Honey House Chocolate Chip Cookies

After a long while—and many, many cookies—we have finally perfected

our house chocolate chip cookie.

By we, I mean me and my three boys.

And by perfected, I mean we have made enough batches to learn from our mistakes.

There were the cookies that came out far too flat because we had added too much butter.

There was the time I turned on the KitchenAid without properly affixing the mixing bowl,

and the entire thing began to spiral off the stand, sending cookie batter everywhere.

I let out a huge scream, covered in batter, and looked over at my middle son, six years old, who had taken cover by the sink.

We stared at each other for a beat in complete silence.

And then, we both burst out laughing.

This is how a recipe becomes yours.

Not just through the ingredients, but through the making of it.

Through the failed batches and him being frustrated with my new idea I learned to chill the dough overnight in the fridge, when he wanted cookies right away.

Through little hands sneaking chocolate chips from the bowl.

Through the messes, the shrieks, the laughter and the cookies that come out of the oven just a little too flat and all morphed together into one.

These are our cookies now.

And I am calling them Honey House Cookies, in honour of a new project I have been working on to remember and celebrate my grandmother, Hanna Honey.

My grandmother cooked with my father, who is also a middle son, one of three.

I love these little threads of connection: three boys in my own kitchen, a middle son hiding by the sink, not sure how his mother is going to react with dough dangling from her hair.

A grandmother and her middle son cooking together years ago.

Recipes have a way of carrying more than ingredients.

Sometimes they carry the people who taught us how to make a home.

So here is our house recipe.

Soft in the middle. Golden at the edges. Best eaten warm, preferably with someone you love nearby and a glass of cold milk.

Ingredients

• 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 2 teaspoons cornstarch

• ½ teaspoon salt

• ¾ cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled

• ¾ cup brown sugar

• ½ cup granulated sugar

• 1 large egg

• 1 egg yolk

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 1 ½ cups chocolate chips

  
  

Method

1. Mix the dry ingredients

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cornstarch, and salt.

2. Mix the butter and sugars

In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter and sugars until smooth and glossy.

3. Add the egg and vanilla

Whisk in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla until fully combined.

4. Bring the dough together

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix just until no streaks of flour remain.

Fold in the chocolate chips.

5. Chill the dough

Cover and chill the dough for at least 1 hour.

Overnight is even better—it gives the cookies a richer flavour and an even better texture.

6. Bake

Preheat the oven to 325°F (163°C) and line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Scoop approximately 2 tablespoons of dough for each cookie, spacing them about 2 inches apart.

Bake for 14–16 minutes. Ours are perfect at 15 minutes.

The edges should be lightly golden, while the centres should still look slightly soft.

7. Let them cool

Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5–10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack.

Family Notes

• The cookies will continue to set as they cool.

• Slightly underbaking them is the secret to a soft, chewy centre.

• Chilling the dough overnight gives the cookies an even richer flavour.

• And, perhaps most importantly: properly affix your KitchenAid bowl before turning it on.

Some recipes are passed down.

Some are made up as you go.

And some are perfected, one batch—and one very messy kitchen—at a time.

Welcome home,

Helen