This recipe is based on one called King Arthur Flour “Good as Store-Bought Chocolate Chip Cookies”. The cookies are kind of like the Neiman Marcus urban legend cookies, but flatter, moister and chewier. Over the years I’ve played with the recipe a bit and have made them both small and “mall size”. These days I like the smaller version. In fact, I sometimes make them even smaller.
My version makes a smaller yield than the original and calls for less espresso powder. I haven’t tried leaving it out yet, but my guess is these would still taste “as good as store-bought” if you left it out the espresso completely.
Here’s an old picture which I’m keeping here for posterity’s sake.
King Arthur Flour Good as Store-Bought
Scaled down and slightly adapted version of the Good as Store-Bought cookies from King Arthur Flour.
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups oats not instant
- 4 oz semisweet bittersweet or milk chocolate, chopped
- 8 tablespoons butter room temperature, unsalted
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup flour 4 1/4 ounces, stir and aerate before measuring
- 1/2 teaspoon each – baking powder baking soda and Morton kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon espresso powder
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 3/4 cup nuts pecans or walnuts, toasted and chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a food processor, grind the oats and chocolate together. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, beat the butter and both sugars until creamy. Beat in the egg and vanilla.
- Stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, kosher salt and espresso powder, then add to the butter mixture and stir until blended.
- Stir in ground oats and chocolate, then stir in chocolate chips and nuts.
- Shape dough into mounds using a tablespoon measure. Arrange on a parchment lined baking sheet spacing 2 inches apart and bake for about 12 minutes.
- Let cool on sheet for 5 minutes.
Notes
For larger cookies (King Arthur calls them “mall size”), measure out 1/4 cupfuls of dough and bake for 15 to 18 minutes. The yield should be somewhere around 14 cookies.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Xiaolu
I just baked these cookies this morning with several changes: reduced pecans to 1/4 cup and processed with oats/chocolate, reduced dark chocolate to 1.5 oz, 3/4 cup chopped chocolate instead of chips. These were fabulous! I brought them to work and they disappeared within 2 hours. Thanks for the inspiration!
Molli
Steph-
Thanks for the Vegan Lunchbox post. I really like Larabars – eat one almost every day – and would love some recipes to try at home.
Anna
Steph, I love Vegan Lunchbox.
Jen, I don’t taste a difference with Morton Kosher salt, but two people (beside the two at the NYT) have told me that Diamond yields a superior cookie. So if I can find some Diamond kosher, I might try it.
Jen
So, are you baking cookies exclusively with kosher salt these days? What are your thoughts on it in cookies as opposed to regular table salt?
stephbachman
Off the subject, but the Vegan Lunchbox (www.veganlunchbox.blogspot.com) has a link to a cookbook with Larabar-type cookies in it. Here is the quote:
“Simple Foods for the Pack. . . . Ah, and those of you who are addicted to Larabars will be happy to note that this book includes an entire collection of “fudges” made from mashed dried fruits, dates, and nuts.”
cookiemonster
NM cookies are my favorites…..I add Heath Chocolate covered Toffee Bits to them……sinful!!!