it's called a COOKIE, fool

I think the world would agree that Italians do a lot of things right. Art, science, architecture, food, romance, fashion bla bla bla. 

One thing Italians do not do correctly however, is cookies. They don't even know what a cookie is. They are so clueless that they call it a "biscotti".  And they eat biscotti for breakfast, and not in the advertised devilish way Americans do, but in the nonchalant "this is absolutely normal breakfast food" way. Why? because their "biscotti" are plain, minimally caloric, and frankly more boring than a piece of cardboard sprinkled with stevia. This, along with the fact that Italians are extremely misbehaved when it comes to forming a line, make me want to throw all my papers up in the air sometimes and just quit at life. I mean, you can't even find chocolate chips in a grocery store.

I did not grow up in a home culture where my mummy was constantly patting me on the head and baking me cookies. She would however allow me cantaloupe. Nevertheless, I was raised in a country that celebrates few things with more passion and nostalgia than the freshly baked chocolate chip cookie. And now that I can't have them whenever I want them, i NEED them.

The advantage of living in a cookie-forsaken foreign country is firstly, that my mother can no longer control the terror that is my diet at times (particularly of emotional stress), and secondly, that I have adapted to the deficit of chocolate chips by making my own cookies with chocolate CHUNKS chopped up from swiss chocolate bars. 

Occasionally it occurs that good energy is catapulted into my universe, as it has happened recently with having wrapped my sticky fingers around the magical recipe claiming to yield the greatest chocolate chip cookies known to man. I recently verified this as fact.

So I bestow you with this recipe below, making the very important disclaimer that if you share the same flawed soul as I ("going to eat all of these NOW so I get them out of the house so I can be healthy again starting tomorrow"), you're really going to regret the way you feel once resurrected from your impending hard cookie coma. I am cautioning you: THESE WILL ANNIHILATE YOUR FREE WILL. THEY WILL MARCH THEIR WAY ONE BY ONE INTO YOUR PIE HOLE UNTIL YOU PASS THE EFF OUT.  You can thank me later. 

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups + 2 tablespoons all purpose flour (265 grams, farina 00)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch (o fecola di patate)
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 6 oz (170 grams) butter, melted and cooled
• 1 cup (210 grams) brown or cane sugar
• ½ cup (100 grams) granulated white sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1½ cups (285 grams) dark chocolate CHUNKS [i used a mix of dark chocolate orange and dark chocolate with hazelnuts, but use any type you prefer]

DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cornstarch, and salt. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, beat together cooled melted butter and sugar for one minute. Add eggs and vanilla extract. Beat until just combined.
3. Slowly add in the dry ingredients and mix briefly, just until there are no flour clumps left. Fold in chocolate chips.
4. Cover and refrigerate dough for at least 30 minutes.
5. Remove dough from refrigerator and preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit (165 celsius), making sure the rack is in the middle of the oven.
6. Scoop ¼ cup of cookie dough at a time and roll into balls. Flatten them a little bit, then place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, making sure the cookies have plenty of space to spread.
7. Bake for about 12 minutes or until the cookies have spread out and the edges are golden, but the center still looks soft and slightly under-cooked. Let cool on the baking sheets until the cookies are firm enough to remove. 

ALL GONE.