Weekend of Baking Extravaganza, Day 1: Zingerman's funky chunky dark chocolate cookies

Monday is my 6-year anniversary at work. Last year, I set the bar by making 5 different treats for every year I was there. I didn't know what to do for this year, so I decided to make 6 different treats this year. Not very original, but I couldn't come up with anything else.

So, I'm making beer bread, sugar cookie cutouts, Zingerman's funky chunky dark chocolate cookies, sour cream pound cake and the best chocolate sheet cake, ever. The recipe for the sugar cookie cutouts and best chocolate sheet cake ever have already been posted here already. The only variation I did for the sugar cookie cutouts this time was I used fiori di sicilia and the cookie dough was so friggin' good! Tasted like a creamsicle! The dough is chilling in the fridge and as soon as I finish typing here, I'll roll and bake.

I varied the recipe for Zingerman's funky chunky dark chocolate cookies a bit for a variety of reasons:

• I thought I had dark chocolate chips and I didn't.
• I didn't toast the walnuts because I didn't want to.
• I used light brown sugar instead of dark brown sugar because I couldn't remember where I put it (I have since located it, when I looked for the walnuts).
• I changed the sugar ratio to finish the bag of light brown sugar off.
• I used vanilla bean paste instead of vanilla beans to see if the cookies would be just as good.

Without further ado, the recipe.

What I Used
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp vanilla bean paste
1 stick of butter
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar + 2 tbsp
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
8 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
4 oz chopped walnuts

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl.

3. Cream the butter and vanilla bean paste.

4. Add the sugars and the egg to the butter mixture.

5. Gradually add the flour mixture into the butter mixture.

6. When thoroughly combined, add the chocolate chips and nuts.



7. Chill the dough for 10 minutes in the fridge.

8. Scoop out dough (I used a tablespoon scoop) and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

9. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for 1 minute, then transfer to a rack.



Lessons learned:
The vanilla flavor wasn't as pronounced as when I made these cookies with vanilla beans. The next time I make these, I plan to add more vanilla bean paste. Scraping out the beans is a pain in the butt and also more expensive than using the paste, so I'll have to play with the ratio to achieve the desired taste.