Hard Boiled Egg Chocolate Chip Cookies... Colossal Size

Hard Boiled Egg Chocolate Chip Cookies... Colossal Size. You know, there are some recipes I end up trying just because they sound so unique. But the story with this particular cookie starts out a bit different....

Some time ago, my sister-in-law and I chatted over the phone, and in the course of our conversation, she mentioned a chocolate chip cookie she had recently purchased at one of Ghiradelli's chocolate shoppes.... a cookie that was colossal in size, and loaded with chocolate chips and toffee bits. She bought one, and absolutely loved it! You see, this cookie wasn't your usual chocolate chip cookie. It was huge and puffy... with a nice rounded top. Made the cookie look almost scone-like in apearance. But the interesting part about the cookie was its texture... had this shortbread-like exterior with a soft cookie-dough interior. Real buttery goodness. Shortly after our conversation, I ended up going down for a visit to see family, at which time my sister-in-law gifted me with my very own cookie to taste.... all wrapped up neatly with a bow on top:). Could I replicate the cookie at home?... would it really be possible?

After doing a bit of research, I managed to track down the cookie, to a company in Chicago, Illinois, called  "Carol's Cookies". Besides selling the chocolate chip toffee cookie, the company also sells a few other varieties... interestingly, all their cookies are made with all-natural ingredients. And if you can believe it, each cookie weighs close to 1/2 pound! For sure it was definitely worth finding a copycat recipe for these cookies....

Now I have to admit that I'm not exactly a professional baker... you know, one that could figure out the exact percentages of butter to flour, or  how many eggs would be needed, or the type of leavening that should be used...  could baking soda alone be used or should it be used in combination with baking powder? And then, should the butter be melted, or at room temperature... or should it be cold, straight from the fridge? It's interesting, because even though I may have some ideas and techniques I've learned from years of baking, I'm far from being a pastry chef. However, I do like to experiment with recipes... and I will certainly take my chance at a recipe that may look interesting, or sound unique.... will even try a recipe purely based on the fact that I want to apply a technique I've never tried before.  In this case, I was just shooting for a recipe that would come as close to Carol's Chocolate Chip Cookie as possible. 

So I began searching for a recipe online and managed to find quite a few recipes that looked promising, some more involved than others. But it was a comment in a baking forum that caught my eye and made me stop.... someone mentioned the idea of baking a cookie with hard boiled eggs.  I mean really... hard boiled eggs?  Who would have thought?... personally, I had never heard of the idea. And would it really work? I have to admit that I questioned the recipe, even struggled with the amount of sugar and butter the recipe required... that's only because I've been slowly trying to limit the amount of sugar in our diet(as much as possible anyway) and had nothing to do with the recipe itself. But this was an experiment, and I was willing to try it... plus, I could share the cookies:).

I managed to stick to the original recipe as much as possible... but it seems I always have to add my own personal touch:). This time it wasn't so drastic... just used a combination of bread and all-purpose flour( I was looking for height in the cookie), increased the vanilla extract, and I think  decreased the amount of salt a tiny bit. I also chose to freeze the shaped cookie dough a  bit, just to ensure the cookies wouldn't flatten out on me while baking. In the end, the cookies were wonderful! My husband absolutely loved them. Sure, I may not have made the exact cookie I was trying to replicate.... but I think it works for now:). The cookie might not have a strong shortbread-like texture(maybe it's because my butter wasn't extra cold... by the time I decided to make the cookies, the butter had already been sitting on the counter for about an hour), but it does have a moist cookie-dough interior with a nice rise. And they're definitely colossal. So this recipe is for my sister-in-law(enjoy!)... and for any of you who would like to give this recipe a try. Hope you enjoy...

Note: While I chose to use a combination of bread flour and all purpose flour, I am sure the cookies should still work as per original recipe... with just all purpose flour. Oh, and don't be put off by that sulfuric smell when you combine the eggs into the dough.... it goes away:)


Tip: Feel free to experiment with add-ins. Besides adding nuts or toffee bits, white chocolate and cranberry would be nice... maybe with some orange zest.  

You will need: adapted from Tablespoon makes about 9 LARGE cookies (to share).

2 3/4 cups flour ( I used 2 cups bread flour and 3/4 cup all-purpose flour)

1 cup cold butter (2 sticks), cut into large chunks*

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1 TBS vanilla extract (use a good one for best results) 

2 hard boiled ex-large eggs, chopped finely

2-2 1/2 cups Ghiradelli chocolate chips

chopped nuts/toffee bits, optional

* my butter wasn't exactly cold... nor was it soft (somewhere in between room temp and cold), by the  time I thought about making the cookies, the butter had been sitting on the counter for about an hour.    

Directions:

1. Chop eggs finely... or process hardboiled eggs in a food processor, remove, and set aside(which is what I ended up doing).

2. Add flour(s) and butter to food processor. Process until fine crumbs.

3. Add salt and baking soda. Process until combined. 

4. Add white sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, and chopped up hard boiled eggs. Pulse until dough comes together.

5. Add chocolate chips( and nuts/toffee bits, if using) and combine by hand.

6. Form 9 (lemon-size) balls and place on a cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment paper. You can flatten the balls slightly(I didn't). 

7. Place cookie balls in freezer while you preheat the oven about 15 minutes.

          Preheat oven to 350 deg F.

8. Bake cookies for 17-20 minutes... or until tops and side brown slightly. The middle will be somewhat soft... which gives the cookies their distinct "cookie dough" texture later on. 

9. Remove from oven and allow cookies to cool on sheets for 3-5 minutes. Cool completely and freeze overnight. Defrost and bring to room temp. While you can eat them warm from the oven... they seem to taste much better after they've been frozen and then defrosted... just my personal observation.