Chocolate Chip Amish Puff Cookies

I have a confession to make. I seldom bake chocolate chip cookies. In fact, I may have only baked 1-2 batches my whole life. Sounds weird, I know! For some reason, every time I consider making chocolate chip cookies, I end up thinking, "We're eating cookies. Why not get some oatmeal, fruit and nuts in there too?" And so I've always baked only oatmeal cookies with chocolate chips/nuts/dried fruit in them. But never classic chocolate chip cookies. Well, at least not till about a month ago. When I discovered these beauties. Well, I suppose these aren't your CLASSIC chocolate chip cookies either, but I am more than happy to stick with these. They are SO good! Really addictive!

I found the recipe on babble.com but the recipe is originally from The Field Guide to Cookies. I want to get my hands on this book! I am totally a cookie person! :)

Instead of chocolate chips, I used chopped chocolate chunks and I added some good vanilla extract because somehow it seemed incomplete to me without vanilla! This recipe yields 32 regular sized chocolate chip cookies, or 18-20 large ones.

Chocolate Chip Amish Puff Cookies

Adapted from The Field Guide to Cookies via babble.com 

Ingredients (Makes 32 cookies)

1/2 cup  (113g) butter, softened

1/2 cup light brown sugar, tightly packed

1/4 cup white sugar

1 large egg

3/4 tsp vanilla extract 

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder 

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

1/4 tsp salt

150g chopped chocolate or chocolate chips 

1/4 cup sugar + 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon for rolling 

Method  

1. Cream the butter and sugars together for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy. 

2. And the egg and vanilla and whisk for a further 2 minutes. 

3. Sift in the flour with the baking powder, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt. Mix into the butter mixture until completely incorporated. 

4. Stir in the chocolate and mix well to combine thoroughly. 

5. Form into one inch balls and roll in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. If you find the cookie dough too sticky to handle, refrigerate for 5-10 minutes and then form the balls. You should get around 32 cookie balls.

6. Place the cookie dough balls on a plate and chill thoroughly from anywhere from 1/2 hour to overnight. 

7. When you're ready to bake, preheat your oven to 180C/350F and place the balls at least two inches apart on a parchment/Silpat lined baking sheet. Don't press to flatten the balls. 

8. Bake for 8-12 minutes or until the edges start turning golden and the cookies are still soft to the touch. They'll firm up while cooling! Turn the tray around once if needed, for even baking.

9. Allow to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet, and transfer to a cooling rack. 

10. When completely cool, transfer to an airtight box for storage. 

If you are making larger cookies, like I did once, increase the baking time, and keep an eye on the cookies! They turn out just fine.

These cookies are have a lovely buttery flavor, and are slightly chewy, just like a good chocolate chip cookie should be, but they are much lighter than your average chocolate chip cookie. Personally, I love the texture of these cookies and I love the cinnamon-sugar crunch on the outside. Adds another dimension and makes them absolutely yummy!

Classic or not, these are really exceptional cookies. I have baked three batches of these in the one month since I discovered them, and they've turned out great every single time. An absolute winner and a must-try recipe!