This is my favorite chocolate chip cookie. It’s pretty much everything I look for in a CCC. It’s buttery….see the butter stain on the parchment paper in the photo below. It’s chewy. It’s crispy. I’ve posted this recipe before and called it my 2nd favorite chocolate chip cookie. But this time I did something different. This one is loaded with much more chocolate and I added nuts. It’s very rich. It’s perfect. I have made this recipe for years, but without nuts. Let me tell you what inspired me to put nuts this time…

Recently, I discovered a cookie called THE COOKIE, at a local specialty store. OMG, as soon as you walk into the store, you see them baking these and the aroma…………..ohhhhhhh the aroma. It’s a big fat cookie….BIG. They serve them warm. Well, I bout fainted when I took a bite. The chocolate was intense. While I browsed around the store, I finished my cookie. Now, you know I went back and got another to take home. This was a special cookie. However, as I analyzed this cookie (as I do with all my food) I had to ask myself just why I liked it so much. It was not chewy. It was thick and I don’t usually like thick cookies. The thing I found interesting was the cookie dough to chocolate chip and nuts ratio. It was so loaded with chocolate and nuts, that there really was very little cookie. Hmmm. Well, that got me thinking….excessively….obsessively….what if I just overloaded my go-to recipe with chocolate and toasted nuts. I’m not kidding when I say I obsessed over this cookie. It was bad! Hahahahah. But adding the additional chocolate and the toasted nuts produced the same great taste as the specialty cookie I purchased. But mine were better since they had the chew!!! YAY!

So, today I made a batch. My first batch got forgotten as I left the kitchen to do laundry. I overbaked them by a good 2 to 3 minutes. I panicked…I cursed. Some bad, bad words came out of my mouth! But to my surprise, I had perfect thin and crispy, buttery CCC’s. So, if that’s the kind of cookie you like, do like I did! Go do some laundry and overbake your cookies! My second batch, baked at a lesser time, were delicious. Perfect. I may put more nuts next time….who knows.

I am highly recommending these! Even if you aren’t a nutty person, you will love this recipe. Just leave out the nuts.

The cookies are this beautiful caramel brown color.

 Buttery, Crispy, Chewy, Nutty Chocolate Chip Cookie

1 stick (1/2 cup) of butter, slightly softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1  1/4 cup flour plus 3 Tblsp flour. Use 2 Tblsp if you want a thinner crispy cookie
1  1/2 cups of chopped good chocolate (semi sweet or bittersweet)  I used Ghirardelli (see picture)
3/4 cup chopped toasted walnuts

In a mixing bowl, mix the butter and sugars just until smooth. Add egg and vanilla and mix until combined. Gently stir in the flour, baking soda and baking powder. Don’t over mix.  Stir in the chocolate and nuts. Chill dough for about 20-30 minutes. Roll dough into 1″ balls and place them 2″ apart, on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.  Bake at 350 for 11-12 minutes. Allow to cool on the baking sheet.

Chewy, rich deliciousness awaits you!

I have my two favorite chocolate cupcakes that are my go to chocolate cake. This is pretty much the same recipe as those, but these have a secret ingredient. Cranberry juice. You don’t taste it….you would never even know it’s there. But it does cut the sweetness a bit and makes for a fluffy cupcake.

If a cake or cupcake recipe ever calls for water, I rarely use water. I will use hot coffee, leftover coffee, milk, ginger ale, 7 up, fruit juice and even beer. I highly recommend trying this especially if you are using a boxed cake mix.

Anyway, let’s get back to this cupcake. Yum. The frosting is a milk chocolate frosting and it is DELICIOUS. It’s creamy, rich and decadent.

Just plop a fresh cranberry or two on top to make it look holiday-ish.

Secret Ingredient Chocolate Cupcake

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cranberry juice (or water if you don’t like cranberry juice)
1/2  cup sour cream
1/4  cup milk
3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350°. Line standard muffin pan with paper liners. Sift cocoa powder, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. Add eggs, cranberry juice, sour cream, oil, and vanilla. Mix until smooth by hand whisk or mixer.
Divide batter among muffin cups, filling each 2/3 full. Bake until tops spring back when touched, about 15-18 minutes or until you poke a toothpick in the cake and it comes out clean. Let cool. Frost (makes 18-20 cuppies)

Milk Chocolate Frosting

8 oz block of cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
2-3 Tblsp unsweetened cocoa powder (add more if you like a more intense chocolate flavor
1 tsp vanilla
1  16 oz box of powdered sugar

In a large mixing bowl, mix together the butter and cream cheese until very creamy and smooth. Add the vanilla, cocoa and sugar. Whip until very fluffy. If it’s too thick, add a few drops of milk or cream. If it appears too thin, add more powdered sugar.

Frost cupcakes and top with fresh cranberries or any berry, or some shaved white chocolate, dark chocolate, etc.