Cookie Pizza

A nostalgic part of my college years includes cookie pizzas! Not cookie cake, but cookie pizza. You can read more about their origin here. While you’re at it check out my other cookie pizza recipes here, here, and here!

Cookie Pizza

Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, plus a few more for finishing
sprinkles (optional)

Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
splash of milk

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a large mixing bowl or round object, about 10 inches in diameter, trace a circle on the parchment paper. Flip the parchment paper over so you don't get any pencil or pen marks when you spread out the dough.

Cream butter and sugars in an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla extract.  Add flour, baking powder, and salt, and mix on low until the dough comes together. Add chocolate chips, reserving a few. Give it all another stir.

With clean hands spread the dough out on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Spread the dough out, filling the circle shape you drew. Before baking, press your reserved chocolate chips into the top of the pizza. This ensures an extra pretty cookie! Bake for 10-12 minutes. Start on the low end. The key to yumminess in this cookie pizza is for it to be slightly underdone! You want to take it out just before it starts to brown. Then let it cool completely.

While the pizza cools, make your glaze. Using a hand mixer or whisk, whisk powdered sugar and vanilla, and a splash of milk until smooth and glossy. Add a touch more milk if you need to. It should be the consistency of Elmer’s glue. Drizzle the glaze over the top in a swirly whirly pattern of your choice. Top with sprinkles if you prefer. 

Cut with a pizza cutter and store in a pizza box. 

Annie

Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free Perfect CCCs

Celiacs and lactose rejoice! Perfect CCC’s free of dairy and gluten are here and just as perfect. I quote my father when I say, (my very non-lactose and non-gluten free father) “These gluten-free and dairy-free cookies are the (insert bomb emoji here).”

Coconut oil replaces the butter and dairy-free chocolate chips are used in replacement of the original stuff. I use gluten-free flour for a 1:1 swap for all purpose and they come out great! Just make sure to chop your chocolate up so you get specs of chocolate throughout, and you must sprinkle with flaky Maldon salt to get the Perfect CCC signature touch!

Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free Perfect CCCs
yields 30 cookies

Ingredients:
1/2  cup melted coconut oil (measures 1/2 cup as a liquid, not solidified)
1/2 cup olive oil (use a basic, not fancy olive oil)
3¼ cups gluten-free flour (i use this brand)
1 ¼ tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 ½ tsp. salt
1 ½ cups light or dark brown sugar, firmly packed*
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
12 ounces, Enjoy Life dairy-free chocolate chips, roughly chopped (key step)
Maldon salt

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. 

In a medium bowl, whisk together the gluten-free flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl mix both sugars. *You can use light or dark brown sugar. I like a dark cookie so I prefer dark brown sugar, but I switch off depending on what I have on hand. Pour the melted coconut oil and olive oil into the bowl with the sugars and whisk until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, whisking to combine. Stir in the vanilla.

In two batches, add the dry ingredients into the oil sugar mixture. I use a wooden spoon to incorporate. Once the dough has almost come together, but still a little floury, add the chopped dairy-free chocolate chips.
*I roughly chop my chocolate chips, so I can get more chocolate in each bite. I also love those little shavings of chocolate sprinkled through the dough! 

Form 2-3 tablespoon size balls. I use a 2 tbsp. size cookie scoop, but overload the scoop a little bit to get a larger ball of dough. Place them on a cookie sheet 2 inches apart and fluff them a bit*. Do not overcrowd the pan. Sprinkle the top of each cookie with flaky Maldon salt and any extra chocolate bits leftover from chopping.

Bake for 9 minutes, rotating the pan around halfway through. Bake until just barely golden around the edges, the key is to not over bake these! Shy on the underdone side.

TIPS:
Olive Oil: I note above, but when it comes to olive oil, please use a basic light olive oil. Nothing fancy or imported from Greece. You don’t want your cookies to taste like olives. I use Trader Joe’s or Bertolli light olive oil.

Chocolate: I feel most comfortable using Enjoy Life brand of dairy-free chocolate morsels. I opt for the chunks because they chop up best which is a key step of Perfect CCC. You can however you any brand of dairy-free chocolate morsels you like. Even super dark chocolate will work, just check the ingredients to make sure there isn’t any milk added.

Sugars: Do NOT, I repeat, do not use Trader Joe’s cane sugar or brown sugar. I love their olive oil for this recipe, but their organic cane sugar and brown sugar does not cut it. I’ve had multiple people, including myself, use these two sugars and say their cookies didn’t turn out. The sugars are not granulated enough. I don’t know quite how to explain it, but they are too corse and lead to a weird texture in the cookie. I have not tested this recipe with coconut sugar so I can not speak to how that will work.

*Fluffing stage: After using the cookie scoop, I give the cookies a “fluff.” Simply just rough the cookies up a bit so more chocolate chips are showing on the top and they are more rustic looking balls of dough instead of perfectly scooped. Then sprinkle with Maldon and more chocolate if needed.

Annie

And if you want all the butter and gluten, look no further.

Bites of My Life

Finished all of Southern Charm in 3 weeks, anyone else a SC fan? Finished another book. I'm crazy! Public scooters are in OKC. Celebrated National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day and enjoyed a weekend with zero plans. Great first week August, good job.

-Quinoa Taco Salad updated a bit and on repeat for dinner all last week. Left our the beans and cheese and added sliced radish!
-When in Norman, must make a stop at Midway. It tasted better than I remembered. 
-Popped up at the ole KKG house last week to help Maddie sell her designs to the cute current Kappas. Oh the mems that house holds!
-Any Gilmore Girl needs to read Lauren Graham's "Talking As Fast As I Can."
-BIRD landed in OKC last week and we are all geeking out over these trendy public scooters.
-Haven't had a good Italian meal in a hot minute. Good wine, better pasta, tons of bread and great friends was the recipe for a great Friday night.
-Perfect CCCs packaged and delivered to friends, family and co-workers to celebrate #NationalChocolateChipCookieDay!
-Still reading. Still can't believe myself. Still have taste in books equivalent to an 18 year old. 
-Miss Chloe --> Aunt Chloe. So excited Chlo and Joe are engaged!

Annie

Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies Updated

As if they couldn't get more perfect, well they just did. Perfect CCCs are upgraded and this is now THE only CCC recipe you need. They are my go-to for any event, potluck, or those times when I just have an itch for baking.  

The recipe is very similar to the original Perfect CCCs, with a few extra additions to give them a sweet and salty touch. I have added olive oil in the batter and flakey sea salt on top. But, my secret ingredient is adding a chopped up Hershey's milk chocolate bar to the mix. make sure to read the TIPS section at the bottom of the recipe.

Try not to omit the Hershey's bar if you can. It's worth the trip to the gas station to pick one up. The combo of the semi-sweet chips that stay firm through baking mixed with the melty milk chocolate bar gives it the edge they needed!

I have found myself chopping up leftover Dove Valentine's hearts or Easter chocolate bunnies in place of the Hershey's bar. A great way to use up leftover candy. Halloween, I see you.... I have also been known to add festive sprinkles to fit the occasion. Muli-colored sprinkles for birthdays, red, white and blue for the 4th!

Perfect CCCs Updated
yields 32 cookies

Ingredients:
½  cup unsalted butter (I recommend Kerrygold), melted
½ cup olive oil (use a basic, not fancy olive oil)
3 cups all-purpose flour (if your dough looks too loose, you can add 1/4 cup extra of flour)
1 ¼ tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 ½ tsp. salt
1 ½ cups light or dark brown sugar, firmly packed*
½ cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
10 ounces, semi-sweet chocolate chips, roughly chopped
1 Hershey’s Chocolate Bar, roughly chopped (optional, if choose to omit, use 12 ounces choc chips)
Maldon Salt

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. 

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl mix both sugars. *You can use light or dark brown sugar. I like a dark cookie so I prefer dark brown sugar, but I switch off depending on what I have on hand. Pour the melted butter and olive oil into the bowl with the sugars and whisk until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, whisking to combine. Stir in the vanilla.

Slowly add the dry ingredients into the butter-sugar mixture. I found a wooden spoon to be the easiest for this job. Once the dough has almost come together, but still a little floury, add the chocolate chips and Hershey's bar. *I roughly chop my chocolate chips, so I could get more chocolate in each bite. I also love those little shavings of chocolate sprinkled through the dough! 

Form 2-3 tablespoon size balls. I use a 2 tbsp. size cookie scoop, but overload the scoop a little bit to get a larger ball of dough. Place them on a cookie sheet 2 inches apart and fluff them a bit*. Do not overcrowd the pan. Sprinkle the top of each cookie with flaky Maldon salt and any extra chocolate bits left over from chopping.

Bake for 9 minutes, rotating the pan around halfway through. Bake until just barely golden around the edges, the key is to not overbake these! Shy on the underdone side.

TIPS:
Olive Oil: I note above, but when it comes to olive oil, please use a basic light olive oil. Nothing fancy or imported from Greece. You don’t want your cookies to taste like olives. I use Trader Joe’s or Bertolli light olive oil.

Butter: I love Kerrygold butter and can truly taste a difference when I splurge and use this butter. It’s suggested, but not required.

Chocolate: I love using Trader Joe’s semi-sweet chocolate chunks for this recipe. They bake up very dark despite being semi-sweet and I love the color contrast compared to the lighter milk chocolate Hershey’s bar. Please include the Hershey bar. It makes it!

Sugars: Do NOT, I repeat, do not use Trader Joe’s cane sugar or brown sugar. I love their olive oil and chocolate chunks for this recipe, but their organic cane sugar and brown sugar do not cut it. I’ve had multiple people, including myself, use these two sugars and say their cookies didn’t turn out. The sugars are not granulated enough. I don’t know quite how to explain it, but they are coarse and lead to a weird texture in the cookie.

Fluffing stage: After using the cookie scoop, I give the cookies a “fluff.” Simply just rough the cookies up a bit so more chocolate chips are showing on the top and they are more rustic-looking balls of dough instead of perfectly scooped. Then sprinkle with Maldon and more chocolate if needed.

I firmly believe this is the best chocolate chip cookie recipe. It's easily become my most popular recipe on the site. Thanks to everyone who has made their own batch of Perfect CCCs. And if you haven’t yet, it's time to whip up a batch!

FREEZER INSTRUCTIONS:
To save your cookies for a rainy day, pre-scoop your cookie dough into balls onto a lined cookie sheet, “fluff” them, and then place the cookie sheet in the freezer to flash freeze them. One they are cold, transfer the balls of dough to a freezer-safe bag or container to freeze until you need them!

To bake, pull your frozen dough balls from the freezer and place on a lined cookie sheet. Let the dough come to room temperature for about 30 minutes or while your oven is preheating. Don’t forget to sprinkle with Maldon Salt, and then bake as normal!

Annie

Bites of My Life

I haven't "gone back to school" in a couple years now, but hearing about schools starting and having a teacher as a roommate, I have a sense of the school year creeping in and can feel my routine starting to fall back into place. Summer has been c-r-a-z-y and I don't expect much less this fall, but the idea of a routine amongst the crazy sounds pretty nice. 

-I'm really trying to take advantage of what StudioHop has to offer, by exploring studios outside my comfort zone. I stepped into Four Graces pilates studio last week and fell in love. Use my code, AnnieHop20 to get $20 off your first month and hop to pilates with me. 
-Easy tuna nicoise salad for dinners last week. Canned tuna, soft boiled egg, olives, green beans, cherry tomatoes and salty capers!
-Annie through the years while cleaning out old boxes and organizers. I found a slew of old business cards from my high school entrepreneur adventure to my summer gig in D.C.
-Friday started off slow and easy with this at home smoothie bowl. 
-Friday ended a little more wild being transported via party bus.
-Beer, nachos, fried chicken and okra. Solid Oklahoma night at our state's oldest bar. 
-Shnugs and snugs with Claire now that she if back from NYC.
-From living with Matty girl when she first met Steve to then seeing them get married is something rare and so cool. Funnest night celebrating the Behms.  
-StudioHop recently launched in Tulsa and I'm so excited to have Katie repping SH up north. Catch us both at their Tulsa Launch Party this Saturday at Lululemon on Brookside!
-The Matcha Flotcha Flame from Wheeze the Juice is my version of matcha heaven. Just matcha, coconut milk and cinnamon. 
-A rainy weekend, fallish temps and having someone around who geeks out over pumpkin seeds, resulted to these Double Chocolate Pumpkin Seed Cookies along with Perfect CCCs being baked up yesterday.
-A healthy twist on Shrimp and Grits coming soon!

Annie