Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Welcome to the "Summer of Amena," and Her Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies!

The public has spoken, or at least the portion of the public that subscribes to me on YouTube and voted in our "Summer of You" contest. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, you can check out this post for details, but to summarize, the winning entry for what summer recipe would you most like to see made into a video was…Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies?

If I've said it once, I've said it a hundred times… democracy doesn't work. Hey, I'm only kidding! Sure, cookies may not be the first thing you think of when you think summer recipes, but that's what a lovely young woman named Amena (pictured here) wanted to see, and enough YouTubers were persuaded by her very creative video to make that happen.

While this was done to fulfill a pledge, I've wanted to do a video like this for a while to prove something once and for all; you do not need an electric mixer to make cookies. This entire recipe takes about 20 minutes to make, and only about five of those are spent doing anything physical.

As I mention in the video, this recipe is very adaptable as far as what and how much you add to the basic dough. I used a "normal" amount of chips, but this amount can be doubled without issue. You can also toss in dried fruit and nuts fearlessly.

So, join me in congratulating Amena, and I hope you all celebrate her triumph by giving this super-easy chocolate chip cookie
recipe a try. Enjoy!




Ingredients:
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, very soft
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup white granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup white chocolate chips
1/3 cup milk chocolate chips
Note: the amounts of chocolate chips can be doubled for extra decadent cookies! aka "Amena style"

70 comments:

Nefertiti said...

Woot! You pronounced it right! I'm going to try this recipe right now and its 3:00am lol... I think Im going to enjoy this summer, thanks Chef John :-P

blogagog said...

While I'm generally enjoying the Summer of Amena, it's getting ridiculously hot. Can someone ask Amena to turn on the air conditioner?

Thanks in advance.

Carolyn™ said...

Nothing really beats homemade chocolate cookies using butter :) The season doesnt really matter as my season is the opposite to yours anyway and it doesnt stop me enjoying the recipes.

Michelle said...

Chef, how do I replace baking soda with baking powder? Would it be the same taste wise?

mug shot said...

hey! in the picture i see the cookie has a "chip" that looks orange, what is that?

Ol' Git said...

This past week we've had quite a few clouds although the temperatures are rising steadily in Northern Europe...Here's for hoping that this coming summer of Amena will be scorching hot with loads of sun over here in Brussels!

Anonymous said...

can i replace the white sugar with brown sugar, or must I use white sugar? I'm not a big fan of white sugar, so I was just wondering...

Thank you!

Anonymous said...

Can I ask you a question?
What vegetable goes with fish'n'chips?

Chef John said...

You can use any sugar you want, no prob

Chef John said...

anon, no answer to that question. if you like a vegetable, it goes. try coleslaw.

parker394 said...

Where can we see Amena's video?

Adrian Chen said...

Love it~! But its too hot over here in the UK at the moment to make cookies, really hoping for a recipe on making ice Lollies... i am melting...

shristy said...

great recipe...cant wait to try it...thanks chef John...but most importantly thanks to Amena...its Summer of Amena alright...

H. Kids said...

The food wishes consists of welcome to the "Summer of Amena," and her Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies. I like it.

Hikari said...

hi chef john great recipe i've already tried it my all familly loved it.
Can the brown sugar be replaced by something else ?( i'm alergic to it)

Chef John said...

yes, white sugar, thanks!

Anonymous said...

great blog!

Matt SF said...

Big congrats to Amena for the winning recipe.

Gave these a try last night, with 2 cups of chocolate chips, and they were far superior to any off the shelf, store bought cookie dough. Absolutely delicious.

david said...

Hi Chef

I feel a bit ashamed to say it, but my first attempt ended quite miserably. Once put into oven, the batter melted and I ended up having one nice tray-size cookie. Nevertheless, it was delicious! Not sure whether the problem was converting amounts into metric system, too/not enough heated oven or something else, so I'll be giving it another try tomorrow. Do you have an idea what could the problem be? Except me of course, I'm still trying to get the hang of cooking :)

Thanks.

Chef John said...

try again! all part of the fun

AmericanExpat said...

Hi Chef John,

Your videos and website are awesome! I'm a big fan!

Just made the cookies tonight but I'm sorry to report that, like David above, I ended up with one, giant paper-thin cookie. That wouldn't have been the end of the world but it was burnt quite a bit(yeah, I should've been checking on it more closely!). Not complaining, just wanted to report my experimental results.

Like David, I also converted the recipe to the metric system.

Dunno if David has a similar problem but one thing for sure is that my oven here(Europe) is a lot smaller and problematic than my former American oven which makes temperature/timing tricky. Just wanna throw that out there.

Anyway, you win some, you lose some. Keep the recipes coming!

brian said...

yummy i love good home made cookies!

Merdicchio said...

Hi John,
I have a question about this recipe. I never use baking soda because the only one I can find here(Italy) is very salty and it usually spoils the flavor. I gave up using it after I had to throw away a whole batch of muffins...the taste was absolutely disgusting so I quit using it.
After some research, I found out the one you can find in the US is different so that is why the one I have is not fine.
This being said, can I replace it with something else? In case I can't, what would be the difference between using it or not? Is it about the flavor or the dough consistency?
Thanks!

Chef John said...

I wish I could help, but i have no idea. Not sure of a sub. All I can say is make a batch and see. I know they make cookies in Italy, so I would ask local bakers what they use.

Anonymous said...

Chef John, how can I alter this to make snicker doodles? Or is it preferable to use another recipe altogether? Thank you!

Anonymous said...

Is it possible to make these as big as the huge ones they sell in coffee shops? Will I just have to alter the baking time? Thank you!

Chef John said...

Um, yes, I would find a snicker doodles recipe for snicker doodles.

You can make them bigger, but not sure of the time.

Amanda said...

Making theses tonight! First time making cookies we shall see how it goes :)

Rokia said...

Hi, I really wanna thank you BOTH! It's been ages that I've tried making cookies and they were way too hard like stones!
Amena your recipe rocks and I add myself some nuts!
Chef John your recipes are amazing! Your give an other face to the American cuisine (I won't criticize, I won't do my French girl lol)
Un grand merci à vous!

livlove said...

Those look amazing

Anonymous said...

Hi chef, i only have salted butter at the moment. Can i use it and skip the salt so the cookie doesnt come out too salty? Will skipping the salt alter the texture of the cookie? Thanks!

Chef John said...

Sure, that will work.

Anonymous said...

You know when what you're baking will be good when 1/8 of the dough somehow doesn't make it into the oven...

I love this technique. Wisking in the egg and vanilla early makes such a huge difference.

Anonymous said...

I did 10 minutes @ 375 and the bottom was too brown.

So I did 8 minutes @ 375 and the inside did not cook.

Finally I did 15 minutes @ 300 and they were delicious.

Unknown said...

um ive never been able to make a normal batch of cookies any idea of what im doing wrong? or any tips to get better?

Chef John said...

so, u followed this exactly, and it didnt work?

saraswati said...

chef and amena, I love you!

one question: can i substitute the chocochips with cooking chocolate cut into pieces? thanks!

Nancy said...

Vraiment de très bons biscuits ! Un gros merci pour les recettes ! Really Good thanks

disaster999 said...

Chef John, I tried this recipe last night and it tasted good, but the texture is a little disappointing. It isnt crunchy nor is it soft and chewy. It's more like cake/bread like. I did follow your recipe exactly cept held back on the chocolates.

Any idea what might be wrong and how i should improve it?

Chef John said...

Sounds like too much flour and/or over mixing. Good luck!

Chef John said...

Sounds like too much flour and/or over mixing. Good luck!

Anonymous said...

Dear Chef! I am new to cooking, so, this might sound stupid. But, when I bake the cookies, am I using the convection option or the microwave option in my oven?

My oven has 3 options, microwave, grill and convection. thats why m asking..

Chef John said...

It would be convection, but convection oven usually cook faster than standard oven, so it may take less time (you'll have to google for more details)

Anonymous said...

PLEASE CHEF JHON MAKE A SHAWARMA RECIPE!!! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!

Anonymous said...

How many chips will this make?

Anonymous said...

Hi Chef John, I tried the cookies today. I was wondering what should be the texture of the cookies. Mine are crispy at the edges but softer on the inside. Shouldn't it be evenly baked?

Anonymous said...

Also, mine have unintergrated sugar on top. So I can literally bite on the sugar.. What should I do?

Chef John said...

Sorry , im not sure what you did! They shouldnt be like that. A little crisper outside is normal.

K.T. said...

i made these today and daaaayumn they're just heavenlyy

my mum strictly speaking is particularly not so keen when it comes to sweets cos shes asian but she loves these!!

thanks for sharing the recipe :DD

Heidi Starks said...

While I've never had a bad recipe from you, this one didn't turn out so good. I think it was too much flour. Especially with baking, could you give weights (i.e. in grams)? I'm betting my 1 cup of flour is not the same as your 1 cup of flour.

buddy said...

greetings chef!

tried the recipe all went perfect except the bottom part was soggy and it wasnt as crunchy as the top.

any suggestion?

terima kasih....

Chef John said...

Sorry, not sure!!

Flavia said...

Just finished a batch! I must confess I only used your recipe (which is awesome!) as a base for my Christmas Spicy Cookies so I added some nutmeg, cinnamon and powder cloves to the recipe. Instead of regular chocolate chips, I cut a whole swiss chocolate bar into tiny squares. HMMM! YUMMY!

Anonymous said...

Yummy,yummy. I didn`t make it yet,but it looks SO delicious. But,it`s kind of hard to find and buy all those different types of chocolate chips,isn`t it? Where can I find all of these ingredients?

P.S.I`m Canadian.

Anonymous said...

I love this cookie recipe. I've made it successfully many times.
BUT,the last few times I've made them, the cookies come out completely flat and the fat seems to separate and spread. I am doing everything the same. Don't think I'm over mixing. I thought my oven might not be hot enough but I tried again and had the same results. Any idea what is going wrong?

Anonymous said...

hi i've used this recipe but the last couple of times my cookies have been having the texture of cake any reason why? i followed the measurements exactly

June-Isabelle Chan said...

Hi, I made these yesterday and they taste great! however, they didn't spread out in the oven into a cookie shape, they stayed pretty much in a ball shape. Explanation?

Anonymous said...

Third attempt: Nailed it.

By far the best recipe I have ever used! Thanks chef!

Btw for those who are getting "flat cookies" try adding more a little more flour!

Karajeca said...

Hi.

I've been following you for a while there through Allrecepies, and I have to admit that they are simple, kitchen friendly, and I finally understood why I need to sift the flour. Good thing is I have a 5 year old who loves doing it, so I get her amused and get my cookies fluffier than I thought. I loved the pencake recipe too.
I will try this one, not move from the stove and keep the fingers crossed. If I get everything right, they will not have the time to cool. Unfortunately, I don't have the chocolate chips here in Serbia, so I will chop the chocolates with knife.

Great work, chef John, you have such a nice traditional non eclectic approach that finally makes sense in cooking.

I do enjoy your blog.

Bye from sunny Belgrade.

Karajeca

Unknown said...

I think Amena might actually be Chili from TLC...

nioc said...

Hi chef john!
Ive been using this cookie recipe since you've posted it...however recently my cookies seem to blow up rather than melt down in the oven.. Ive been getting cookie-balls and I cant figure out where I got it wrong...? Please help me :(

nioc said...

Hi chef john
Ive been using this cookie recipe since you've posted it.. However recently my cookies have been blowing up rather than melting down in the oven... i cant figure out where I got it wrong...please help me :(

Chef John said...

are u using baking powder instead of baking soda? Otherwise, no idea!

Unknown said...

Hi Chef John

Can I ask what baking tray you are using? And I dont know why every time I bake Amena cookies, the cookies do not become thick as you show in the video, but instead I think it got some moisture and make the cookies soft. And which mode did you use when baking, oven or fan?

Cagliarigirl said...

Chef, I am new to your blog and I have just tried Amena's recipe for her triple chocolate cookies. I live in Italy and unfortunately all their cookies are "no good", at least for me, I miss the butter consistency and the moist batter in every bite. So THANK YOU!! I have decided to eliminate disappointment from my life and bake my own cookies from now on! Oh, and thank you for letting me see I don't need an electric device to make cookies easily. xoxoxoxo.

Kenkenmakken said...

Chef John, I'm a new fan! It's close to midnight here in the Philippines and I can't sleep, so I'm making these. Right after I get off the computer! Thank you Chef! So excited to try these out :)

Eric B. said...

Ive made so many of your recipes for dinner and ALL have been great so I decided to try a dessert and of course you came through again. It was the best cookie ive ever made. THANKS!

Chicafelix said...

I made these today using only milk chocolate chips (a cup and a half) and adding the zest of a large orange... Now eating them with a shot of Grand Marnier and I am in heaven... Thank you Amena, thank you Chef John.

dgdoubleu said...

I would like to replace the milk or semisweet chips with peanut butter chips. What do you recommend?

Unknown said...

I have been a long time lurker, just want to say this is my go to choc chip cookie recipe. Thanks you Amena and Chef John!