Don’t forget! You have until Noon (EST) on Friday, June 13 to enter the contest to win your very own copy of The Essential Chocolate Chip Cookbook. Simply follow this link and leave a comment. It couldn’t be easier.

I don’t know what you’re feelings are on this, but in our home baked goods are often eaten for breakfast. Not by me though. Yes, CK has a serious morning sweet tooth. Cookies, brownies, cupcakes, or pie are all fair game in his eyes. His rational for consuming sugar laden treats before 9:00 AM is as follows: if I can eat a muffin, why can’t I eat a cookie? I don’t know guys…it makes sense to him. So while I’m choking down Grape Nuts or a Sweet & Salty Granola bar, he digs into a plate of cookies and a tall glass of milk. At least he chases it all with a multi-vitamin.

Instead of discouraging his habit though, I’m an enabler and make recipes like this one for Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies. At the very least this cookie has some actual breakfast appropriate aspects to it (hello?! bananas! oatmeal!). I might even go so far as to call it a “breakfast cookie” if that label takes away any guilt we might feel after secretly scarfing down this amazing concoction in the wee hours of the morning.

Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from Elinor Klivans’s The Essential Chocolate Chip Cookbook published by Chronicle Books

1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup oatmeal (not quick-cooking)
2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
2 bananas, cut into 1/4 to1/3 inch pieces

Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350º F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and butter the paper (Note: I just used a silpat).

In a small bowl, stir the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together, set aside.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until smoothly blended, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until blended, about 1 minute. The mixture may look slightly curdled. On low speed, add the flour mixture, mixing just until it is incorporated. Mix in the oatmeal. Mix in the chocolate chips until evenly distributed. Use a large spoon to mix in the banana pieces, mixing just until they are evenly distributed and some of the pieces are mashed but most are still visible, about 20 seconds.

Use a tablespoon to drop heaping spoonfuls of dough (about 3 level tablespoons each) onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing the cookies 3 inches apart. Note: I used a large scoop.

Bake the cookies one sheet at a time until the edges are lightly browned and the tops look dry, about 18 minutes. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, than use a wide metal spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

The cookies can be stored in a tightly covered container, layered between sheets of wax paper, at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Update: The contest is now closed and we have a winner!

Who could possibly pass up the chance to immerse themselves in a veritable sea of chocolate chip recipes? If you thought the Melting Moments looked heavenly just wait until thursday. In the meatime, I’m giving you the chance to win a copy of Elinor Klivans’s The Essential Chocolate Chip Cookbook published by Chronicle Books. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post (one comment per person please). A winner will be selected via the nifty random number generator this Friday (June 13th) at noon and than I’ll promptly ship the cookbook to your home. Friday the 13th totally doesn’t have to be a scary day now…Chips ahoy! Or…Good Luck!

UPDATE: Don’t forget! You have until Noon (EST) on Friday, June 13 to enter the contest to win your very own copy of The Essential Chocolate Chip Cookbook. Simply follow this link and leave a comment. It couldn’t be easier.

If I had my way, every cookbook published would have to include an image of each recipe housed between its covers. Now, if I were an omniscient being, something similar perhaps to the bizarre alien main character in Stephanie Meyer’s new novel The Host, I would totally conduct a study of people surrounding me whether or not they try recipes in cookbooks when they don’t have a corresponding image. I know from my own personal experience that I’m much less likely to make something, especially if it’s a recipe for a dish I’m unfamiliar with if there isn’t a gorgeous picture adjacent to the instructions. I don’t care if Charles Dickens himself writes a resounding review of the world’s most decadent dessert, if there isn’t an illustration your chances of ever being brought to my table are lowered exponentially.

Thankfully Elinor Klivans, the author of The Essential Chocolate Chip Cookbook, or perhaps her production team, had the good sense to include a heavenly reproduction of the Chocolate Chip Filled Melting Moment cookies. I couldn’t possibly resist the airy qualities of these treats. Even full of sugar and butter they retain a light and delicate texture that screams Victorian tea party. So invite over Mrs. Havisham, Pip, and company and dig in. These cookies go quickly. Note: I actually doubled the filling in the below recipe. I’m a bit of a glutton when it comes to cookie filling. You can follow my example or not, but I’m definitely of the “more is best” camp when it comes to buttery icings.

Chocolate Chip Filled Melting Moments
Adapted from Elinor Klivans’s The Essential Chocolate Chip Cookbook published by Chronicle Books

Cookies
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cake flour
3/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Filling
1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

Position a rack in the middle of he oven. Preheat the oven to 300º F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Make the cookies. Sift both flours, the cornstarch, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and powdered sugar until smooth and lightened slightly in color, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the owl as needed during mixing. Add the vanilla and mix until blended. On low speed, add the flour mixture, mixing just until it is incorporated and a smooth dough forms.

For each cookie, roll a level tablespoon of dough between the palms of your hands into a smooth ball. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them 2 inches apart. Use a fork to gently flatten the cookies to 1 1/4 inch disks, leaving an impression of the fork tines. Bake the cookies one sheet at a time until the tops feel firm and the cookie bottoms are lightly browned, about 30 minutes; the tops of the cookies should not color. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 10 minutes, then use a wide metal spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Make the filling. In a medium bowl, use a wooden spoon to stir the butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla together until smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Turn half of the cooled cookies bottom side up, and use a thin metal spatula to spread a rounded teaspoon of filling evenly over each one. Place the remaining cookies right side up on the filing, and press gently.

The cookies can be stored in a tightly covered container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Sometimes I crave Toll House Pie. For instance yesterday I was sitting on the couch enjoying having Monday off and watching Wives and Daughters via Amazon’s very cool “Unbox” feature on the TiVo, except all I could think about was chocolate. Finally I paused my movie and started peering into cupboards in the kitchen. I noticed a packet of wonton wrappers that I’d purchased and I had an idea. What if I used the wonton wrappers to make mini Toll House Pie Tarts…and so I did.

I based the cooking time for the tarts on the Nasoya Wonton Mini Quiche recipe and lowered the baking temperature to 350 degrees. For the filling I halved the traditional Toll House Pie recipe and used an ice cream scoop to fill each tart. Each cup was made by layering two wontons diagonally in order to get a maximum amount of coverage in the muffin tin. You can whip these tarts up in around 30 minutes and they’d definitely travel well if you’re looking for something rich and sweet to bring to Thanksgiving.

Mix Batter	Stir in Chips & Nuts
Layer Wontons in Muffin Tin	Scoop in the Batter
Have a Few	Or Share With Friends

Toll House Pie Tarts (Based on the traditional Toll House Pie recipe from Nestle)
Makes 12 Tarts

1 large egg
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped nuts
24 wonton wrappers

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Layer two wontons into each muffin cup.

Beat egg in large mixer bowl on high speed until foamy. Beat in flour, granulated sugar and brown sugar. Beat in butter. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts. Using an ice cream scoop, spoon one scoop of the mixture into each wonton cup.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes and cool before attempting to remove tarts from the muffin tin.

Last year was the first Thanksgiving that I spent with Chris. Coincidentally it was also my introduction to an amazingly sinful and delicious dessert known as “Toll House Pie.” Essentially Toll House Pie is a gigantic, gooey chocolate chip cookie nestled in pie crust. Chris’s father is the king of Toll House Pie. I looked forward to devouring a gigantic piece of his luscious dessert again all week. Needless to say I was not disappointed. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about how awesome that piece of pie tasted. After much internal debate (and a solemn vow to use the elliptical machine every night this week) I finally looked up a recipe online and made a Toll House Pie of my very own. Oh man…it was so worth having to spend all of that time running in place. Note: I added 1 teaspoon of vanilla to the recipe linked above. I’d also recommend reducing the cooking time slightly to 45-50 minutes. Now go get the chocolate chips and lace up those sneakers!

Why Running Shoes Are Needed	Beat Until Fluffy
Mix in the Sugars & Flour	Whip in the Melted Butter
So Many Chocolate Chips!	Take the Easy Way Out (Fake Pie Crust)
Bake Just Long Enough for a Quick Workout	Pour a Tall Glass of Milk