Midwest Made: Chocolate Chip Cookie Brittle

True story. Last time I made a pie, an apple pie, I pulled it out of the oven, set it on the counter and ran out to the grocery store.  When I returned, my dear husband, Paul, had cut into it prematurely and ALL of the juices were spilling out into the gaping hole left from the piece he had served himself. I was SO.MAD. Like couldn’t see straight mad. Like the maddest I remember being in YEARS! Which, in retrospect, is actually pretty funny. Still, I think we can all agree that it’s super frustrating to spend a few hours making a pie just to have someone ruin it the minute you pull it out of the oven to rest. I explained to him that ALL pies need to rest before you cut them. Fruit pies, so that the juices can cool and thicken properly, and custard pies so that the custard can set.  He said that leaving a warm pie on the counter was entrapment. Ok. Fair point. Regardless, I think my anger scared him straight. I don’t think he’ll ever cut into a pie without permission again.  

I guess I’m glad that cutting into a pie too soon is about the most infuriating thing Paul has done in the last several years. But trust him around baked goods? I unequivocally do not. Which is why, after finding this recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookie Brittle a week or so I go, I knew I had to make it when he was not home.  The directions call for “cooling completely” before removing the brittle from the cookie sheet. So unless I was up for getting in between Paul and a warm Chocolate Chip Cookie-type situation, I was waiting.  

Turns out I didn’t have to wait too long. Thanks to Chicago Public School’s and all of the random days off they give the kids, there was no school this Friday.  Perfect opportunity to bake with Emmett. Good thing he’s a lot better at waiting than his dad. I love this brittle. It’s reminiscent of a Chocolate Chip Cookie, but definitely not a cookie. 

It’s something entirely different. Even if, like me, you love thin, crunchy cookies, this is still not that, it really is more of a brittle.  The surprising accuracy of a name! I feel like you have to try it to understand. And you should! The only problem with the recipe, and brittle format, is that I feel like it’s REALLY easy to eat way too much of this.   

Child baker or serial killer? You decide. (This was actually the least wacky of the camera smiles he gave me. Ha!)

It took us under 10 minutes to prep these and after about 20 minutes in the oven they were ready.  I think it was harder for me to wait for it to cool than it was for Emmett. Truth. But don’t tell Paul. 

He jammed an animal cookie in his mouth to give him sustenance for continued whisking.

We made these with mini chocolate chips, regular chocolate chips and chopped hazelnuts and sprinkled them with additional sea salt before putting them in the oven.  I think they would also be incredible with pecans, or white chocolate and crushed pretzels. I suggested pretzels but Emmett didn’t like the idea. Crazy kid. I hope the girls and Paul like this brittle as much as I do because I don’t trust myself with a whole container of this stuff in the house. 

I’m going to say this is a must make. I’m definitely bringing it to the next party I’m invited to. Maybe I’ll even bring some to the store tomorrow for the Cocoa Crawl! It’s from the book Midwest Made by Shauna Sever. If you love all things Midwest, like me, you will love this book.  You can find the recipe here. Also, I want to bake just about everything else in the book. As you can imagine, there are a bunch of homey, Scandanavian-influenced recipes in there.  Nothing Irish about it but I’m guessing it would all be Ireland approved fare. Ehhem, Potato Chip Shortbread, Brewer’s Cheddar Bread, I’m looking at you. Actually, there is a recipe for Brown Irish Soda Bread that’s on my list, so I stand corrected. 

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to squirrel away some of this brittle before the rest of the family gets home. Have a great weekend and if you don’t have plans tomorrow, stop by Long Grove for the Cocoa Crawl.