<space>

Okay… some of you may think I’m weird (spoiler: I TOTALLY AM) but… whenever some food item is really, really, REALLY addictive… I generally refer to it as “crack.” So I end up saying a lot of things like…

<space>

“This Wahoo’s green sauce has something delicious in it… probably crack.”

“They probably added crack to this smoothie.”

“I baked these chocolate chip cookies with extra crack. You’ll love them!”

<space>

Sometimes I wonder whether people who don’t know me think I actually add crack to my cooking. Sometimes I think that would be hilarious.

These cookies are the perfect example of cracked-out foods. If I hadn’t baked these myself… I would swear that the Crack Fairy came by and sprinkled some into the Kitchenaid bowl while I wasn’t looking.

So this recipe will henceforth be my go-to recipe for Chocolate Chip cookies (also called CCCs for those “in the know”) because they are so di-freaking-vine. The recipe is basically the (in?)famous Nieman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookie, but with pecans instead of walnuts… because 1) I made them for when I visited Chelsea, who is coincidentally allergic to walnuts, and 2) because pecans can be pronounced PEE-cans or pe-CAHNS, and are therefore inherently way cooler than one-pronunciation-only walnuts.

<space>

<space>

The recipe is sort of intense since you have to use a food processor to grind the rolled oats (my first reaction was “omg you have got to be kidding!”) but the extra work is totally worth it. The cookies are chewy on the inside and crisp on the outside… but not so much that you break your teeth or your jaw while chewing. And the recipe uses TWO kinds of chocolate chips. Which means these HAVE to be good, right?

If you want to really blow it out and be a high-roller (like me, duh!), you can use Ghiradelli milk chocolate chips, because the chips are a different size than the semi-sweet chips by Nestle or Tollhouse. But they taste good either way… because they have 2 kinds of chocolate chips are twice as awesome as any other CCC recipe out there.

Anyways, try these cookies. I promise you won’t be disappointed! Unless you have no soul… or don’t like chocolate. Both of which pretty much yield the same result – a life devoid of happiness. And these cookies. Which would suck.

<space>

<space>

<space>

The (Henceforth) Official Chocolate Chip Cookie of the Kitchenette

Adapted from Neiman Marcus

Printable recipe

Makes approximately 3 dozen

<space>

Ingredients:
2½ cups rolled oats
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
4 ounces milk chocolate chips
1½ cups chopped pecans
<space>

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F degrees.

Grind the oats in a food processor until the resemble a fine powder. Add the oat flour to a bowl along with flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine the dry ingredients and set aside.

Cream together butter and both sugars in a bowl using an electric mixer or your own arm muscles, about 3-4 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat in the eggs one at a time. Beat in the vanilla extract. Gradually mix in the flour mixture, until the flour is just incorporated. Fold in the nuts and both types of chocolate chips with a spatula. (The dough is very thick at this point; it will be very hard to fold in the chips. Have faith that everything will still taste delicious.)

Use 2 spoons, your hands, or an ice cream scoop to portion the dough into 2-ounce balls and place about 2 inches apart on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper. Bake for 10 minutes at 375F degrees. (The cookies will look a little undercooked in the middle, but do not worry, they’ll finish cooking a bit outside the oven.) Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

<space>

<space>

Now Playing in the Kitchenette: Phoenix / If I Ever Feel Better – I’m pretty sure they would feel better if they ate some cookies. Just saying.

<space>

<space>

<space>

If you like today’s recipe, you may be interested in…