Chocolate Chip “Kitchen Sink” Cookies

Being confined for two weeks has been, um, interesting. As someone who works at home, I was, like, “I got this…” But by day two I started getting loopy. As much as I think Romain is the greatest thing ever, it’s hard to be cooped up and not allowed to go out. True, we can go to the grocery store or bakery if we bring a signed attestation with us for each trip we make (good thing we keep plenty of paper on hand for printing and photocopying here all the paperwork) but I was surprised how much I missed the interactions of daily life, much more than I thought.

Today they suddenly closed one of my local bakeries because they didn’t have enough masks and other supplies to protect their employees and customers, and tears welled up when I talked to one of the owners, who I’ve known since they opened the place. I ran over to get a baguette and a loaf of bread. They’re not the only bakery in the neighborhood, but it was sad to see them go and I hope they can reopen.

I knew from living in earthquake country, when this started, to have extra provisions on hand, so I bought a few extra bags of non-perishables like sardines, tuna, canned tomatoes, and pasta sauce. I have tons of grains and pasta always on hand, but I wanted to make sure I had enough butter, eggs, and flour, which I usually keep well-stocked. But when I was at the grocery store last week and saw all those blocks of butter on the shelf, I thought, “Why not?”

In the end, it was a wise idea because I’ve been doing a lot more baking than I thought. Being locked inside, I also was doing a lot more eating, too. (Which is why, when this is over, I’m going to be doing a lot more exercising.) Some of that butter went to these Chocolate Chip “Kitchen Sink” cookies, which I’ve already made a few times. I first tried them out last week, developing the recipe, and took some pictures to post here along with the recipe.

But yesterday when I searched for the photos on my computer, they weren’t there. I don’t know what happened. Maybe the virus is transmittable to computers? So I made the cookies a third time.

Which gave me ample time to try to come up with a name for these cookies. Some call cookies with lots of stuff in them things like “granola” cookies, which implies (at least to me) that you can have them for breakfast. Another term that gest bantered about is “compost” cookies. I’ll leave your morning meal choices up to you (and leave mine to me), but wet soil littered with scraps of food, and critters crawling all over them, well…probably Cookies de compostage would be a tough sell around here…

For some reason, I settled on Chocolate Chip Kitchen Sink cookies. For those unfamiliar with that term, it’s used to describe something that seemingly has “everything but the kitchen sink” in it. I’m not an expert on language or grammar, and for those willing to endure the occasional grammar or spelling gaffe here on the blog, I’ll admit that I’m pretty good in the cookie department. There are those who have a lot more time to analyze these things than I do, who may point out that, 1) These cookies don’t actually have everything in the kitchen in them, and 2) Why would anyone name a dessert after something that wasn’t in it?

Your points are well-taken, and I promise to never bake another “flourless chocolate cake” again. And I’m fine if everyone agrees to give up “nonfat half-and-half,” too. But I wanted to get this recipe to you, so you could enjoy them. So took off my thinking cap, which was getting too tight, and focused on baking.

The Chocolate Chip Kitchen Sink cookies are great. I wanted a choc-a-bloc amount of ingredients in them, while preserving their chewy cookie texture. The trick is to underbake them, which keeps everything soft and moist. You want to bake them just to the point where, you look in the oven at the 9-minute mark, and touch them, but you still think they’re not done yet. That’s when they’re done. Depending on your oven, you might need to take them out a minute before or after that number, but if you just want to bake a few off before you do the rest, and taste one after it cools, that might put your mind at ease.

Romain gave these cookies a big thumb’s up, although I think he was thinking that it was the confinement that made me call these Cookies à l’évier. I bought some to a neighbor in my building who has been under the weather, and within minutes, my phone lit up with a marriage proposal by text.

Normally I’d say that’s not the way one should propose marriage, but in tough times, we take what we can get. But he didn’t know the name of the cookies and was judging me solely by taste. It’s the people that put up your flaws, inconsistencies, grammar flubs, and occasional bouts of temporary insanity when you’re confined together, who you should really hold onto. But I’m holding onto my text messages, because one should always be prepared, in case of an emergency.

[Note: I tested this recipe at least five times before posting it, yet some readers noted their cookies spread more than mine did. I made them again, posting videos and photos of how I made them, and what quantities of ingredients I used, in my Instagram Stories – which you can watch here. Nevertheless, some still had spreading issues. So I reduced the amount of butter in the recipe, noting that you can use 4 ounces (115g) of butter rather than 6 ounces, which worked for everyone who tried it. I linked to people who’ve made the cookies and posted pictures in my comment here. So I recommend readers use the 4 ounces/115g amount of butter.]