Tuesday Treats: Kitchen Sink Chocolate Cookies

A couple of weeks ago I was craving chocolate... Wait, I crave chocolate a lot! However, this time I decided to make some cookies. I made a batch and cooked about 12 then refrigerated the dough overnight. The next morning I brought the dough out and let it sit for an hour to come to room temperature. It was still hard - so hard in fact that when I tried using a wooden spoon to pry some away from the edge of the bowl to break it up... the spoon broke! So I ended up chiseling away at the cookie dough to get it into pieces I could work with. I added cream cheese and I also added milk, cream, etc to add liquid to this dough. After all was said and done it tasted great, but I was determined to make cookies that tasted as good but without breaking a spoon! I made them again, adjusting the amount of flour and oats I added and came out with a wonderful cookie. The cream cheese really makes these cookies taste wonderful.

This plate of cookies is for you (if I would I'd give all of you a plate of cookies just like this!):

Kitchen Sink Chocolate Cookies

 You'll need 3 ounces of cream cheese - brought to room temperature.

 You'll also need 2 cubes (1 cup) butter (or margarine) also brought to room temperature.

Beat them together for about 1-2 minutes, until the cream cheese and butter are completely mixed.

 Add 2 cups sugar.

 Mix for a few minutes until the color turns a light yellow.

Add 1 tsp Vanilla extract.

 Add 1 egg, beat until combined.

 Add another egg (so a total of 2) and mix for another minute.

 Next add 1/2 tsp baking soda,

 1-1/2 tsp Baking Powder,

 1/2 tsp salt,

 Add them all to the bowl and mix to combine.

 Beat only until combined.

 Next, add 1-1/2 cups quick cooking oats.

 Beat until combined.

 Now it's time for the good stuff!

 You can use only one of these two chocolates, but I like using both.

 Add 1/4 cup of each regular and special dark baking cocoa.

 Beat until combined.

 Next add 1-1/2 cup flour.

 Again, beat until combined - are you getting tired of that phrase yet? I think I am!

 More good stuff - caramels... I actually cut caramels into 12ths - I think 8ths would have worked great too.

 Dump 1 cup of cut up caramels into the batter.

 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, 1/2 cups 73% cacao chips

 Dump them in as well.

 3/4 cup white chocolate chip.

 Dump them in as well and stir to combine. So I have to admit the second time I made these I did not have caramels and used mint chips instead. You can use any combination you want... I would suggest using nuts - I didn't because my son hasn't eaten nuts yet so I wanted him to be able to eat them! Just mix and match up to 2-1/2 cups of add-ins.

 Drop by heaping tablespoonfuls onto a cookie sheet. When I made the cookies with the caramels, I ended up using parchment paper because it made it incredibly easier to get them off after they were baked. Speaking of baking - bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes.

 Remove from oven, let cool (remove to cooling rack so they don't keep cooking on the cookie sheet.)

Or instead of letting them cool, eat right away.

 Just make sure they aren't going to burn your mouth - that would ruin the moment of bliss.

 You'll also want a glass of milk nearby.

 Trust me on that one!

 This picture below - I had a hard time getting this plate to stay looking like this...

 I had to replace the top cookie about 5 times!

 Then... my son decides that there was no way he was waiting to get a cookie.

 But I caught him in the act!

 There goes a cookie flying off the plate!

 Oh, but one cookie wasn't enough...

 After all, we have two hands...

 There goes cookie #2 flying off the plate!

Enjoy!