CHOCOLATE CHIP CRUNCH COOKIES

I haven't read a Joanne Fluke novel in a while. Since her first novel Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder is being made into a movie for the Hallmark Channel to premier in a couple of weeks, I decided to check it out and read it. Each one of her book titles is something baked and she includes lots of recipes that her main character Hannah prepares and sells in her bakery called The Cookie Jar.

I needed something for my husband to take to the tax office this morning but had to make it yesterday as I have a dental cleaning this morning at 9:30. So I decided these featured cookies in her book would do the trick. I wanted to substitute for the sugar in the recipe, but didn't this first time. I did substitute crispy rice cereal for the corn flakes because I didn't have the corn flakes. I remember years ago of making chocolate chip cookies and adding the rice cereal to the dough.

Hannah (Joanne) noted that if the cookies flattened too much to lower the temperature to 350 degrees F and not to flattened them out. My first batch did so I lowered the temperature to 350 degrees. I have presented the recipe to you with the lower temperature. If your oven cooks just the opposite and the cookies don't flatten out, increase the oven temperature to 375 degrees F and slightly flatten the cookie dough with a spatula that you have dipped in flour or wet with water.

I also halved the original recipe because I only wanted to make 3 dozen cookies. If you want more, just double the ingredients.

CHOCOLATE CHIP CRUNCH COOKIES

1/2      cup butter, melted (1 stick)
1/2      cup sugar
1/2      cup brown sugar
1          teaspoon baking soda
1/2      teaspoon slat
1          teaspoon vanilla
1          egg, beaten
1-1/4   cup flour
1          cup crushed cornflakes (I did use 1 cup crispy rice cereal)
1          cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly spray or grease cookie sheets.

In a large glass mixing bowl, heat butter in microwave about 1 minute. (I covered the bowl, and stirred it with a wooden spoon to finish melting the butter.)

Add the sugars and stir.

Add the baking soda, salt, vanilla, and beaten egg. Mix well with wooden spoon.

Add the flour and stir in.

Add the cereal and chips. (Batter will be thick at this point.)

Form dough in walnut size balls. (My trusty little cookie scoop worked great.) Place on cookie sheet (no more than 12 on a sheet....cookies will spread.) This picture was of the first sheet. My last sheet looked the best and I didn't smooth out the dough ball my scoop made or flatten them.

Bake 8 - 10 minutes (8 minutes was perfect in my oven.) This is a picture of the second sheet. I had flattened them slightly. The third sheet came out puffy(sorry didn't take a picture) but flattened perfectly as they cooled. They are pictured above the recipe and in the next picture.

Cool 2 minutes on cookie sheet before removing them to wire rack to finish cooling.

In this picture you can see the first two sheets. The back ones were the first sheet and they got too brown and almost too flat. I baked them at 375 degrees F as recipe said and flattened the dough. The front one are the second sheet. I lowered the temperature to 350 degrees F and reshaped them a little so they wouldn't be as flat.

The third sheet was the best of the three. I just left dough as it came out of scoop and baked for 8 minutes at 350 degrees F.