School is slowly starting up for a lot of us and summer is winding down. While us parents may be silently thrilled that our kids are going back to school, I know it can sometimes be a downer for the littles. Having some fresh-baked, gooey cookies can be the perfect thing to welcome them home.
I remember when my mom would have cookies baked when we walked through the door after school and it was always the perfect pick-me-up. She would be waiting there in the kitchen, always ready to hear about our day. It's something I most likely took for granted then but now appreciate so much.
This recipe is a delicious "bakery style" chocolate chip cookie (nice and thick, gooey and dense) with some fun sprinkles mixed in to make it the happiest cookie of all. The recipe does call for you to chill the dough overnight before baking. While I'm not usually a fan of this (because come on, a girl wants her cookies now), I actually think it's perfect for after school cookies. You can make them the night before and just pull them out of the fridge right before your kiddos get home so they are nice and warm when they walk through the door. These are also great for freezing. I suggest forming them in balls before freezing them so you can grab 1, 2, or 10 out of the freezer the night before, pop them in the fridge and bake them the next day.
AFTER SCHOOL CHOCOLATE CHIP SPRINKLE COOKIES
INGREDIENTS
- 2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temp
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk, room temp
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips
- 1/3 cup sprinkles
- cute star sprinkles to add after baking (optional)
DIRECTIONS
- Note: the cookie dough will need to chill overnight.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl using a hand or stand mixer with the paddle attachment, add the butter and sugars. Beat on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy.
- Scrape down the bowl and add in the eggs (make sure they’re at room temp) and vanilla. Beat on medium-high speed again for about 3 minutes or until pale and creamy.
- Scrape down the bowl and give it a good mix again.
- Dump in the dry ingredients and mix on low-medium speed until it’s almost combined.
- Remove the bowl from the stand and add in the chocolate chips and the sprinkles (do not sprinkle the stars yet). Use a rubber spatula to fold them in and work in the remaining bits of dry ingredients. Do not over mix.
- Using a cookie scoop, scoop the cookies onto a couple of baking sheets.
- Let the dough chill overnight, uncovered.
- To bake, preheat the oven to 350°F. Pull the baking sheet out while the oven is preheating and wiggle the dough a bit to make sure it's not stuck to the pan (this will keep the bottoms from burning). Add a couple extra chocolate chips on top if desired.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the edges are a pale golden color and the center looks dull on the surface but doughy in the middle.
- Right when you remove the tray, wack it against the surface of your oven or countertop a couple times. This will help flatten out the cookie and give you a rich and dense center.
- Sprinkle the warm cookies the star sprinkles if using. Allow cookies to cool a bit on a cooling rack.
- Enjoy warm for a more gooey center or cooled for a dense and soft cookie.
*recipe adapted from Butternut Bakery
