionally with a batch.

These cookies are chewy and tender on the inside with a lightly crisp outer texture and they are packed with flavor and buttery goodness.

Start with 2 sticks of melted butter...



... add brown sugar and granulated sugar...



... whisk them together until they are not only incorporated by completely emulsified.  The mixture should look this this:



Let the mixture cool a bit, you should be able to comfortably place your hands on the bottom of the bowl, then crack in the eggs and measure in the baking soda, salt and Rum Emulsion (or rum extract, or any extract you prefer)...



For years, I used rum extract but one day, I was shopping for cookie cutters and discovered this emulsion and I have found it to work much, much better - you can actually taste the flavor in the cookie.  You can find the rum emulsion here (plus lots of great cookie cutters amongst other handy baking items).



Stir everything in...



... now measure in your flour...



... and in these lovely, dark chocolate chips...





... chopped macadamia nuts...



...and dried cherries.



Let's just pause for a moment to take it all in.



Now mix it all together well - I prefer to do this by hand to keep everything from breaking up into tiny bits...



... once it's all mixed in, it should look like this:





Cover the dough with saran wrap and chill it for an hour.  Then preheat your oven, prepare your cookie sheets (psst, I recently bought some silicone liners and they are da bomb, I highly recommend springing for a set) and scoop the dough...



... isn't it lovely?



Bake them for 8-10 minutes, I've found they take the full 10 minutes in my oven on the pure convection setting since switching to the silicone liners, but I recommend setting your timer for 8 minutes and checking them.  They should be golden brown on the edges and top, but might look slightly wet still.  Let them sit on the sheet for 2 minutes before removing them to wire racks to cool.

Here's the recipe:

Mayhem Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 Cup unsalted butter
3/4 Cup Brown Sugar
3/4 Cup Granulated Sugar
2 Eggs
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
2 tsp Rum Emulsion or Rum Extract
2 1/4 Cups Flour
1 - 10 oz bag Dark Chocolate Chips
1 Cup Macadamia Nuts, chopped
1 - 5 oz bag Dried Cherries

Melt butter in a large mixing bowl.  Add in brown and granulated sugars.  Mix well, until fully emulsified.  Allow to cool.  Add eggs, baking soda, salt and rum emulsion (or extract).  Mix well.  Add in flour and top with chocolate chips, nuts and cherries.  Mix well.  Cover and chill for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Prepare cookie sheets with either non-stick spray or silicone baking mats.  Scoop or spoon dough onto baking sheets 12 to a sheet.  Bake 8-10 minutes until light golden brown on edges and top.  Remove from oven and leave cookies on baking sheet for 2 minutes.  Remove to wire racks to finish cooling.

Makes approx 4 dozen depending on size of scoop.

Note: You'll want to have plenty of milk on hand with these babies in the house!

Twisted Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Chip Cookies are the hands-down favorite in my house.  If I ask my husband what kind of cookies he'd like me to make, he'll always request Chocolate Chip.  Its my favorite to bake and experiment with too.  I love to change up the extracts and stir-ins I use and Twisted Chocolate Chip is not only one of my favorite variations, but it's also my go-to choice any time I make cookies for people who don't eat nuts.

What makes these Twisted Chocolate Chips twisted is the addition of pretzel twists.  I love how the crunchy texture of the pretzels holds up in the cookie dough and ads a similar texture to nuts with the addition of that touch of saltiness.  I love my sweet with a little salty crunch!

I start these cookies by melting the butter and creaming the melted butter with the granulated and brown sugars.

I've found that the to achieving a lofty, chewy cookie when using melted butter is to beat the melted butter and sugar together until you have a truly emulsified mixture.  If you can still see the liquid butter at the edges of your bowl - it's still separating from the sugar and you need to keep mixing.  I use a whisk for this whole process...  

...see the separation here...

...and fully emulsified here:

Once the sugar and butter is completely blended together, set it aside to cool a bit while you break up the pretzel twists.  I prefer the twist to pretzel sticks, they just seem to blend into the dough a bit better.  I also like to break them up by hand, you want coarse chunks of pretzel, not tiny crushed up bits that disappear into the dough.  They should look like this:

The sugar and butter emulsion should be cooled enough at this point to add the eggs, mix them in well, then add the baking soda, salt and vanilla.  Blend well.

Add the flour and top the flour with the pretzel pieces and chocolate chips.  Stir it all in until the flour disappears into the dough.  I do it this way because I've found it helps to suspend the chocolate chips and other stirred in additions in the dough - so you get a nice, even distribution of ingredients in every bite. 

The cookie dough will be sticky and a bit too loose to scoop at this point.  

Cover it tightly with plastic wrap and chill it for 1 hour.  Then preheat the oven to 375, prep your cookie sheets with either non-stick spray, silicon baking mats or parchment paper.  Scoop the cookies and place on the prepared sheets about 1-2 inches apart.  I use a scoop that allows me to fit 12 to a sheet and makes standard sized cookies, but feel free to use whatever size you prefer.





Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes.  Allow cookies to set on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to finish cooling.  We like to have a few while they are still warm, fresh from the oven - preferably with a cold glass of milk.

Twisted Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup unsalted butter, melted 

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup light brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 1/4 cup flour

1 cup pretzel twists, coarsely broken

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Melt butter in the microwave on high for about 1 minute.  Add granulated and brown sugars and mix well, until completely emulsified.  Set aside to cool.  Add eggs and blend well.  Add baking soda, salt and vanilla and stir to mix.  Add flour, pretzels and chocolate chips.  Stir in and mix until all the flour is fully incorporated into the dough.  Chill for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Spray cookie sheets with non-stick spray or line with silicon baking mats or parchment.  Use a cookie scoop or a spoon to drop cookies onto sheet 1-2 inches apart.  Bake 8-10 minutes until golden brown.  Remove from oven and allow cookies to set for 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

This recipes makes about 3 1/2 dozen cookies using a 2 tablespoon scoop.