Easter (or Spring) Chocolate Chip Cookies

Easter or Spring - the Pastel White Chocolate Chips make a pretty cookie!

If you follow my blog, you know that I spent Saturday insanely piping dots of various colors of white chocolate so that I could have Pastel White Chocolate Chips.  Couldn't find 'em....wanted 'em real bad... so I durn well made 'em myself! 

I made the cookie dough Sunday and baked off a few to let the teen sample (and me too of course).  I also wanted the opportunity to take photos of the finished product so you could see how cute they turned out.  I have almost gotten to hate the term "super cute"...but in this instance, I gotta say... they really are super cute!

I basically use a Toll House dough, but make a few changes like a little bitsy bit of cinnamon.  I love that it gives a slight warmth to the cookie that you really couldn't identify if you didn't see the recipe.  I like to do that when I'm using the white chocolate chips.  It just works.

So, here's the recipe...and a few photos, but not a lot...of the Easter Chocolate Chip Cookies.  I baked ten, and scooped the rest and froze them on a cookie sheet before transferring to a Ziploc bag.  I'll bake them off (from their frozen state) right before I head to see my big boys and grandchildren for Easter.  That way, they will have yummy fresh-baked cookies from Grandma :-)  ooohhh, I can't wait.

EASTER (OR SPRING) CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
By Debbi Hook
Adapted from Nestle's Toll House Cookie Recipe

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 cup light brown sugar - packed
3/4 cup white granulated sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) butter - softened to room temperature
2 large eggs - room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

9 ounces of assorted Spring-colored white chocolate chips
3 ounces rough chopped Ghirardelli Premium White Chocolate Baking Bar
  (comes in a 4 ounce bar...you could use it all - I ate the other ounce ;-)

Method:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Prepare baking sheets with Silpat or Parchment Paper.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Set up cooling racks.

In medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, cinnamon, and baking soda - set aside

In bowl of stand mixer, mix butter and both sugars until lightened. Add vanilla extract. Beat until blended.

Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing to incorporate after each addition.

Lower mixer speed and add the flour mixture by thirds, incorporating after each addition.

This dough is ready for the final step

Remove beater and scrape down bowl one last time, get all the dough off the beater paddle.  Add both pastel chocolate chips and the chopped white chocolate all at once. 

Just dump it all together on top of the dough.  Get rid of your
wimpy spatula and get a heavy duty spoon.

MIX BY HAND.  Use a sturdy spoon and make sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl!  No need to over mix - just get them incorporated.

Using small to medium sized cookie scoop, place 8 cookies - spaced out - on each baking sheet.  I put 10 on one sheet and two of the cookies spread together.  (You can see the photo below - the two in the left bottom corner are too close...and they were touching when they came out.)  I used a medium cookie scoop.  If you use a small scoop, I'm sure the standard dozen will fit on a baking sheet.

Place in oven and bake for 9-11 minutes.  Remove pan to cooling rack and allow to sit for 15 minutes or so, then remove from pan and complete cooling on the rack.

Since I froze the rest of my dough balls, it will likely take the full 11 minutes to bake.  This "test" batch took 10 minutes and had a nice light brown crust around the edge, but still remained soft...like I like them. 

Here's a couple of things I noticed.  After baking, I really can't tell much difference between blue and green until I bite into the cookie...and I surely can't see a difference in pink and peach.  So, you might want to save yourself some effort...I can see the difference after I bite into them though - your call. 

Hmmm, maybe I should have taken a picture of that bitten one so you could see.  Oh dear, I'm forced to bite another cookie for the sake of getting a photo (as she laughs maniacally)!!! 

Well, I'll be...must have been the lighting in the kitchen...I can see the difference in blue and green fairly clearly in better light...but the peach and pink...just go with one or the other, not worth the effort! 

Well, heck, I can clearly see all the colors here...sigh...must be getting
"old eyes"....but my taste buds surely do work.  That's a good cookie!

Another thought...if I have the impetus to try this again, I'd try it with the Ghirardelli white chocolate.  While I've been a life long Nestle's chip user, I could significantly taste the richness of the Ghirardelli White Chocolate.  I'll make a note and when I try this again (which I know I will), I'll try using the way more expensive White Chocolate Baking Bars from Ghirardelli.  I'll let you know how it goes!

Bon Appetit, Y'all... and check back soon for this year's Easter Decorated Sugar Cookies!

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