Chocolate Chip Mega Cookies

Cream Puff Murder

Preheat oven to 350°F, rack in the middle position.

**Hannah's 1st Note**: you can mix these cookies by hand or use an electric mixer on slow speed.

* Place the sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add the softened butter and vanilla extract, and stir until the resulting mixture is light and fluffy. Add the beaten eggs and mix well.
* Mix in the teaspoon of molasses. *(To measure molasses or any other sticky liquid, spray your measuring spoon or cup with Pam or another nonstick spray before you measure.)* Stir until the mixture in your bowl is a uniform color.
* Add the salt and baking soda, and mix until they're thoroughly incorporated.

**Hannah's 2nd Note**: You have alternatives if your family doesn't like or can't eat the chopped nuts. You can use a cup of finely shredded coconut in place of the nuts, or a cup of rolled oats, or a cup of crushed breakfast cereal (measure after crushing), or even a cup of chopped dried fruit like raisins or apricots.

* Add the nuts or their alternatives and stir them in. Then add half of the chocolate chips and half of the flour. *(You don't have to be exact—the object is to add the flour and the chocolate chips in two parts so they won't glob up when you stir them in.)* Stir until the chips and flour are thoroughly incorporated.
* Add the rest of the chips and the rest of the flour. Mix thoroughly. Let the dough rest while you prepare the pans.
* You will use two and only two pans for this recipe. *(They're called "mega" cookies for a reason!)* Use two 9 inch or 10 inch pie pans—glass, metal, or disposable, it really doesn't matter. If you must, you can use three 8-inch pie pans, but the cookies will be much thinner and you'll have to reduce the baking time by 5 minutes.
* Line your pie pans with a big square of aluminum foil, pressing the foil down to conform to the bottom and sides of the pie pan and leaving the four corners sticking up. *(You'll use them later to remove the cookies from the pie plate.)*
* Once the pie pans are lined on the inside, spray the foil with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray.
* Divide your cookie dough in half *(or thirds if you used three 8-inch pie pans.)* Form each half into a large ball. Place the balls in the center of each of your pie pans and smush them down with your impeccably clean hands. Continue to flatten the dough balls until they're spread all the way out to the sides of the pan, and the tops are fairly smooth.
* Bake the "mega" cookies at 350°F for 40 minutes *(35 if you made three cookies instead of two.)* Test for doneness by using the time-honored method devised by Hannah's Grandma Swensen. Press the back of a spoon down on the center of the cookie. If it sinks in and comes out gooey and squishy, the cookies need more baking. Try them again after 5 minutes. If it leaves only a slight indentation, your cookies are done.
* Remove your cookies from the oven and cool them in their pans on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Then grasp the two diagonal corners, lift the cookies out of their pans and continue to cool them on the wire racks until they reach room temperature.
* When the cookies are thoroughly cool, carefully peel off the foil. They're wonderful just as they are, but you can add to the enjoyment by decorating them if you wish.

*Lisa uses a pastry bag to make little stars around the edge of her cookies, and then she personalizes them with a name written across the center. If you're like me and you prefer not to use a pastry bag, you can buy little tubes of frosting in the grocery store and write a message and a name with them in your choice of frosting color.*

## Conversion Charts

See Baking Conversion Chart for non-USA baking conversions.