Chocolate Cinnamon Cookies

If you’ve been following this blog for an extended amount of time (all five of you out there lol), you know that I have a special love for chocolate chip cookies, and not just because they taste great. It’s also because, although you may not think of them that way initially, chocolate chip cookies are a great Blank Canvas Recipe.

There are, of course the ‘classic’/standard way to make chocolate chip cookies (see here for my Go-To recipe) andI would refer to those as a Blank Canvas recipe because they start with a simple recipe with minimal/classic ingredients, then can be remixed/experimented with to have a unique kind of flair. I’ve done this with Chocolate Chip Cookies a number of different times here on the blog.

I’ve made CCCs with coffee; CCCs as the base for an icebox cake; Browned Butter with CCCs; CCC Biscotti; PB & Chocolate Chip Biscotti; Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownies; Chocolate Chip Cookie Brittle; Butter Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies; Deep Dish Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake.

Did you know that there is even a way to make holiday-spiced chocolate chip cookies?

I’m telling you all, the possibilities truly are endless. And wouldn’t you know it? There’s still more 🙂

When I was a kid, there was specific brand of chocolate chip cookies that I (and probably some of you) really loved called Famous Amos. The cookies themselves were small, crisp and buttery, almost like a shortbread while the chocolate chips were small and semi-sweet. I know that sometimes childhood nostalgia can play tricks on your tastebuds and make things like food out to be much better than they may have been, but seriously; these were just divine.

For several years however, Famous Amos cookies went out of production and were nowhere to be found. From what I understand they’re under a revamp, though I haven’t been able to test out the product to see if it’s as good as they used to be.

But in the meanwhile, I think I’ve found a pretty good substitute.

I said it before in the last post, but it bears repeating that slice & bakes are some of the best kinds of cookies there are to make for Christmas cookies. You can make/bake them bulk, they keep/ship/store very well and they’re endlessly customizable. The latest customization I have to share for them are these Chocolate Cinnamon Cookies.

The base is a dough for a crisp, golden brown butter cookie that’s flavored with both semi-sweet chocolate chips, and a teaspoon of cinnamon. It’s not a lot, but you’d be surprised by how well the flavor of that cinnamon plays against the flavor of the chocolate. These cookies were delicious all on their own, but they pair even better alongside a mug of hot chocolate, coffee, or tea.

9 Days down on this year’s 12 Days of Christmas; just 3 days/recipes left to Go!

Day 1: Browned Butter & Sweet Potato Biscuits

Day 2: Biscoff Dipped Butter Cookies

Day 3: Holiday French Toast

Day 4: Gingerbread Cinnamon Rolls

Day 5: Cider-Cinnamon Spritz Cookies

Day 6: Butter Pecan Biscotti

Day 7: Glazed Holiday Donut Cakes

Day 8: Cranberry Noel Cookies

Day 9: Chocolate Cinnamon Cookies

Chocolate Cinnamon Cookies

Recipe Adapted from Land O’Lakes

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup white granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of salt
1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup white granulated sugar, for rolling
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, for rolling

Directions

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt. Stir together a few times with a fork and set aside.

Combine the 1/4 cup of white sugar with the 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon in a shallow dish/bowl, then set aside.

In the bowl of a standing mixer, or using a handheld mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

Add the milk, egg and vanilla extract and mix just until combined.

Fold the flour mixture in about 2 batches, mixing just until combined, then Fold in the chocolate chips, mixing just until combined.

Divide the dough into 2 equal parts. Roll each part into a smooth, squarish 8-inch log.

Roll each log in cinnamon-sugar mixture until he outside is well coated, then wrap each log into a plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator overnight.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Remove one of the logs of the dough from the fridge and remove the plastic wrap. Use a sharp knife or a bench scraper to slice the log into 1/4-1/2 inch thick slices and place each slice on the baking sheet. Lightly sprinkle the tops with white sugar.

Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes, until the edges are lightly golden brown.

Allow to cool for about 5 minutes before moving to wire racks to cool completely.

Note: no one oven is the same, & different baking sheets bake cookies differently. Keeping this in mind, I will ALWAYS test bake one cookie before baking entire sheets of the whole batch, just to get a good idea of how long they should be in the oven and if I need to adjust the way I’ve cut, rolled them out, etc. I highly recommend that you do the same.