Chocolate Chip Cookies in a Cookie

What's the one thing that could make a chocolate chip cookie better? The addition of MORE chocolate chip cookies! This recipe, from Big Fat Cookies, instructs you to prepare your cookie dough and bake off 10 cookies. Once baked and cooled, those cookies are mixed back into the remaining dough for a thick and unique almost twice-baked chocolate chip cookie. This recipe also helps solve the dilemma of whether to make crispy or chewy chocolate chip cookies - it gives you both! The giant soft cookie has little bites of crispy cookies throughout - the best of both worlds. Once the baked cookies are mixed back in, this recipe produces the best-tasting cookie dough I've ever eaten. And it also bakes some of the most delicious cookies to come out of my kitchen. These were a hit! Why didn't anyone think of this before?!?

Chocolate Chip Cookies in a Cookie

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Sift the flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until blended, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixer. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until blended, about 1 minute. On low speed, add the flour mixture, mixing just until it is incorporated. Mix in the chocolate chips.
Drop 10 heaping tablespoons of dough 3 inches apart onto one of the prepared baking sheets. Set aside the remaining dough. Bake until the edges of the cookies are lightly browned but the centers are golden, about 13 minutes. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Break the cooked cookies into 1/2 to 1 inch pieces. Add the pieces to the reserved dough and mix on low speed to distribute them evenly, about 10 seconds.

Using an ice cream scoop or measuring 1/4 cup, scoop mounds of dough onto prepared baking sheets, spacing 3 inches apart. Bake the cookies until they feel firm on top but are still soft in the center and the edges are beginning to brown slightly, about 15 minutes. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.

The cookies can be stored in a tightly covered container at room temperature for up to four days.

Makes 20 cookies (or 18, if you eat 2 cookies worth of dough like I did)