Chocolate Chip Cookie Hunt-Gygi

Today is Chocolate Chip Cookie Sunday!  A day I look forward to all week long.  Today I'm sharing Gygi's Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe.  I've heard about this recipe from lots of friends so I knew I had to add this to the Chocolate Chip Cookie Hunt!  

Honestly this cookie recipe tastes similar to my very own chocolate chip cookies that I bake all the time and sell (contact me if you'd like to order!).  BUT these cookies are different with how they freeze, hold, up and the after taste is a little more sugar-y in my opinion.

The dough was incredible!  Much better than Joanna Gaines' recipe last week.

They baked up fluffy and beautiful looking.  

Love when cookies are no fuss and hold their shape even after baking.

Don't you!?

This recipe is a solid choice and easy for beginner bakers too!

I love that Gygi's gives tips and tricks along with their recipe.  Like sizing scoops, whoever really knows how big their scoop is?  Gygi that's who!! And they are sharing all the information with us!

If you try this great recipe let me know!  

And if you have a recipe you want me to put to the test, send it my way!

The inside was full of chocolate and delicious, just how I like it!

Next week I'm putting Handmade Farmhouse Chocolate Chip Cookies to the test!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Hunt-Joanna Gaines'

This week I'm trying Joanna Gaines' chocolate chip cookie recipe.  This recipe has a surprisingly low amount of butter and a surprisingly high amount of brown sugar! haha 

Which made for darker, chewier cookies with a slight but rich molasses, butterscotch like flavor to them.  Joanna even mentioned in her IGTV that she changes up the sugar amount, I'm guessing with granulated sugar and brown sugar depending on how fluffy or chewy her family wants the cookies.  

I'll be honest these cookies surprised me!  I had a good friend tell me how great this recipe was and that I had to add it to the Hunt.  It was on my maybe list already but I knew I had to do it for sure once I got that recommendation.  

I love how nice these cookies LOOK.  Just the usual prep time and directions and they looked like this.

Sometimes I add more chocolate chips after baking for good measure! haha ;)  But you really don't neeeed too.  I saw that Joanna was using THESE chips while making her recipe.

With the full amount of brown sugar these cookies really are chewy and crunchy.  And super delicious!

I had far too many of these and I was so surprised by that.  I thought I'd just have a couple! :/

Check out that cookie though.  Even on the "chewier" side it still has so much height and volume.

The dough was surprisingly crumbly in a way.  I totally thought I messed up the dough but it came together just fine.  I do recommend packing it pretty well in your cookie scoop or rolling it out in a ball really well before baking.

You can even tell that the dough has a golden hue.  Makes for pretty delicious cookies so I'll take it!

I'm thinking about baking up my cookies so far from the Hunt and seeing which one wins the first round, because you know there has to be lots more rounds! :)

Next week I'm going to try Gygi's Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe.

This post may contain affiliate links, but all opinions are my own.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Hunt-Doubletree

Have you ever stayed at a Doubletree hotel and had one of their warm cookies?  Me neither. haha But I hear they are amazing and had to give them a try.  People love this recipe and can't stop talking about them so I had to see what all the hype was about.  

Doubletree released their recipe for these customer favorite cookies at the start of the Pandemic.  I love the companies and people that have tried to go above and beyond and do something little to help brighten their customers and future customers day.  It makes this time in the world kind of fun!

This recipe has a few unexpected chocolate chip cookie ingredients like lemon juice, walnuts, oats, cinnamon.  Honestly I didn't notice the lemon juice at all and I even doubled it after seeing Female Foodie make this recipe.  But they were still delicious cookies!  Another thing that is different than other recipes is the bake time and temperature.  The recipe calls for baking the cookies at 300 degrees for 20-23.  I tried 20 minutes with my first batch, they were still delicious but a little crunchier than I prefer.  My sweet spot was 17 minutes for my oven so just watch until they just turn golden.  If you like crunchier though check at 20 minutes.

After trying Paula's recipe last week and this recipe I've learned I actually really like cookies with nuts in them.  How crazy is that!  I really loved the all semi sweet chocolate in this recipe too.  Experimenting in the kitchen really is so fun.  Even as an adult.  This cookie is packed with flavor, texture and deliciousness and I can see why people crave this recipe.  The dough was so yummy and stores well in the fridge or freezer if you can't bake all the cookies.  It has lots of oats, nuts and chocolate chips so you might think like me that there isn't a lot of just "dough" but it still was really good!

I did make my cookies bigger than my usual cookie size and I preferred them that way.  

More cookie = more to love! I used THIS scoop for reference.  

Of course try a cookie warm right out of the oven like how Doubletree serves them, but also save some for the next day-that's my favorite!

Full of flavor and deliciousness is a good way to describe these cookies!

Had to share a picture my little assistant baker took.  Liv was with me from the start of baking these cookies to the end taking pictures.  She's such a doll!

Next week I'm going to try 

Caputo's Chocolate Chip Cookies through Female Foodie!

This post may contain affiliate links, but all opinions are my own.  Thank you for supporting me!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Hunt-Paula Deen

I'll be honest when I first watched Paula Deen's Quarantine Cooking-Chocolate Chip Cookies segment I was a little shocked!  People like their CCC flat??  AND crispy?? I was a little bewildered, but I thought.  Paula Deen is the Queen of southern cooking and has never lead me astray with one of her recipes, so I had to trust her.

And boy am I glad I did.  This recipe is full of flavor, textures and helped me realize that I actually really like thin, flat, chewy cookies.  That's the cool thing about Chocolate Chip Cookies, there is a recipe out there for everyone.  You can find or even create your ideal cookie recipe that is just perfect for YOU.  

Paula's Chocolate Chip Cookies have a few special ingredients too like milk chocolate chips, white chocolate chips and pecans!  After you make the dough and scoop it out for the cookies you actually press down and FLATTEN your cookies so you ensure you get that flat cookie.  It's crazy to me that we are actually seeking for flat, thin cookies; when i've been trying all my life to make cookies fluffier and bigger. haha!  

My Tips on this recipe:

I used 1 1/2 C. of chopped pecans and 1 1/2 C. milk chocolate chips, I couldn't get over the fact that I was putting more nuts than chocolate chips in my cookie so I had to adjust.  I did add about 1/4 C. more flour because I wanted to make sure I had enough.  

Flattening your cookie dough down with your hand and non stick cooking spray actually does make a difference instead of just flattening it down with your hand.  Try it for yourself!  I also liked the larger cookies over the smaller size I usually make.  Trust Paula people!

The dough for these CCC was unreal!  So delicious Livy and I couldn't stop taking bites.  I also loved the addition of the pecans!  The addition of pecans made it taste like coconut almost which I love!

Had to get a picture with my latest cookie, chalkboard and wreath combo!

Next week I'm trying the Famous Double Tree Chocolate Chip Cookies!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Hunt-Two Peas & Their Pod

Two Peas & Their Pod Chocolate Lover's Chocolate Chip Cookies are seriously amazing.  Packed with several kinds of different chocolate, soft and a little crunchy, and a little sprinkle of salt on top for an extra little pop of flavor.  These cookies are really a hit.  I think a chocolate chip cookie should have probably as much chocolate as it has cookie dough haha, so if you're like me this is the cookie for you!

When making the dough you incorporate grated chocolate, chocolate chips and chocolate chunks.  Use whatever combo you prefer and different kinds of chocolate based on your preference.  Maria suggest semi sweet chocolate but I know I prefer a mix of milk and semi-sweet so I did that combo.I used finely chopped Peter's milk chocolate, chopped Guittard semi-sweet baking chips and Guittard milk chocolate chips.

Maria also suggest rolling each dough ball by hand.  I think it helped keep them more round while baking but I did have a few crazy looking ones.  I think that's inevitable.

Maria also shares a lot of cookie tips on her Instagram, check her CC cookie Highlight specifically for her chocolate chip cookie tips!

For this recipe you'll also need sea salt.  I used my Sea Salt from Costco in the dough and my finishing salt on the top after I added extra chocolate.  The chocolate melts and becomes the perfect base for the salt.

The dough is amazing, the cookies are amazing and for me this is a front runner cookie on this hunt!

With a cookie with that much chocolate it has to be good!

I couldn't stop taking pictures of these because they were just so pretty!  

I also couldn't stop eating them! haha

Here's a middle shot.  I love that the chopped pieces of chocolate become a ribbon of chocolate all throughout the cookie.  Especially at the bottom.  It's so delicious!!

Maria shares a few of her tips on how to make your cookies look perfect every time.  I think this batch could use a touch more flour but they were still delicious and great!  

Once your cookies become slightly golden on the edges and lose that dough shine on the top, it's time to pull them out of the oven.  Now you have to work quickly.  Seriously, cookies set so fast.  Right out of the oven bang or drop your cookie sheet a few times on the counter.  This will form those cracks that all the pretty cookies have!

I first added extra chocolate.  I love to add whatever is in the cookie so you know exactly what you're getting on the inside.  So for this cookie I added the same chocolate chunks, grated chocolate and chocolate chips.  Lightly press them into the cookie!

Sprinkle with salt!  Don't overdo it!

This is where Maria is much faster than me.  By this time my cookies are mostly set.  But Maria suggests to use your spatula and slightly press the sides of your cookies to form that perfect circle.  Try it out!  These tips really do make for awesome looking cookies!

Another middle shot of a cookie that the dough was refrigerated for a few hours before baking.  

Speaking of refrigerating your dough vs. not refrigerating, I know that some people absolutely love refrigerating their dough.  I just want cookies once I spend the time making the dough. haha  I usually do not refrigerate my dough but I thought I'd do a little experiment with this batch.

This broken cookie is baked right after making the dough surprisingly fluffy!

This cookie came from dough that rested in the fridge for a few hours before baking.  My preferred method for this recipe!

And this cookie came from dough that rested overnight in the fridge.  Honestly I didn't notice much of a difference for the overnight refrigeration.  I would bake them right after or refrigerate for 2-3 hours in dough balls and then bake.  But like always try all the options and see what you prefer!

Next weeks recipe will be Cake by Courtney's 

Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies!

Review the recipe and make sure you have all the ingredients on hand.  Nothing too fancy in this recipe unless you want specialty chocolate.

This post contains affiliate links but all opinions are my own.