chocolate chip cookies

This was dinner.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 2 eggs
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3/4 granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown light sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375℉ / 190℃
2. In a medium bowl, cream room-temperature butter and both sugars until light and fluffy. Add vanilla extract and beat in eggs one at a time.
3. Add flour, baking soda, and salt.
4. Add chocolate chips.
5. Chill the dough.
6. Drop the dough by the teaspoonful onto an unbaked cookie sheet. Use parchment paper or Silpat for easy clean up. Place 2 inches apart. 
7. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until light brown. Allow to cool on cookie sheet then transfer to a rack.

So that's the general idea. I substituted 1/2 cup steel cut oatmeal for flour, and 1/2 cup broken pecans + 1/2 cup raisins for 1 cup of chocolate chips. 

When I was nearly finished I remembered I intended to include cinnamon. Whenever I include cinnamon I always compulsively grab the clove too, and I never fail to consider powdered ginger. These ingredients are not missed, the cookies are excellent.  Then after all that I go "What are those black things over there? Oh, they're bananas. Poop. I could have added those too."  Had I added a banana or two then I'd also increase flour. 

Now. You'll notice there is baking soda with no corresponding acid. How then is it expected to leaven? Answer: It is not. Baking soda does other things besides leaven.  It also tends to keep cookies soft. If you were to omit it, then obviously the cookies would become brittle. Which might be a good thing for dipping in coffee or milk or tea. Conversely, if you were to include an acid, like lemon or molasses, then that would activate the baking soda into a leaven. CHEMISTRIES!