Hi friends! This week I am sharing an easy Chocolate Chip Cookie with a little something extra!Last week I mentioned I wanted to do a few weeks on food that is fun to share while watching football. I went to the experts, my husband and son, for their ideas, and they had some winners! So I will be sharing them in the weeks to come! And when it came to dessert like items, they both agreed you can’t beat a homemade chocolate chip cookie! So that is my suggestion for this week, with an easy recipe and a little something extra!

So I hear you right through my laptop… what is it? What is it? What is the little something extra?

Ok… lean in… shhhhh… it’s…

Sea salt. Of course it is! Adding a few flakes of sea salt on top of that cookie dough ball right before it goes into the oven and BAM! Sweet meets salty in a state of bliss! Why does it work so well? I don’t know for sure… but I like to think of it as the Sea Salt stepping up to set the stage to make the sweet chocolate just shine! Sort of “The wind beneath my wings”, Hah!

Ok… now to be fair, not everyone is going to want this addition, so I only added it to half the cookies. My husband, well I talked with him about it before I did it. To him, a fresh baked chocolate chip cookie is not something to be trifled with, it is almost sacred. So he agreed to try it as long as there were plenty made the old fashioned way. With negotiations in place, we proceeded. He cautiously took a bite of the cookie with sea salt flakes (adding it right before you bake means you can see it). And he thought it was very good, but he immediately took a few of the traditional cookies with a glass of milk. My son Jake missed the whole conversation because he was gone. So when he came home, I said nothing. He took a cookie in by the TV and all of a sudden I heard, “Mom! Mom! Did you add some sea salt on top of this cookie?” “Yes, Dear.” “That is a GREAT idea! These are AWESOME!!” So, my suggestion is do a little of both. And with that, let’s begin!

Ingredients:

• 2 sticks of butter or margarine (or one of each) softened
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 eggs – allow to come to room temperature
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 small box (3.4 oz) Instant Vanilla Pudding Mix (could also substitute Carmel flavor or Butterscotch)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
• Optional 1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts
• Optional – Sea Salt (flaked or coarse) to very lightly sprinkle on top of cookie dough balls before baking

Preheat oven to 375°

Combine flour, baking soda and pudding in a bowl, mixing together. Set aside.

In a large bowl, add the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, vanilla and beat together.

Add in the eggs and beat together.

Yummy! Now slowly add in your flour mixture maybe 1/3 of the flour at a time. And mix. It will be a thick batter/dough.

Add in your chocolate chips and nuts (nuts are totally optional). Mix, using a strong spoon.

Once mixed together, using a tablespoon, drop dough by rounded tablespoons on the cookie sheet, spreading a few inches apart.

Now, if you want to try adding the sea salt, just sprinkle a tiny pinch on as many balls of dough you want “salted”.

Bake for about 9 minutes or just until the edges start to get a little golden brown. In my oven it was about 9 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool maybe 2 minutes and then move to wax or parchment paper to finish cooling.

Oh boy I cannot tell you how good these smell! Alright! Let’s put them on a platter!

Is that a happy picture or what!

Who wants a cookie?

And icy cold milk! You just have to have some milk!

Yes! And coffee… who wants coffee? Come have a seat, my friends! Please, have some cookies! Let’s chat!

This chair is for you!

There is plenty for everyone!

What is it about chocolate chip cookies that makes you feel so welcome and loved you almost want to cry?

Isn’t that a great feeling?

It’s a fast paced world, and it can leave you feeling a little lost and frazzled at times. And if you can just stop and reconnect with a loved one or a good friend, well it can be almost like therapy! A chance to remember who you are, and to smile and laugh about little things like the squirrels at your bird feeder or the mystery of why the leaves on some of your trees have changed color while others have not. To gather around a cheerful, cozy table and bask in the delicious aroma of fresh baked cookies and steaming cups of coffee. Where you can share your thoughts and dreams. And you can listen to a dear friend share their heart. This is a sacred time.

You can also take that plate of cookies right in by the game, and cheer your team on while enjoying a decadent, crispy yet chewy delicious cookie! It marks the moment as extra special to have such a nostalgic and glorious treat!

There are days and moments that were meant for the warm comfort of a fresh baked cookie. Because it symbolizes the best of the human spirit. The heart… that loves and has compassion and comforts us when we need it. And we can show that same love to those around us. I’ve often wondered who gains more, the one who gives or receives. Either way, it is the best part of being human to show love.

I wish I could have every single one of you around my table sharing cookies! But it warms my heart to think of you having your own golden moments in your own little kitchen wherever you are in this great big world!

Have a fantastic week!

I’ll be back this weekend with another post!

Love Always,

Amy

Sometimes spending quality time with friends is the only therapy you need.   ~Unknown