Never underestimate the power of a chocolate chip cookie. It’s just about the only sweet that most people can agree on next to ice cream. I count myself as included in the many legions of chocolate chip cookie lovers in the world. When in a bakery it’s most definitely the cookie I go for unless of course there is a peanut butter chocolate chip and then I might get both!

Now, this coming week marks our 3rd year anniversary here at 3191 Miles Apart (see our first post here, speaking of hearts) and it also marks Valentine’s Day. Although I don’t go wild for V-Day itself I do love me some hearts. I like to draw hearts on notes I write to people I love—I like to doodle hearts in meetings or on my calendar. I just think hearts put people in a jolly mood.

So, seeing as I believe in chocolate chip cookies and I believe in hearts you can see how this whole post has come to life. In celebration of our anniversary and love day I wanted to give you my favorite two chocolate chipper recipes (as of right now) and also give you some hearts! So here it goes …

Chocolate Chip Cookies Two Ways

The key to chocolate chippers, for me, comes down to two things: I want the batch itself to be small (there are only two of us in this household after all) and I want the cookies to keep their texture and flavor for a few days (I like to keep a cookie jar for a few days after). Both of these recipes are a bit on the cakey or doughy side; the doughs themselves are stiff. They are not what you’d refer to as chewy and they don’t spread out to be huge, flat chocolate chippers like you might see in a bakery. They are just small yummy cookies with, for me, just the right flavor, crunch and just the right amount of sweet.

Traditional Chippers
makes about two dozen

1-1/2 C all purpose flour
1/2 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
1/2 C unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 C brown sugar
1/2 C natural sugar
1 t vanilla
1 egg
1-1/2 C dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350ºF/180ºC. Prepare your cookie sheet (either with parchment paper or just grease it up well). Sift flour, baking powder and salt and set aside. Beat butter and sugars in a bowl until light and creamy. Add egg and vanilla and beat well scraping down the sides as needed. Slowly stir in dry ingredients. Fold in chocolate chips. Place spoonfuls on your cookie sheet (tamp them down with a fork if you like) and bake for 12–15 minutes. Let cool on baking sheet for a few minutes and then remove cookies and let them completely cool on rack.

Whole Grain Chippers
makes just over one dozen

3/4 C rolled oats
1 C whole wheat flour (or spelt)
1/3 C unsweetened coconut
1/2 t baking soda
1/8 t salt
1/2 C canola oil
scant 1/3 C natural sugar
scant 1/3 C brown sugar
1 egg
1 t vanilla
3/4 C dark chocolate, chopped

Preheat oven to 350ºF/180ºC. Prepare your cookie sheet (either with parchment paper or just grease it up well). Whisk together oats, flour, coconut, baking soda and salt; set aside. In a large bowl beat together oil and sugars well. Add egg, mix well. Add vanilla, mix well. Dump dry ingredients into wet and mix with as few strokes of the wooden spoon as you can. Fold in chocolate. Place spoonfuls on your cookie sheet and bake for 10–12 minutes. Let cool completely on baking sheet.

Note: To make the hearts I tripled the recipe and spread it out flat in a jelly roll pan. I baked it for about 15–20 minutes and let it cool on the sheet for 5 minutes. Then I lifted out the parchment paper carefully (there were two of us) and cut out my hearts. Make sure to cut the hearts while the dough is warm.

—MAV