So, friends... it's been a tough 2013 so far. Really great things have been happening in my world (progress on my doctoral thesis, traveling, exciting times with friends), but it's meant that I've had to step away from my kitchen. Now that things are calming down (fingers crossed), I'm back!
I've been training for the Nike Women's Half Marathon in D.C. in April, and am working like a fiend outside of my doctoral training to get back in shape and to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (please consider donating and showing the love for LLS!). It's been rough to fit in the training right now, but it'll be totally worth it.
The plus side to running ~25-30 miles a week? All the extra food I get to eat.
When I was a kid, my mom bought a cookbook called Beat This! that had the Neiman Marcus $250 chocolate chip cookie recipe in it. I remember my mom taking an entire afternoon to make hundreds of these cookies for bake sales and school functions. They're more labor intensive than your average cookie, but both cookie and dough freeze well, so it's well worth the time.
Well, I decided to take that recipe and take it up a notch. A really, over-the-top indulgent notch. The secret to these cookies is not only the ground oatmeal that is used to replace some of the flour, but also grinding semisweet chocolate in with the oatmeal so that every bite of cookie has flecks of chocolate. I also added in white and milk chocolate chips (since Ghiradelli was on sale for $1.50 a bag at Target this weekend!)
So take a lazy Sunday afternoon to make these beauties. They're rich, decadent, and you'll find that you only really need one to satisfy that craving.
The Fully Loaded Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookie
Adapted from Beat This! and Bakers Royale
2 1/2 cups rolled oats
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup milk chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
In a food processor, pulse the rolled oats and 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips until well combined. Transfer to a bowl and mix in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, combine butter and sugars until fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, and then vanilla. Slowly add in oat/flour mixture, and mix well. Fold in remaining semisweet chocolate chips along with the white and milk chocolate.
Roll cookie dough into 1" balls. At this point, you can freeze the dough and have these cookies ready to bake at any time (highly recommended for bad days!). Alternatively, place on lined cookie sheet. Bake 12 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from oven, and transfer to cooling rack. Eat with a giant glass of milk while watching reruns of Nickelodeon cartoons.
