Communion Cookery: Chasing Chocolate Chips Cookies, Take 1

Awkward confession time…

I remember when I was younger and I would journal with consistency, but then something would happen and I’d go a month or two without writing anything and it always felt a bit weird trying to pick back up where I left off.

It feels a little like that now with the writing part of Communion Cookery and Waffle House Theology. I’ve still been baking, if you’re connected with me on social media you’ve definitely seen proof of this, and I’ve still been giving just about all of it away to my neighbors. My confession is that sometimes I’m so spent from everything else, staring at a computer screen for another hour just doesn’t make my priority list. I could name that list of course, but I’ll shorten that to one word for the time being; newborn. Since my last post, we’ve welcomed a new life into this world. Meaning my family’s world/routines have changed and shifted. This includes unpacking and writing about the sacramentality of sharing food with folks. Just wanted to name that before we get going.

With that said, let’s talk chocolate chip cookies.

Yes, that is Duke’s Mayo you see.

Ingredients

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2 cups of all-purpose flour, 2 tsp cornstarch, 1/2 tsp of baking soda, a pinch of salt, 3/4 cup of Duke’s Mayo, 1/2 cup light brown sugar (packed), 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1 large egg, 2 tsp of vanilla extract, 1 cup of chocolate chips.

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Combine flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Mix together the Duke’s, sugar, egg, and vanilla in a separate bowl until they are combined. Add in the flour mixture (I do it in two dumps). Mix until smooth. Fold in the chocolate chips last by folding them in.

While you can use your hands and roll the dough into balls, I recommend a scoop. Here I'm using a 2” scoop to keep some level of conformity.

Bake for 13 minutes give or take a minute.

Remove from oven, let cool for a couple of minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack.

I leave plenty of space because as you can see these cookies spread out when baked.

Good looking cookie. Plenty big if you wanted to toss some fresh whipped cream or ice cream in between two.

Chewing the Fat…

While I enjoy experimenting in the kitchen, there is just a warm self-satisfying feeling when you come across something that works for you. These are the recipes that later become staples, get jotted down in a recipe book, or become known as your “go-to” choice. I’ve developed this already with my biscuit baking. People talk about them and they become associated with you. So this search for crafting a signature-ish chocolate chip cookie is an undertaking I’m looking to explore. When my spouse gifted me with the Duke’s Mayonassie Cookbook for Christmas I immediately flipped to the cookie section. I’ve done muffins with Duke’s before but nothing “sweet.” My family enjoyed them early the other morning with my daughter calling them “Santa cookies.” These are solid cookies and I like the idea of sharing that they incorporate Duke’s. It’s the novelty of it all that probably appeals to me more than anything.

But this is by no means where I stop this journey. Hell, this isn’t even where it began. I’ve already baked a few different kinds and I’ve discovered that I’m not a massive chocolate chip cookie kind of guy. What I mean by that is my preference is for smaller and thinner cookies instead of the larger monsters you see in bakeries. Not that they are bad, because they are certainly not. But I just like the idea of munching on like 3-4 cookies rather than one large massive one. That’s a me thing so feel free to shake your head in disgust. Plus making a batch of 24 cookies makes it easier to spread the cookie love. I dropped off a bag full of cookies to a neighbor yesterday and I’m told they were “bussin.” I’ll take that as an official approval.

So here’s to the journey, part one of the chase for chocolate chip perfection. Here’s to 2022 being less chaotic as 2021. Fingers crossed.