Chocolate Chip "Kitchen Sink" Cookies

UPDATE: Several people noted in the comments that their cookies spread while baking, others noted they came out just as shown in the post. I tested the recipe several times before posting it, but made them again (which was the fifth time) and did a step-by-step video and photo tutorial in my Instagram Stories. I followed this recipe exactly, only swapping out raisins for the sour cherries as I didn't have any more. But for most people the 4 ounces/115g of butter seemed to work best, I recommend using that amount. Also, some people asked if the cookies could be made without the coconut, I baked one scoop of the dough off before adding coconut, and you can see how it came out, which is the cookie shown in the bottom of this photo. So yes, you can leave out the coconut if you want. The cookies will spread a little more without it and won't need to be tamped down. I edited the recipe to make sure that in step 1, you only beat the butter and sugar together just until well blended; you don't want to whip any air into it, which can cause cookies to spread. Some suggested it was the difference between French and American butter, which is 19 years of baking between the two countries, I've never had this kind of problem with. So I am advising those in the U.S. to use the 4 ounces (8 tablespoons) of butter amount. And I added to chill the rounds of cookie dough before baking, which may also help prevent spreading, although as you can see if you watch my Instagram Story, it didn't make a big difference. I hope those tips help! -David _______ The recipe calls for candied peanuts that I purchased, which are sometimes sold as honey-roasted peanuts. You could make your own candied peanuts or use roasted peanuts. And yes, you could use another kind of nut in place of the peanuts, such as chopped toasted walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, or almonds. (For those who are nut-free, pumpkin seeds would probably be the best swap-out.) Raisins can be added in place of the dried sour cherries or cranberries. I kept the peanuts and chocolate rather coarsely chopped as I think big, discernable pieces are better than little bits that might get lost in the mix. (The picture I had to show you the size got eaten by the virus that deleted all the other pictures.) Because of that, the dough may be a little rough when rolling it into rounds before baking, and the cookies will likely be somewhat irregular. But thems the breaks for those of us that like cookies with a lot of stuff packed into them. As mentioned in the post, you want to underbake these cookies, so after you tamp them down, they'll remain soft and chewy. As you can see by the picture, they don't spread as other chocolate chip cookies do; they should be just lightly golden brown across the top when you take them out of the oven, not deeply golden brown.

Unbalanced

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet