I know I’ve been keeping it savory and vaguely healthy this month, but I like to live on the edge. Especially on Saturday nights while wearing my softest/oldest/ugliest/best pajamas and a sweatshirt only the person who bought it in college (12 years ago!) could love.
(With a wardrobe like that, it’s a wonder that I’m single.)
My partying days are well behind me now. I don’t drink or smoke anymore. I quit Diet Coke completely and have cut my seltzer intake to a maximum of two a day. My coffee…well, that’s neither here nor there.
The point is that my list of vices is pretty short these days, but making myself One Big Chocolate Chip Cookie on the occasional late night is one that I have no intention of parting with. Sometimes you just need a cookie the size of your face. Sometimes it’s the answer to all your problems.
Well, a big cookie and acceptance. Acceptance is a pretty important important part of solving problems.
But this is a baking blog so…back to this big, no-sharing-required dessert for one (or two, if you’re feeling benevolent). It requires miniscule amounts of 8 ingredients that you likely already have, and only about 25 minutes start-to-finish.
This recipe differs drastically from that of my usual Chocolate Chip Cookies. For one, there’s no egg. I have tried many of the single big cookie recipes out there and have always been frustrated by the fact that they require you to scoop one tablespoon of a beaten egg. Have you ever tried to measure a spoonful of beaten egg? It’s stupidly difficult. Also, what do you do with the leftover two tablespoons of beaten egg?!
This is the sort of baking silliness that infuriates me (clearly), so I found a way around it. This recipe mitigates the egg-measuring problem by swapping in one teaspoon of water, and it works incredibly well. I wouldn’t try this for any large-batch cookie recipes, but it works here.
The other differences from my regular recipe are less…scientific. I use melted butter here because creaming one tablespoon of butter is ridiculous and unnecessary. Oh, and there’s no need to chill your dough. This recipe is meant to be made on the fly and enjoyed while the chocolate is still melty.
Melted chocolate + soft centers + chewy caramelized edges = ❤ ❤ ❤ 
A quick word about leaveners before I get to the recipe. I tested this recipe seven times (!) with both baking soda and baking powder. Baking soda, which I use in my large-batch recipe because it produces browner cookies with more surface area, won out, but just barely.
Generally speaking, baking soda and baking powder are not interchangeable, but this is one recipe where you can use either one (in a 1/8 teaspoon volume) and still have a quality cookie. The baking powder version will be a bit thicker and won’t have the same dark, buttery edges as the baking soda version, but it will still be delicious. This soda/powder swap will not work for many (if any) other recipes, but it works here. I thought about leaving this information out of this post, but I don’t want a lack of leavener to come between you and a cookie the size of your face.
Thank me later.
One Big Chocolate Chip Cookie
makes 1 large cookie
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons light or dark brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon water (not cold)
1/8 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon baking soda*
pinch of Kosher or sea salt
2 tablespoons semisweet chocolate chips, plus more for optional topping
Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Set aside.
In a small bowl, use a fork to whisk together melted butter and brown sugar. Mix in water and vanilla. Add flour, baking soda and salt, and whisk until a dough forms. Use a silicone spatula or spoon to mix/fold in chocolate chips.
Use your hands to form dough into a ball and place on parchment. Dot with additional chocolate chips (for aesthetic purposes), if desired. Press down on dough ball slightly with the heel of your hand, so that it’s more of a disk/puck and less of a ball. Bake for 14-16 minutes or until edges have darkened to a golden brown color and center is still a bit pale.
Let cookie cool on the pan for 5-7 minutes before using a spatula to remove it to a plate. Enjoy.
Note:
An equal volume of baking powder will work in place of baking soda. The cookie it produces will be a bit thicker and paler, but still delicious. I do not recommend swapping baking soda and baking powder in any other recipes.
If you want to know what kind of person I am outside of this blog, you should know that I once spent six months of my life obsessively making jam (and preserves) in a kitchen that is smaller that my current closet. Strawberry, cherry, grapefruit marmalade, gingered nectarine—you name it. I had all the preserving equipment you can imagine and an entire kitchen shelf filled with jars of colorful fruit-based spreads.
So, to wrap that up: I am prone to intense kitchen projects (hello, three year-old food blog with 
I mean, I am all about crunchy, nutty roll-out cookies, but why must they always be sandwiched with jam? Jam is not a dessert food, at least as far as I am concerned. A 
You know what absolutely *is* a dessert food? Nutella.
Chocolate hazelnut spread = dessert food.
Chocolate hazelnut cookies = dessert food.
A layer of Nutella chocolate hazelnut spread sandwiched between two crunchy chocolate hazelnut cookies = the dessertiest dessert food.
So, in conclusion, when it comes to Chocolate Hazelnut Linzer Cookies, no jam, no problem.
I suppose this is a year of unconventional Thanksgiving pies here on E2 Bakes.
I usually go for traditional pastry crust pies this time of year (and there’s at least one coming your way), but then there was 
Made with a graham cracker and hazelnut crust, a Nutella pudding filling, and topped with whipped cream and candied hazelnuts, this pie is basically the dessert of my dreams.
This beauty has hazelnut flavor all over the place. We’re talking 2/3 cup toasted and blitzed into a buttery graham cracker crust…
another 1/3 cup that are lightly candied and scattered on top…
and a creamy pudding filling that tastes like pure Nutella, but somehow even better.
Don’t ask me to explain how it’s possible to improve the flavor of Nutella—I can’t quite find the words.
You’ll just have to make a Nutella Cream Pie and see for yourself.
Until last Wednesday, I had no plans to create a new Fudgsicle recipe. I have some vegan 
I trekked over to Trader Joe’s to buy the day’s groceries. It was only when I was turning onto the block where I work that I realized I hadn’t bought anything for Fudgsicles. I had been a bit distracted when my boss had requested them, and had forgotten to put the ingredients on my list. It was getting late and I needed to get started on dinner, so instead of going back to TJ’s, I determined that I’d figure out how to make Fudgsicles from things they had on-hand.
Once I got dinner on, I started to look through the cabinets for ingredients. It went something like this:
I put all the ingredients in the blender, said a little prayer to Julia Child, and blitzed everything together until it was smooth. I divided the mixture among a set of ice pop molds and put them in the freezer.
Before the Fudgsicles were completely frozen, it was time for me to go home. As you probably could have guessed, I spent the next 18 or so hours wondering if they were any good compared to my old favorites. Imagine how delighted I was when I got to work the next day to see that the family had already eaten most of them!
Luckily, there was one left for me to try. It was deeply chocolaty, perfectly sweet, and soft enough that I could bite through it—so basically, exactly what I was going for. I love that a recipe that began as a guessing game worked on the first try. That rarely happens, so I’m calling it a victory.
I’ve made three more batches of these Fudgsicles since last week—two for work and one for me. I love how quick and easy they are and that they’re made from the sort of ingredients I always have on hand. And that’s to say nothing of the fact that they’re vegan and fairly low-calorie for an end of the day treat. I don’t follow any sort of diet, but it’s nice to make something on the lighter side every once in a while.
Spend five minutes making a batch of Fudgsicles this weekend! I hope you love them as much as I do.
After I made 
I should acknowledge that I already have four recipes for chocolate chip cookies in my archives (see 
The original recipe calls for all-purpose flour, but as I had plenty of oats leftover from making from my adventures in graham cracker-ing, I figured I’d give it a shot with toasted ground oats. I also swapped out plain granulated sugar for an equal volume of light brown, added some vanilla, switched from chocolate chips to finely chopped dark chocolate, and nixed the extra salt entirely.
The Ovenly overlords will tell you that theirs’ is a finicky recipe and to follow it to the T. They are correct—it’s a very precise recipe and works perfectly as-is. But I messed with it anyway because I can’t help myself.
It took me five test rounds to get these cookies to work consistently with toasted ground oats, but I persisted and have been rewarded with super chewy, chocolaty cookies that anyone will love (not just your favorite local 
I will, however, jump on Ovenly’s soapbox like a hypocrite and tell you not to mess with this recipe…any further than I have already.
As with most baking recipes, the volumes of ingredients are very specific for a reason. In the case of this recipe, adjusting the liquid ingredients by 1 tablespoon (!) will either yield sad, soupy dough (and lacy cookies) or a chilled rock of inedible dough. Trust me, I know.
And for the love of everything, don’t shorten the 12-24 hour chill. If you do, I guarantee you will be disappointed. But if you work ahead, as specified in the recipe, you’ll be rewarded with some seriously good Chewy Chocolate Chunk Cookies.
For all my “don’t mess with the recipe” talk, these are remarkably easy and delicious cookies! They’re a guaranteed hit, not only for their chewy texture and perfect amount of dark chocolate, but because they’re vegan, gluten-free, and nut-free, so more people can eat them. Love that ❤
e2 bakes brooklyn 