You may be asking yourself, "Why only two chocolate chip cookies?" The answer is simple. I cannot be trusted with more than that. Yes. It's true. When it comes to chocolate chip cookies, I AM the original cookie monster.
When the children were growing up, I always made sure they had fresh baked cookies several times a week. I had grown up with store bought cookies and so I wanted to make sure my children had fresh baked. I swear the first sheet pan of them out of the oven magically disappeared! 😟 I learned through the years that not even frozen cookies were safe from the Cookie Monster. If anything they were even more enjoyed. 'Nuff said.
When I saw this cookie recipe which makes only TWO BIG CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES, I just had to bake them! The original recipe comes from a book I have entitled The One Bowl Baker, by Stephanie Simmons. It is the first recipe I have baked from the book and if it is any indication of the others, I will tell you straight up, run, don't walk to your local bookstore and snap this book up!
These are PERFECT Chocolate Chip Cookies. They come out roughly the size of a butter plate, and they are crispy edged and chewy middled and stuffed generously with plenty of chocolate chips.
I gave one to my sister for her partner who just adores Chocolate Chip Cookies and I selfishly kept one for myself. I am trying to make it last over a couple of days because . . . I don't need to be eating a whole one of these in one go, no matter how delicious they are.
I have made it almost 24 hours now and I still have a quarter of my cookie left. Will it make it tomorrow? Rumor has it that it won't. 😉 It may not even make it until the end of the afternoon. Just as tasty today as it was yesterday. These be dangerous. VERY dangerous indeed.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED
TO MAKE
TWO BIG CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
The usual suspects. There is nothing out of the ordinary here. Note - I used the weight measures when making these cookies. So much more accurate than any other way to bake.
- 1/4 cup (57g) butter, at room temperature
- 3 TBS (45g) granulated sugar
- 3 TBS (42g) packed soft light brown sugar
- 2 TBS (30ml) beaten egg
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup (93g) all-purpose plain flour
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- pinch salt
- generous 1/2 cup (110g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
I like to make sure all of my ingredients are at room temperature before I start mixing them together. This helps things to amalgamate much more evenly. You don't end up with lumps of butter in the dough. I also like to rub the brown sugar between my fingers so that you don't get lumps of brown sugar.
I used salted butter.
In the UK I would use castor sugar instead of granulated sugar. The granulated sugar over there is much coarser than the granulated sugar in Canada. I used Kirkland organic granulated sugar.
My egg was a large egg. 2 TBS is approximately half of the egg, beaten.
I used Kirkland brand semi-sweet chocolate chips. A good quality chocolate chip pays for itself in taste and texture. I use only pure chocolate chips.
HOW TO MAKE
TWO BIG CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
These go together quickly and easily in much the same way as most cookies do. You will need to chill the dough for half an hour before baking, so bear that in mind.
- Cream the butter and both sugars together until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla. (It is imperative that the butter be at room temperature, the egg also.)
- Sift the flour, soda and salt together. Stir this into the creamed mixture until well combined. (This is to make sure the soda is equally distributed in the flour.)
- Stir in the chocolate chips. (Yes, it is a lot but trust me it works. Another time you may want to cut back on the chocolate chips and add nuts or raisins or both in their place.)
- Cover and refrigerate the cookie dough for 30 minutes. (This is important to the success of this cookie.)
- Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Line a medium sized baking tray with some baking parchment. (Not totally necessary to line the baking sheet, but I always do just in case.)
- Divide the chilled dough into two, and shape into two evenly sized balls. (I weighed out the dough and then cut it in half. It worked out to 6 ounces or 180g each.)
- Place well-spaced apart on the baking sheet. Press down gently to flatten slightly. (You want to make sure they don't touch each other when baking. You also want them to bake evenly and not be raw in the middle, hence the slight pressing down.)
- Bake in the preheated oven for 16 to 18 minutes until light golden brown and crispy around the edges. (You can freeze the cookie dough balls if you wish and bake from frozen. They will take 16 to 19 minute to bake straight from the freezer.)
- Leave to cool on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool slightly. (Bear in mind they will continue to bake on the heat of the baking sheet for a short time after removing from the oven.)
- Dig in while still warm. You're welcome! (An ice-cold glass of milk works very well with these!)
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
about baking most cookies
CRISP OR CHEWY COOKIES?
If you prefer crisp cookies, press the dough flat with the bottom of a glass dipped in granulated sugar prior to baking. If you want soft chewy cookies, remove them from the oven about 2 minutes before they are done as they will continue to bake on the hot cookie sheet. If you want crisp cookies bake them for 2 minutes longer.
HOW CAN I KEEP MY COOKIES FROM SPREADING TOO MUCH?
- Don't substitute butter for shortening in a recipe which calls for shortening. shortening has a higher melting point, which means it doesn't liquify as quickly, and does a better job of holding the ingredients together. High butter cookie = a cookie that spreads.
- Grease your baking sheets only if the recipe requests you to do so. Most cookies will not stick unless they contain large amounts of butter or sugar.
- Make sure you preheat your oven before baking. If the oven is not hot enough the fat in the cookies will melt before the other ingredients have time to set up.
WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO STORE COOKIES?
Cool cookies completely before storing. Pack them in single layers between wax or parchment paper to prevent sticking. Do NOT store crisp and soft cookies together in the same container. Store in an airtight container.
HOW DO I FREEZE COOKIES PROPERLY?
To freeze cookies, place them into airtight containers or freezer bags, again with a layer of wax paper or parchment paper in between the layers. Again, do not store soft and crisp cookies together. They will keep up to six months frozen. Label properly with the type and the date baked/frozen.
HINTS & TIPS FOR
BAKING COOKIES SUCCESSFULLY
These hints and tips are sure to help you make the best cookies ever.
- Use flat cookie sheets without sides for even baking.
- Place cookies at least 2-inches apart on baking sheets to allow for spreading.
- Use a sheet of baking parchment or a light spritz of cooking spray to grease your cookie sheets. It's not necessary to repeat this step for every batch but do wipe off any crumbs or sugar fm the surface before adding the next batch.
- Place your cookie sheets in the middle of the oven.
- Make sure the sides of your cookie sheets don't touch the edges of the oven so that heat can circulate evenly and properly.
- Pay particular attention to bake times. An extra minute or two can make a big difference to the end result since cookies are for the most part quite small and bake quickly. Always aim to underbake rather than overbake. Cookies do continue to bake after you remove them from the oven.
A FEW OTHER
SMALL BATCH BAKING RECIPES
TO ENJOY
If you have a small family like I do, or if you, likewise, cannot be trusted to keep your snuffler out of the cookie jar, you might also be tempted by the following small batch baked goodies.
SMALL BATCH AMISH SUGAR COOKIES - This is a cookie I used to bake for my children quite often when they were growing up. I used to try to have some kind of a treat waiting for them every day when they got home from school. This is a great recipe. I actually won a ribbon at the county fair back home one year with them, so you know these are really good cookies. You can leave them plain, or you can glaze them if you like. I actually really like them both ways! Delicious, delicious, delicious! Recipe makes 2 1/2 dozen.
LEMON FROSTED GINGERBREAD COOKIE BARS -These lush bars are crisp edged and chewy middled. The recipe makes exactly 8 nice sized bars. No more, no less.
I suppose you could cut them larger, but there is such a thing as too much goodness, and that would be it.
These tasty bars are buttery and flavored with molasses and vanilla, as well as plenty of warm baking spices. I do so love the warm baking spices, don't you??
Cinnamon, Ginger, Cloves, Allspice . . . they are all in there . . . you could also add a touch of ground cardamom as well if you wished. It would not go amiss.
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Yield: 2 large cookies
Two Really Big Chocolate Chip Cookies
Prep time: 40 MinCook time: 18 MinInactive time: 10 MinTotal time: 1 H & 8 M
Two deliciously large chocolate chip cookies. One for you and one for gifting. Nobody needs to know you ate the whole thing. It can be our little secret.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup (57g) butter, at room temperature
- 3 TBS (45g) granulated sugar
- 3 TBS (42g) packed soft light brown sugar
- 2 TBS (30ml) beaten egg
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup (93g) all-purpose plain flour
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- pinch salt
- generous 1/2 cup (110g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Cream the butter and both sugars together until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla.
- Sift the flour, soda and salt together. Stir this into the creamed mixture until well combined.
- Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Cover and refrigerate the cookie dough for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Line a medium sized baking tray with some baking parchment.
- Divide the chilled dough into two, and shape into two evenly sized balls.
- Place well spaced apart on the baking sheet. Press down gently to flatten slightly.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 16 to 18 minutes until light golden brown and crispy around the edges.
- Leave to cool on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool slightly.
- Dig in while still warm. You're welcome!
This content, written and photography, is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at mariealicejoan at aol dot com.
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I have had my fill of turkey and ham this week. With having had a roast ham dinner on Saturday and Turkey on Sunday for Thanksgiving, I have had more than my fair share of leftovers to deal with. Today I wanted to make something completely different.
I had some boneless skinless chicken breasts to use, and I turned to one of my Taste of Home yearbooks to find something new to do with them. This recipe comes from the 1996 yearbook and is attributed to Schelby Thompson of Delaware. I used to love buying Taste of Home Magazine back in the day. I never missed an issue and collected many of the recipes. I have bought it since returning from the U.K and I have to say it is not the same as it used to be and I don't really enjoy it like I used to.
Having said that, this recipe really appealed to me on several level. Not only did I have everything that I needed to use to make it in the house. (It uses very few ingredients and simple ones at that), but it also looked very quick and easy to make!
What you have here are chicken breasts coated in a butter/mustard coating prior to rolling in a mixture of breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese. Simply baked in a moderate oven until done. Easy peasy. It was suggested in the recipe that you could also cut the chicken breasts into finger making the chicken even quicker to cook.
I left my breasts whole and had a tasty meal on the table in not much more than half an hour. The chicken came out moist and delicious. I did cut the bake time down by about 10 to 15 minutes. I felt that was long enough and I was right, the timing was just right.
I served this simple chicken with some onion roasted potatoes which roasted in the oven at the same time as the chicken and a simple salad. (Recipe for the dressing is included below.)
Altogether this was a really delicious, simple and easy to make meal that I really enjoyed. I think you will too! Quantities are for two, but can easily be doubled to serve more.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED
TO MAKE PARMESAN CHICKEN
Other than the chicken, just a few simple ingredients.
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (mine were each the size of my hand.)
- 1/4 cup (57g) butter, melted (I used salted butter.)
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard (Use a good quality Dijon for the best flavor.)
- 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce (Good old Lea & Perrins.)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup (50g) dry breadcrumbs (I used Panko crumbs.)
- 1/4 cup (23g) coarsely grated Parmesan cheese (If you can, grate your own using the large holes on a box grater.)
HOW TO MAKE
PARMESAN CHICKEN
This is really quite simple to make. Quick, easy, delicious. You can't go wrong!
- Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/gas mark 4. Line a small baking tray with aluminum foil and spray with a bit of nonstick cooking spray. (This makes for a very easy cleanup)
- Whisk the melted butter, Worcestershire sauce, salt and Dijon mustard together in a shallow bowl. (Use a bowl large enough to hold the chicken pieces in one layer without folding.)
- Whisk the breadcrumbs and the grated Parmesan cheese together in another shallow bowl. (Use a bowl large enough to hold the chicken pieces in one layer without folding.)
- Poke the chicken breasts all over with a fork to tenderize them. Pat them dry with a piece of paper toweling. (Patting dry helps the coating, etc. to stick better.)
- Working with one at a time, roll them first in the butter mixture and then the crumb mixture, coating them well with each. (Use your hands to pat the crumbs on and then once you get them onto the baking sheet, you can sprinkle any leftovers over top.)
- Place onto the baking sheet. Drizzle any remaining butter mixture over top. (It will melt into the crumbs.)
- Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, until the juices run clear and the chicken is golden brown. The temperature should measure 165*F/74*C on a meat thermometer.
- Serve immediately with your favorite sides.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
WHAT CAN I SERVE WITH THIS CHICKEN?
I served mine with a simple Caesar salad and some Crispy Onion Roasted Potatoes. Delicious! Any starch would work well. Mashed potatoes are very nice. Rice goes well. Buttered noodles. I had the salad but any cooked vegetable also works very well on the side of this.
CAN I USE ANY OTHER POULTRY BESIDES CHICKEN BREASTS?
Feel free to use boneless skinless chicken thighs or even turkey breast cutlets. The timing might vary a bit depending on what you use. Just make sure that juices run clear and the inside temperature is 165*F/74*C when done.
CAN THIS RECIPE BE DOUBLED?
Absolutely! Simply multiply everything by two. Timings will stay the same.
CAN THIS BE MADE AHEAD OF TIME?
You can certainly coat the chicken ahead of time. Place onto the baking sheet, cover lightly with some plastic cling film and place in the refrigerator until you are ready to cook it. I would not do it more than a few hours ahead. This will ensure a crisp coating when done.
Refrigerate any leftovers, properly covered, promptly and use within 2 to 3 days.
HOW TO MAKE
AN EASY CAESAR SALAD DRESSING
This simple salad dressing whips up very quickly and easily with the use of a stick blender. You can also use a smoothie maker or regular blender if you wish.
Measure 3/4 cup (180ml) of olive or vegetable oil into the cup of your blender. Add 3 TBS of good apple cider vinegar, 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp dry mustard powder and a large clove of garlic, peeled.
Use your stick blender to process this mixture together until smooth. Serve immediately and store any leftovers, covered in the refrigerator. It will keep for about a week.
To make a simple Caesar salad I tossed some of the dressing together with some chopped romaine lettuce and served it with some grated Parmesan cheese on top, some garlic croutons and a wedge of lemon juice for squeezing.
HINTS AND TIPS
FOR CHICKEN BREAST PERFECTION
If you follow the following hints and tips you are far less likely to have dried out chicken breasts. These are pretty much fool proof.
1. If you are cooking your chicken plain, it is always better to cook your chicken breasts with the skin on rather than it off. The skin helps to protect the meat and keep it from drying out. You can always peel it off and discard after cooking if you don't want the extra calories.
2. Chicken breasts can be a bit dry. This is because they are much leaner than other parts of the bird. A marinade, brine or rub goes a long way in adding flavor to the meat and keeping it moist. A basic salt and pepper rub is just fine if you want to keep things simple.
3. Pounding chicken breasts with the flat side of a meat pounder always tenderizes them a bit. Even if you are not going for larger flatter pieces of chicken, a bit of pounding helps to even out the pieces and breaks down the tissues a bit rendering that tiny bit more succulent.
4. Keeping them all as much the same size as you can. You can do this by pounding, or by slicing them into smaller thinner pieces. They will also cook faster this way.
5. Overcooking. This is the main culprit when it comes to producing chicken breasts which are dry and unpalatable. You need only cook them until the juices run clear. Bear in mind, that they will continue to cook when you remove them from the pan. Let them rest, lightly covered for a few minutes and you will achieve perfection.
A FEW OTHER
CHICKEN BREAST RECIPES TO ENJOY
No doubt about it, we eat a lot of chicken in my house. It's such an adaptable source of protein and lends itself beautifully to many methods of cooking and flavor additions. Here are a few other favorites!
HERB & LEMON ROASTED CHICKEN BREASTS - Nothing tastes better or is moister than chicken breasts which are roasted on the bone with the skin intact. This is a delicious marinade that I like to use when I am roasting them on the bone. It's nicely flavored with lemon, garlic and a variety of herbs. This is a fabulous way of preparing chicken breasts which keeps them moist and very flavorful. I like to buy whole chickens and cut them up myself. Plan ahead as the chicken needs to marinate for about an hour before cooking.
CRISPY CHICKEN BREASTS WITH HONEY GARLIC SAUCE - Chicken breasts are pounded and then coated in a flavor-filled crispy crumb prior to frying until they are crisp and golden brown. A lush restaurant quality honey garlic sauce is created to spoon over top. A once in a blue moon treat that always goes down very well! Yes, a tad bit naughty, but, very, very nice!
Pin this recipe to your Main Dish or Chicken Boards on Pinterest and remember to FOLLOW ME on Pinterest, Facebook, or Instagram!
That way you can be assured that you are always up to date with fresh content as soon as I post it. You can also sign up to receive a weekly newsletter from Grow. Thank you!
Yield: 2 servings
Parmesan Chicken
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 35 MinTotal time: 45 Min
A deliciously savory coating on tender and juicy chicken. Easy enough to serve on a weeknight, but special enough to serve to company as well. The recipe can easily be doubled.
Ingredients
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1/4 cup (57g) butter, melted
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup (50g) dry breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup (23g) coarsely grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/gas mark 4. Line a small baking tray with aluminum foil and spray with a bit of nonstick cooking spray.
- Whisk the melted butter, Worcestershire sauce, salt and Dijon mustard together in a shallow bowl.
- Whisk the breadcrumbs and the grated Parmesan cheese together in another shallow bowl.
- Poke the chicken breasts all over with a fork to tenderize them. Pat them dry with a piece of paper toweling.
- Working with one at a time, roll them first in the butter mixture and then the crumb mixture, coating them well with each.
- Place onto the baking sheet. Drizzle any remaining butter mixture over top.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, until the juices run clear and the chicken is golden brown. The temperature should measure 165*F/74*C on a meat thermometer.
- Serve immediately with your favorite sides.
This content, written and photography, is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at mariealicejoan at aol dot com.
Thanks for visiting! Do come again!!
If you like what you see here, why not consider signing up for my newsletter and/or subscribing/following me on Grow. You can also bookmark my recipes via the Grow platform. Check out the heart on the right-hand side of the screen.
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