Sans Chocolate Chip Cookies

Consider it a life dream fulfilled: the chocolate chip-free chocolate chip cookie. Before the disgruntled response revs up, I should make it clear that I love chocolate, love it. However, I'm supposed to be avoiding it at all costs and that combined with the fact that whenever I'm presented with a really delicious and gooey chocolate chip cookie I just end up eating around the chips has driven me to this conclusion: the world's greatest cookie is not the chocolate chip cookie, it's the sans chocolate chip cookie. Well, maybe not world's greatest but at least really tasty.

This has been a point of theoretical culinary fascination for me and I was struck with a cookie craving yesterday but lacked the Tollhouse component so I went all carpe diem and struck out into new cookie territory. Depending on how you like your cookies (gooey or chewy) you can make some minor modifications for example: beginning with cold butter makes for a flatter, gooey cookie, while replacing an egg white with a two tablespoons of milk makes for a chewier cookie. I also prefer to replace the traditional vanilla extract with almond extract and forgo the addition of nuts.

Sans Chocolate Chip Cookies
(yields 24+)

3/4 c dark brown sugar
3/4 sugar
2 sticks of butter
1 tsp almond extract
2 eggs
1 1/4 c AP flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 375

1) Cream the butter and sugars with the extract.

2) Add the two eggs and mix well.

3) Combine the flour, salt, and baking soda in a separate bowl, then add in three parts to the wet mix.

4) Form balls of dough, well-spaced, on a cookie sheet and bake for about 10 minutes.

5) Let cool on the cookie sheet for a couple minutes before removing to a cooling rack.