There are worse addictions. Plus…do you really need another chocolate chip cookie recipe? Yep, I say.

I think this weekend was the first time that I put on a wetsuit that hadn't dried out from the previous surf session.  Well, maybe because the previous session was barely 24 hours earlier. Yeah, it took me a long time to get to surfing, but somehow this thing seeps into your veins, and if you're not in the water you find yourself thinking about when you can get into the water again.  At least I do.  Maybe it's because there are so few places these days where we can find true quiet and peace. There are no phones out there.  There's no wifi, no spotify, no Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or TV.  There's not the constant thrum of the city, or all the mundane issues that have to be dealt with on a day to day basis.  There's just surfer and ocean.  Yes, I still harbor fears and phobias when I'm out there, but there's also something soothing and calming about it, as long as conditions are the way I like them, I guess.  Anyway, there are far more detrimental things that are addictive wouldn't you say?

Speaking of addictions…chocolate anybody?  Chocolate chip cookies?  I was recently asked by one of my little cousins who was shipping off to camp for a couple of weeks that I send a care package, preferably cookies.  I adore this kid, and so of course I said yes, indeed, I can do that.  Now, in an upcoming post about making pizza, NY bread guru Jim Lahey comes up.  You can read about him, and the Sullivan Street Bakery, here www.sullivanstreetbakery.com but there will be more in the pizza post.  This chocolate chip cookie recipe also comes from Lahey, although I have made a slight change, which leads me to the first of what I'm sure will be many mentions of one of my favorite places on earth, McCall's Meat and Fish Company, on Hillhurst Avenue in Los Feliz www.mccallsmeatandfish.com.  When Nathan and Karen McCall opened about five years ago, it was just the two of them, in this small space where they sold really excellent quality meat and seafood previously unseen in the neighborhood, if not the city, since they were one of the first in this new wave of artisan butchers.  McCalls has since grown into a much bigger operation, (as has their family!) and I can't say how much the shop was a boon to the neighborhood, or how much I like both Nathan and Karen, who are always happy to answer any questions, no matter how lame.  I love McCalls so much, in fact, that when we lived in Malibu I would load George into the car along with a cooler and some ice, and I'd drive into town and stock up.  Yes, the burger blend is that good. Both Nathan and Karen have restaurant backgrounds, and Karen is an amazing pastry chef -- if you haven't tried McCall's baked goods and desserts, go now!  So, also I noticed they started selling some really excellent Valrhona chocolate in bar form, and because I knew I'd be making cookies, I asked Karen if I could cut the bars into chunks and use them in my recipe.  Without a moment's hesitation, she asked if I wanted to sample each of the three varieties and, well, I wasn't going to say no, was I?   I was most curious about this one:

It's a milk chocolate caramel.  I love caramel, so the thought was adding it to some bittersweet chocolate chips.  So that's what I bought, and that's my addition to the recipe -- caramel chips.   Here are the other chips I used:

And here's a little of the process, plus the finished product.

They are very delicious.  Hopefully, the little cousin will be happy too.  So for these cookies, adapted from Jim Lahey and Bon Appetit, you'll need:

1 cup, plus 2 Tbsp. all purpose flour
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 sticks butter, room temperature
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 large egg, room temp
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips (I used 1/2 cup milk chocolate caramel, cut into chunks, and 1/2 c bittersweet chocolate chips)

1. Arrange racks in upper and lower thirds of oven.  Preheat to 425 degrees.  Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a small bowl stir together flour, salt and baking powder.
3. Using an electric mixer (I used the Kitchenaid) on medium speed beat butter and both sugars until well combined, 2-3 minutes. Add egg and vanilla.  Beat on medium-high until mixture is light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.  Add dry ingredients, reduce speed to low and mix just to blend.  Fold in chocolate chips.
4. Drop heaping tablespoons of dough onto prepared baking sheets, spacing 1 1/2 inches apart.  (this is important…as you can see I had them too close together, and too close to the side of the pan.  Beware!) Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until edges are golden brown, 6-8 minutes.  Transfer to wire racks and let cool.

Side note:  it's super easy to double this recipe which in original form makes about 20 cookies.  40 is better though.