Two days ago, we walked home from bringing Gemma to the bus stop, opened the garage door to go in, and a large, glossy red chicken walked out. This was surprising, considering we don’t own chickens.
The boys, needless to say, were thrilled, especially since the confident hen noisily clucked back at their every attempted chicken sound. It then headed jauntily down the sidewalk until it spotted a good low-hanging tree to take cover under, and we moved on to counting an astonishing 18 snails in our front flower bed. It may not be the best place to plant lettuce.
I’ve never really been an outdoorsy person (if you’ve been reading awhile, you probably snorted a little at that vast understatement), but spring with boys is the exception. They get so excited about things like snails, giant worms, spiders, butterflies and the occasional chicken, and I love it. Perhaps I love it especially since they are admire-from-a-distance type boys, and will only touch something I have already touched to prove its safety. At this point, they’re nowhere near ready to start any alarming collections to keep in their pockets or beside their beds, and I’m hoping (naively?) that it might stay that way.
All of which has nothing to with Triple Chocolate Cookies, except what doesn’t have to do with Triple Chocolate Cookies? I’ve been on a bit of baking streak lately, something that strangely seems to happen every time Carl goes on a bit of a health kick. He’s been counting his calories and trying to avoid sugar, so that’s as good a time as any to make all the things I don’t want to share. Thankfully, his willpower is as strong as his biceps, so it’s ok :)
- 1 cup butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup lightly packed brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or grease lightly.
- Beat butter and sugars with an electric mixer on medium speed until pale and creamy, 2-3 minutes. Beat in eggs and vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Mix into butter mixture until well combined, then stir in chocolate chips.
- Drop tablespoons about 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheet.
- Bake until just set and middles no longer look glossy, 10-12 minutes. Let cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes before transferring to cooling racks to cool completely.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days, or freeze for longer storage.
That’s hilarious! A chicken?! My boys would have loved that too. And they’d also love those amazing cookies!
We live near some Mennonite farms and it would not surprise me if we had strolling chickens one day. We have horse-drawn buggies in our neighbourhood now and then.
I have been craving these cookies since I saw them on your IG feed. :)
Any idea where the chicken came from?? A friend of mine does keep chickens, so I had a dozen eggs from here a while back. It’s like the best of both world…I don’t have the hassle of keeping the birds, but I get fresh eggs! My boys prefer to admire crawly things from a bit of a distance too, though they will pick things up once their father does.
I honestly have NO idea where it came from! We live totally in the suburbs…it’s a small, country-ish city, but not the kind of place chickens usually wander :)
A chicken?!! Where did you guys move? haha!