A Copy of Doubletree Hotel's Chocolate Chip Cookies

Like a few others out there, I'm a little Pinterest obsessed. It's a love/hate relationship because I scroll through the food and drink section and see the same old pins, but there's always that one pin that's new that I just have to click on and pin. So, in doing my nightly pinning I came across a copycat recipe for the chocolate chip cookies that Doubletree Hotel gives their guests upon checking in. Now, I've never stayed at a Doubletree Hotel, but I have stayed at a Springhill Suites, and the last time I was there, they also gave me freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. And they were good, really good.

There's just one tiny obstacle in the way of cookie perfection. When it comes down to it, how good a chocolate chip cookie is depends personal preference. Some like theirs crispy, some soft, others chewy. My preference for chocolate chip cookies is for them to be light and crispy on the outside, and soft and chewy in the middle. This can be a little tricky to pull off.

So when I first moved to FLG about 6 years ago, I followed what seemed like a million different recipes for chocolate chip cookies, only to have them come out of the oven as over baked, crunchy, flat discs that were like 5 inches wide. Why couldn't I bake a proper cookie?! It was driving me nuts, and when batch after batch of failed cookies continued to come out of my oven, I was ready to give up. Then I did some research. Turns out that, the higher the elevation one bakes at, the lower the air pressure. This affects baked goods in how they rise and cook in the oven. So, after almost TWO years, I perfected my recipe. It makes, in my opinion, the perfect chocolate chip cookie. I'm greedy though, and have only ever given it to one person (with regret), and I don't feel like sharing it again anytime soon. It's like my secret baking weapon I plan to use one day.

Even though I have found my go-to recipe, I still experiment with other recipes I come across. When I read this recipe, I thought some of the ingredients were a little unorthodox. Cinnamon and lemon juice in chocolate chip cookies? Somehow, it works. Also, I tried to grind up the oats in my food processor and it didn't work, so I dumped it into my blender (that did the job). The recipe I adapted this from also says that 3 tablespoons of dough makes one cookie. That's a little much for me, so I used the cookie scoop that I use for all of my cookies. It makes just the right size dough balls for baking. I picked up the scoop from Bed Bath and Beyond, but I can't seem to find it on their website. If you are interested in the scoop, you can look for it at your local BB&B or buy it online here. For perfectly portioned dough balls, scoop with a small mound on top, push, and there you have it.

This cookie recipe gives me everything I look for in a chocolate chip cookie, crispy edges, and a soft chewy middle, these are yum! And they are going into the top list of chocolate chip cookie recipes. I did make a few small changes for elevation, omitted the nuts, and halved the recipe so I wouldn't have too many cookies in my kitchen, cause I'd eat them. I mean, I ate 5 upon letting the first batch cool! So, if you like your chocolate chip cookies like I do, this recipe is for you!


Copycat Doubletree Hotel Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from: The Little Kitchen
Makes 20-24 cookies depending on scoop size.
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Ingredients:

1 stick salted butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp lemon juice
1 1/4 cups AP flour
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

-Place the oats into your blender and pulse until ground up, about 8-10 pulses. Transfer to a small bowl and add the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Stir to combine and set aside.

-With an electric hand mixer, cream the butter with the both of the sugars until light and fluffy. Add the egg, vanilla, and lemon juice. Mix again until the egg is incorporated, about 30 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl and add the dry ingredients. Mix until a dough forms, then add the chocolate chips and mix with a spatula until everything is well combined and evenly distributed. Chill the dough for at least 2 hours before baking.

-Preheat oven to 350F. Remove dough from fridge and scoop into mounds, about 2 tablespoons of dough. Place onto cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake for 9 minutes exactly. Remove from oven and let cool on cooling rack.

Excuse me while I go and eat a few more of these cookies!

Brown Butter and Cinnamon Sugar Cookies

Okay, these look like Snickerdoodle cookies, but I technically can't call them that. Snickerdoodles traditionally have cream of tartar in the dough, these cookies don't, just because I don't particularly like the flavor it gives the cookies. They are however, soft, chewy, and oh-so delicious. If you've never browned butter for cookies, you are missing out. Brown butter gives cookies a sort of nutty caramelness that makes them even more yummy. I also love that the only equipment needed to make these cookies is a bowl, wooden spoon, and the amazingly toned arm muscles you just happen to have, because if you're like me and eat half the batch upon letting the cookies cool, a little arm work wouldn't hurt.

These cookies didn't make it to the following day because we ate them all. I have no shame in my level of dessert consumption :) Paired with a tall glass of ice-cold milk, these cookies will make the afternoon perfectly perfect.


[C'mon, let's roll]
Brown Butter and Cinnamon Sugar Cookies
Makes approximately 24 cookies
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Ingredients:

Cookies:
1 stick of butter
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/3 cups flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt

Rolling Mixture:
3 TBS sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

-Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt together. Set aside.

-In a small sauce pan over medium heat, melt the butter and cook until the butter reaches a honey color. This takes anywhere from 3-5 minutes. Place into a heat proof glass bowl and let cool for a few minutes.

-To the browned butter add the sugar and brown sugar, stir together for one minute. Add the egg and vanilla and mix for about 2 minutes, it will slightly lighten in color. Add the dry ingredients and stir until all of the flour is incorporated. Chill the dough for 45 minutes.

-Preheat oven to 350F. Remove dough from fridge. Roll pieces of dough into a 1 inch ball, then into cinnamon sugar mixture and place on cookie sheet. (12 fit on my sheet pan). Bake cookies for 9 minutes, remove from oven and cool on cooling rack. Then devour half the batch shamelessly.

PB & C Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies

Peanut Butter. Chocolate. Oatmeal. All together in one delicious little cookie. The inspiration for these cookies came while I was putting my little one to sleep. You see, when I put him down at night I indulge in some food television. Unique Sweets is a show I came across on Hulu.com and I was hooked from the first 20 minute show. I watched all five episodes (because there are only five episodes that Hulu.com will allow me to watch) that night and came away with inspiration from the talented minds of bakers who transform seemingly simple ingredients into drool worthy baked goods. This is my knock off version of Two Tarts Bakery's Peanut Butter Cream cookies.




[Oh hey, it's peanut butter filling!]


Peanut Butter and Chocolate Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies
Makes approximately 24 cookies
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Ingredients:

Cookies:
1/2 cup softened salted butter (one stick)
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
1 cup AP flour
1 cup quick cooking oats
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp kosher salt

Filling:
4 TBS softened unsalted butter
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup powdered sugar (sifted)
2 TBS half and half

Chocolate Drizzle
1/4 cup dark chocolate chips (or what you have)
2 TBS heavy cream

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 325F.

-Combine the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl. In another bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and sugar until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the peanut butter and vanilla to this and mix until the peanut butter is incorporated. Add the egg and mix for one minute. Add the dry ingredients and mix until all the flour is just combined. Let the dough sit for about 10 minutes, this will allow the dough to firm up.

-While the dough rests, cream together the butter and peanut butter for the filling. Cream this until fluffy and add the powdered sugar and half and half. Mix together for 1-2 minutes until light and fluffy. Transfer to a pastry bag.

-Scoop out 1 rounded teaspoon full of dough and roll into a ball. Place onto cookie sheet and lightly press down with two fingers. Continue until no cookie dough remains. (I can fit 20 balls of cookie dough on a half sheet pan).

-Bake for 8 minutes, exactly. Take them out even if they don't look done. Transfer to a cooling rack. (The cookies will continue to cook while cooling. We don't want hard cookies! We want chewy cookies with a crisp outer ring).

-Once all the cookies have baked and cooled off pair them up and pipe filling onto one side of the cookie and sandwich them together. Continue until they are all partnered up.

-Melt the chocolate and heavy cream together. Transfer to a small ziplock bag. Cut off a tiny corner and drizzle over the tops of the cookies. Enjoy!

These cookies came out just how I wanted them, chewy, tender, and not too sweet. The cookies are small enough so you can enjoy a few and not feel as if you're going overboard. Besides, they have peanut butter and oats, hello protein and fiber!