Chocolate chip-stuffed cookies

I have been meaning to post a new recipe since yesterday but could not decide between sweet and savory… I finally made up my mind about it after I read Mrs. Presley’s post about chocolate chip cookies – btw, if you don’t know her blog yet, take a look; the recipes are really good, I have some on my "to try" list already.

She’s wants to find the best chocolate chip cookie recipe and I’m here to make her search even more difficult. :)

These cookies are really good – you just need time and a little extra patience to put them together. I baked them on an absurdly hot day (what was I thinking??) and the dough was not as firm as the recipe claimed it to be – not to mention the cookies spread like crazy. Iago, my nephew, was such a brave sous chef: he stood in the kitchen with me, with all that heat, and helped me through all the mixing/shaping/stuffing/baking. Once we placed the first baking sheet in the oven, he said “can I have the first cookie?” - he did have the first cookie, and then 2 more. :)

Chocolate chip-stuffed cookies
from Big Fat Cookies

2 cups (280g) unbleached all purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup (226g/2 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly softened for about 30 minutes
1 ½ cups (240g) packed light brown sugar
2 large cold eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups (505g/18 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 175ºC/350ºF. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Sift the flour, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and brown sugar until smoothly blended, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until blended, about 1 minute. The mixture may look slightly curdled. On low speed, add the flour mixture, mixing just until incorporated. Mix in 2 cups (336g) of the chocolate chips.

Roll 2 tablespoons of dough between the palms of your hands into a ball, flatten it slightly to make a 2-inch (5cm) disk and place on one of the prepared baking sheets. Repeat to make a total of 16 disks, placing 8 on each baking sheet and spacing them 4 inches (10cm) apart. Leaving a ¼-inch (6mm) plain edge, lightly press 1 tablespoon* of the remaining chocolate chips onto each disk. Using the remaining dough, make 16 more disks, placing one on top of each chocolate-chip-topped disk. Press the dough disks gently to cover any of the chocolate chip filling that shows around the edges.

Bake the cookies one sheet at a time until the edges are lightly browned but the centers are still pale golden, about 15 minutes. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 10 minutes, then use a wide metal spatula to transfer them to a wire rack to cool. Serve warm (the filling will be soft and melted) or at room temperature.

The cookies can be stored in a tightly covered container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

* I ended up using less than 1 tablespoon of chips – it was difficult placing all that amount of chocolate inside each disk of cookie dough.

Makes: 16 large cookies – Iago and I got 18