Chocolate Crunch Chunk Cookies

I think my body is seasonally confused.

Yeah... Awkward.

Seriously, though. Autumn is well on its way to arriving full blast here, and instead of eating warm bowls of oatmeal for breakfast, sipping hot tea and enjoying warm comfort meals like lasagna and soup, all I crave is summer foods.

Cold yogurt and fruit. Frappucinos. Ice-cream sandwiches. Cool salads. And milk. Lots and lots of nice, out of the fridge milk.

It's becoming a bit of a problem.

Although I am bursting at the seams with excitement for the forthcoming events like Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas, I feel like I am still stuck in summer, even though the temperatures have dropped. Maybe it's because I didn't get enough strawberries this year. Maybe it's because back in Florida we don't have a "fall", we just have a summer and 3 months of "winter". Honestly, I have no idea. But i'm still waiting for my christmas cookie bug to set in.

And with all of the cool milk and scoops of ice-cream that have been consumed lately, I figure the time is right for some cookies. Cookies, unlike pumpkin pie and blueberry cobbler, is a thing that can be enjoyed at any season. There is no confusion with cookies. It's kind of like God created three things: Man, Woman, and Cookies. It's just meant to be there.

Yeah, I totally just put cookies on the same level as human creation. Sorry.



These are probably one of the best chocolate chip cookies I've ever made. I don't say that lightly because Lord knows I've made way too many (mostly failed) chocolate chip cookies. While they aren't my absolute favorite chocolate chip cookies ever, they do scale right up there in the top 10. These aren't just filled with chocolate chunks, either. They have bits of Ghirardeli's milk deluxe crisp chocolate bars in them as well, making them particularly yummy. If you don't want to shell out the cash for a Ghirardeli bar, you can just settle for a normal crunch bar. It won't be as rich, but it gets the job done. If you can get the Ghirardeli though, I'd definitely pull towards that one. It balances out nicely with the semi-sweet chocolate chunks. Oh, and for extra good measure, I threw some cornflakes in there for added texture. You can always use rice krispy cereal, too. Or just omit it all together if you're a cookie purist.

Either way, they are deliciously chewy. Make sure to cool them on the sheets while they are still underbaked if you like 'em chewy like me. If you like them on the softer side, just remove them immediately once they are light brown around the edges. And if you like them crisp, leave them in till they are nice and brown all over. Proceed to eat with cold milk. Or hot coffee, if your body is not seasonally confused.

Chocolate Crunch Chunk Cookies

Ingredients:
12 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt (omit if butter is already salted)
2 cups all-purpose flour (I used 1 1/2 cups all purpose and 1/2 cup whole wheat)
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chunks
2 Ghirardeli Milk Deluxe Crisp Bars (8 squares in each bar) or 2 king-sized crunch bars (8 squares in each bar), roughly chopped
1 cup cornflakes

Directions:
1. Melt butter in a sauce pan, then mix with brown sugar and white sugar. Let mixture cool before mixing in the eggs and vanilla until thoroughly combined.

2. Mix in the baking soda and salt.

3. With a wooden spoon, fold in two cups of flour into the batter until no traces are left.

4. Fold in chocolate chunks and chocolate crunch bars. Then fold in the cornflakes right after.

5. Chill for 1 hour or until firm.

6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and bake cookies for 8-12 minutes. For chewy cookies, take out of the oven when the sides are brownish but middles are still underbaked and leave to cool on the hot pan for 3 minutes. For soft cookies, take out of the oven when sides are light brown and remove from pan onto cooling rack. For crispier cookies, leave in oven for about 10 minutes or until brown all over. Remove from oven and pan and place on cooling rack.