I’m not a big dessert person…at all. In fact, my entire family (the O’Halloran clan) really isn’t into desserts. It’s funny because on our birthdays we all kinda groan when my mom says we have to order dessert so we can sing “happy birthday.” Yep, we’re crazy like that I guess.

But I will say that I love a good cookie. Move over cake, cookies are where the party is at! In fact, that’s the reason why we had a cookie bar at our wedding instead of serving cake to our guests. I’ll take a cookie over tiramisu, cheesecake, or pie any day. #handsdown

You guys know about my complete lack of talent in the cooking department. Well, I’m no better in the baking department either. In fact, I’m probably much, much worse when it comes to baking (too much room for error with all of the measurements and baking times!) But lucky for me, that husband of mine is exceptional in the kitchen and he makes a mean chocolate chip cookie. 

It’s so funny because he often bakes these cookies and brings them to work and his coworkers just naturally assume that his wife baked them! If they only knew…Finn has been making his famous chocolate chip cookies ever since we started dating, and they turn out perfectly every.single.time. It’s crazy because even if I try to follow the recipe exactly they simply don’t turn out the same. They’re flat, or burned, or hard. So I asked him to share his secrets with not only me, but with all of you. And that baking hubby of mine happily obliged. Now you may be thinking, “Casey, I know how to make cookies…it isn’t Rocket Science!” That’s great, but when it comes to baking I need all of the help I can get, so I figured some of you out there might get something out of his tips. Plus, it was a nice excuse to get some fresh cookies from my husband, and bonus…it gives you some yummy eye candy on this Friday.

But before we get to his tips, here’s the recipe (a pretty standard chocolate chip cookie one)

Chocolate Chip Cookie Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 t. baking soda
• 1 t. salt
• 2 sticks butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 t. vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups milk chocolate chips

Recipe Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Beat butter, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in another bowl until creamy. Add eggs one at a time. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. Spray baking sheet with cooking spray and drop cookie dough onto sheet. Bake 9 to 11 minutes, transfer to cooling rack when finished.

TIP #1

Soft butter is key! I’m usually way too impatient to “thaw” out my butter, and I end up throwing it into the batter straight from the fridge. Apparently, that’s a big no-no. Finn lets his butter rest out on the counter until it gets to room temperature before even starting to bake the cookies. If you’re strapped for time, preheat the oven, and put the butter near the warm oven to get it warm faster. But be sure not to melt the butter, just get it nice and soft.

TIP #2

Don’t skimp on the vanilla. In fact, Finn often adds another dash or 2 to the batter. Gotta love a little extra flavor in there.

TIP #3

When combining the dry ingredients, be sure you really mix them together well. If not, you may get a salty bite in one cookie, some baking soda taste in another. So take the extra minute and combine everything thoroughly as you go.

TIP #4

There’s no such thing as too many chocolate chips. Sure the recipe calls for 2 cups of chocolate chips, but if you’re feeling crazy you can dump a few more into the bowl. I mean everything is better with chocolate, right? And don’t use the hand mixer when it comes time to add the chocolate chips. Instead use a spatula. I can tell you from experience that I’ve burned out a hand mixer (or 2) trying to mix together some thick batter. Oops…

Also if you are taking the cookies to work, be sure to avoid putting nuts in the batter so everyone can enjoy them! 

TIP #5

Hide the batter from your cookie dough obsessed wife. Okay, perhaps this tip only applies when I’m around, but who doesn’t love cookie dough? I will gladly take my chances with salmonella for a big ol’ scoop of this sugary dough. But seriously, when your batter is done be sure to pop it into the fridge to get it nice and cold before you place on the baking sheet. 

TIP #6

Don’t make perfectly round balls when placing the dough on the cookie sheet. No need for an ice cream scoop either. Instead use your nice, clean hands and shape them yourself.

TIP #7

A cooling rack is a must! Once your cookies are out of the oven, let them sit for about 1-2 minute. Then transfer them to a cooling rack and let them cool completely. This will prevent them from getting overcooked on the hot baking sheet. 

Is your mouth watering yet?Yeah, I’m dying over here too. Give me all the cookies! Cookies for breakfast is a-okay on a Friday. I mean calories don’t count because it’s almost the weekend…right?

So go ahead and indulge. I won’t tell anyone! And a big thank you to Finn for sharing his chocolate chip cookie secrets today (& for letting me sneak quite a few spoonfuls of dough while shooting these pictures.)

Casey