Mighty Fine Chocolate Chip Cookies
MY*T*FINE, indeed.
I’m headed over to make sandwiches at the shop today, but wanted to get this recipe to you because y’all - these double chocolate chip pudding cookies are flat out delicious. Now, they do call for a box of instant pudding and I know there’s a few of you (there’s always a few!) who are too fancy for boxed pudding mixes. If this is you, go on and close this message. I’ll catch you on the next one, in which I’ll try to use something pure, wholesome, organic and fresh from the market. As to whether boxed pudding is welcome or not in your kitchen, I’ll respectfully leave that up to you.
In Other News
I came across these fun napkins the other day.
Darke Pines is celebrating seven years! Here’s to another!
I’m very into chiffon cakes right now. My Great Grandmother Lulie’s lemon chiffon is in the oven as I type this note. I hope it makes it to the shop in one piece. If you stop by early, I’ll give you a slice!
Here’s a link to that fabulous market tote I found on our trip to Venice, CA. I am into all of their bags, especially these made from vintage uniform school belts!
By the way, how good is My*T*Fine’s branding? Beyond. I’ve been testing a lot of ice cream recipes lately, one of which suggested combining a box of instant pudding with heavy cream and spinning it in an ice cream maker. It wasn’t my favorite ice cream, but it got me thinking about cookies. We’ve all heard about using nonfat milk powder in cookies, thanks to Christina Tosi. That’s also a great recipe, by the way!
Instant pudding is basically milk powder and adds a creamy texture to the cookie dough, but dare I say, better because of the additional flavoring. My recipe below calls for adding browned butter and vanilla pudding mix to the cookie dough, which kicks EVERYTHING up a notch.
Here’s what My*T*Fine will look like on your grocery store shelf today.
I’ve only tested this cookie recipe using the My*T*Fine brand and can’t say that it will for sure work with Jell-O brand, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t. Like, maybe the banana pudding mix? Chocolate banana bread, but as a cookie? Come on with it!
This recipe calls for browned butter and two types of chocolate, if you only want to use one chocolate - please let it be the 70% dark chocolate. I’ve linked the exact ingredients I used in the recipe below.
Notes: You need to brown the butter ahead of making the dough. Takes about an hour. Like all of the best cookies, you need to let the dough chill overnight in the fridge. Takes a little planning, but worth it. If you have a cookie scoop, you can scoop the dough before chilling it. I used the #20 scoop (3 TBSP) and got 10 perfect cookies from this batch. If you don’t have a scoop, use a tablespoon to measure and roll the dough into balls. You can also make smaller cookies, just reduce the bake time by a few minutes.
MIGHTY FINE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
INGREDIENTS
140 grams (½ cup + 1 tablespoon) unsalted butter, cubed
180 grams (1½ cups) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
100 grams (½ cup) light brown sugar
67 grams (â…“ grams) sugar
1 egg + 1 egg yolk
1½ teaspoons vanilla bean paste (extract is also fine!)
1 tablespoon milk, room temperature - can be whole/2% or skim
60 grams (¼ cup) vanilla pudding mix
100 grams (3.5 oz) 70% dark chocolate, chopped
100 grams (3.5 oz) milk chocolate chips
Optional - Maldon Salt for the top
METHOD
1. Brown the butter:
Place cubed butter in a saucepan over low heat. Slowly melt the butter until it is foamy on the surface. Swirl it around over low heat until light brown specks begin to form and you smell a nutty aroma. Remove from heat and and pour into a small bowl with all the bits. Leave it to cool for 20 minutes and then place in the fridge to chill for 1 hour. If you leave it for longer than 1 hour, or overnight, you’ll have to let it come up to room temperature before making the cookies.
2. Make the cookie dough:
Sift flour, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.
In a separate bowl - hand mixer or standing is okay - beat together the brown butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar. Add whole egg, then the yolk and vanilla on low speed. Beat until well blended.
Add flour mixture and the instant pudding mix. Beat on low until just combined. Beat in milk - the milk is there to help activate the pudding mix
With a spatula, fold in the chocolate chunks.
If you have a cookie scoop, you can scoop the dough. Or you can use a tablespoon to measure and roll the dough into balls. Place the cookie dough balls on a parchment lined plate or pan. Cover with saran wrap and chill overnight or up to 24 hours in the fridge.
3. Bake the cookies:
Pre-heat your oven to 350°F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. I bake 4 cookies at a time on the same tray, but you can do two trays at once if you have an extra tray.
Place the cookie balls on the baking tray at least 2 inches apart. If you want the extra salt, sprinkle Maldon over the cookies before baking.
Bake for 8 minutes. Rotate the tray and bake for another 6-7 minutes. If you made the 3 TBSP size balls, you can give the pan a quick bang on the counter before rotating for the second part of the bake.
Let the cookies cool on the tray for a couple of minutes before using a spatula to transfer them to a cooling rack. The center of cookies may look slightly under baked. Leave them to cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.