Back when I lived in New York, there was a particular chocolate chip cookie recipe that was asked for at every birthday party and half-birthday party and fake birthday party there ever was. The recipe had been mine alone, as everyone knew, and “Melissa’s Cookies” were perfected over years of burned cookie edges, too-melted chocolate and raw-dough centers. Once I figured out the proportions, every batch turned out undeniably delicious.
I’d forgotten about my famous cookies until last night, when I was flipping through the TV channels only to find one of my favorite Food Network stars taking out a hot tray of the chocolate chip variety. Suddenly, I was brought charging back to those sweet NYC nights, setting out a plate of cookies on a Saturday as my friends all rushed over, screaming in atonal unison, “COOKIES!”
Anyway, here’s the secret recipe … and it uses honey, which you can get from Bee Ladies Honey every Sunday at the Newport Beach Farmers’ Market.
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
- 3/4 cup LIGHT brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 sticks unsalted butter
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups semi-sweet (organic!) chocolate chips
Directions
- Preheat oven to 375F
- Sift the flour, baking soda and salt together and place in medium sized bowl.
- Melt butter until it is very soft, about 1.5 minutes in my microwave.
- Put softened butter, brown sugar, honey and granulated sugar in large bowl. Mix until it becomes a light brown color and is thoroughly combined, (almost fluffy texture, this will take a while so be patient!)
- Crack open 1 egg and beat lightly. Add 1 tablespoon plus 3/4 tablespoon to sugar-butter mixture. Mix. Add eggs one at a time until combined.
- Add vanilla extract and mix until combined. Add flour mixture slowly, a little at a time, until it is combined in large bowl with sugar and butter and forms a dough.
- Stir in chocolate chips until combined evenly throughout.
- Butter or line a large cookie sheet with wax paper. Using an ice cream scoop (so that all cookies are the same size) scoop balls of dough onto sheet, leaving about 2 inches around each one to expand in oven (trust me you will need to make this in batches…)
- Cook 11 minutes or until tops are just starting to turn golden brown.
- Allow to cool and consume hungrily!
