Monster Cookies, part II.

One of the most common keywords that leads to hits on our blog is "Whole Foods monster cookies." Having noticed it coming up on our analytics several times over the past two months or so, I thought I'd better refine my Monster Cookie recipe to try to get it as close as possible to the real thing, lest I disappoint potential readers. So, today while in the middle of my second trip to Whole Foods (sad, but true and not uncommon for me to be there twice in one day), I stopped in front of the bakery display and wrote down the ingredients of the Monster Cookies. Oddly enough, there is actually no flour in them which was a pretty big part of the last version I made. So, I experimented with the recipe today and I think I actually got pretty darn close. I added a bit of salt (there was none in the WF ingredients list) and tried to figure out the ratios of all the ingredients. I just baked two and a half dozen and they're pretty darn yummy. Here's the recipe I used:

1/2 C unsalted butter
3/4 C brown sugar
1/2 C sugar
2 eggs
2 t vanilla
3/4 C peanut butter (the real stuff, not with added oil or sugar)
3 1/2 C old fashioned oats
1/2 t salt
1 t baking powder
1 C chocolate chips (I prefer dark)
1/3 C walnuts

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cream butter and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla until incorporated. Mix in peanut butter. Add oats, salt, and baking powder, 1/2 cup at a time. Incorporate chocolate chips and walnuts. Drop large spoonfuls onto baking sheet (I used a silicone liner...not sure if a bare baking sheet would need to be greased first). Bake for 12-15 minutes.

I did the first sheet in my small oven, but the bottoms of the cookies got a little crispy, so I did the second and third in the big oven on convection and they cooked perfectly. I also added dried cranberries to the third sheet and they came out fine. Probably 2/3 of a cup or so added to the whole recipe would be enough.

I just realized that the Whole Foods ingredients list has baking soda, not baking powder. Apparently I screwed that up but they came out right none the less. I'll have to check that ingredient next time I'm at WF and see whether I wrote it down wrong or if it's really suppose to be baking soda. I always thought that baking was an impossible science, but it must not be as difficult as I previously thought...