Cookie Troubles

What is up with my Chocolate Chip Cookies?

Every time I go to make these for Mr. B, whether it's the same recipe or a slight tweak, they come out looking different. Every. Time. Sometimes flat. Chunky. Crumbled. Perfect. A total mess. Soft and chewy. Crispy. Hmmm...maybe the cookies reflect my mood?

My old favorite chocolate chips included instant vanilla pudding as the secret ingredient, and then I tried it using mashed up bananas to replace the butter. These made them extra moist (but if left uncovered overnight, the next morning were the perfect texture), and you couldn't taste the banana unless you knew it was in there. Now I always replace the eggs with flax/chia eggs and use less sugar than called for. I've made this version with plain Greek yogurt as a butter replacement, and I like that version best.

I recently ran across this chocolate chip recipe and decided to give the secret ingredient and method a go. I replaced the full egg with a flax egg, and I divided up the dough, making one batch as soon as the dough finished chilling for an hour; the other, I covered the dough balls with plastic and stuck back in the fridge for a little over 24 hours. I sprinkled the sea salt on both batches. FYI. This was by far the fluffiest, creamiest and tastiest batter ever. Not kidding.

The cookies pretty much looked the same, yet Mr. B and I both preferred the cookies from the first batch. For some reason the 24-hour chilled cookies didn't seem to have as much flavor and were a tad too soft for our liking. However, this did not stop Mr. B from consuming either batch within 48 hours. (This is also why I don't make cookies too often; they are devoured.)

With my recent look-back and after annoyingly questioning Mr. B (who can't remember all the varieties really), I decided my favorite cookie is my old favorite with plain Greek yogurt, the sugar halved, flax eggs, sweetened vanilla almond milk, and a mixture of all-purpose and whole wheat pastry flours, with the addition of chilling the dough for an hour and sprinkling sea salt on top before baking. I must try this combo next time and, of course, I'll be updating you all.

However, in the meantime I might just try this recipe, oh, and this one too. Because I like to try new things. So sorry, Mr. B. I promise to find the perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe. And I will stick to it.

With Love and God Bless,
Brindi