a pile of chocolate chip cookies on a white plate with a blue design on it. The plate is sitting on a red tablecloth.

I baked these cookies on Saturday. The day Alex Pretti was shot and killed by ICE thugs in Minneapolis.

These are my comfort cookies. The ones I make when I need the repetitiveness. The rhythm. When I need to not think about anything past the next 8 to 12 minutes.

I don’t actually make cookies very often. If I’m going to bake, I prefer a pan of brownies or a cake – something that goes in the oven and bakes for a length of time and then done. Cookies mean multiple baking instances, 8 to 12 minutes at a time. Not enough time to sit down and rest. Bake, empty the tray, repeat 8 to 12 minutes later. Until all the dough is gone.

It’s not my favorite style of baking.

But on Saturday, I needed exactly that. The repetitiveness. The not having to think. The small, manageable chunks of time. Set the timer. Watch the cookies. Take them out. Start again.

Just keep moving.

a single chocolate chip cookie on a white plate with a blue design.

Old School Toll House Cookies

This is the standard Toll House cookie base recipe. It’s my go-to for any cookie that I’m going to add things to. Chocolate chips. Nuts. Heath Bits. M&Ms. Bacon. Anything. This past weekend I added chocolate chips, pecans, and Heath bits.

It’s a great recipe. Simple, tasty, cooks up crisp on the edges and chewy in the middle. Reliable.

Its a perfect base for any mix-ins you feel like adding. Some ideas:

Chocolate chips (semi-sweet, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate)
Peanut butter chips
M&Ms
Reese’s Pieces
Nuts (pecans, walnuts, almonds)
Pretzel bits
Heath bits
Bacon bits – not the fake ones, but real bits of crumbled bacon that you’ve just cooked up. Trust me on this one. They’re amazing in these cookies.

a chocolate chip cookie on a blue and white plate on a red tablecloth. There's a cat photobombing the picture, sniffing at the cookie.

Why Cookies

Cookies are what I bake when I’m emotionally exhausted. When I’m angry. When I need something to do with my hands that produces something good at the end.

When the world feels like it’s falling apart and I can’t fix it but I can make cookies. The kind of thing you can give to someone you love and say, “Here. I made these. It’s not enough. Nothing is enough. But it’s what I can do.”

On Saturday, I needed the rhythm of baking. The small, manageable tasks. The repetitiveness of it. Scoop the dough. Bake 12 minutes. Take them out. Start again. I made a double batch with chocolate chips and pecans and Heath bits. About 6 dozen cookies. Hours of baking. Hours of not thinking about anything except: Is the timer set? Are the cookies done? Are the edges brown? Next pan.

Just keep doing the next small thing.

And at the end of it, I had cookies. Dozens of cookies. Something to share. Something to offer. Something good in a world that feels like it’s burning down.

A sheet of parchment paper on a grey and white granite countertop. The parchment sheet is filled with indivudal balls of chocolate chip cookie dough. To the right of the sheet is the edge of a large bowl with more dough in it. In the front is the used cookie scoop.

Make These When You Need Them

This recipe is here for when you need it. When you need the repetitiveness. When you need something to do with your hands. When you need to make something good.

The recipe is flexible. Use whatever mix-ins you want. Make them your own comfort cookies.

And if you’re angry, if you’re exhausted, if you’re trying to figure out how to keep going when everything feels impossible – make these cookies. They won’t fix anything. But they’ll give you something to do. Something to focus on. Something good at the end.

Sometimes that’s enough to get you through – 8 to 12 minutes at a time.

Print Recipe

The Best Cookie Base

Prep Time20

Cook Time45

Servings: 3 dozen

Ingredients

1 cup butter softened (2 sticks)
¾ cup white sugar
¾ cup brown sugar packed
1 tsp vanilla
2 large eggs
2-1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3 cups mixins of choice up to 3 cups

Instructions

Cream together the butter and the sugars until light and fluffy
1 cup butter, 3/4 cup white sugar, 3/4 cup brown sugar
Add in the eggs, one at time until fully incorporated
2 large eggs
Add the vanilla
1 tsp vanilla
Mix together the flour, baking soda, and salt
2-1/4 cup all purpose flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp salt
Combine the flour mixture with the butter mixture. I ditch the mixer and use a gloved hand. This keeps the dough from being over mixed and making tough cookies
Add in your mixins of choice – up to 3 cups combined
3 cups mixins of choice
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silpat pad.
Drop in roughly 1-1/2" round balls on your lined cookie sheet. 12-15 to a sheet.
Bake for 10-12 mins, until brown around the edges.

Notes

Pontential mixins. Your imagination is the limit:

Chocolate chips (semi-sweet, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate)
Peanut butter chips
M&Ms
Reese’s Pieces
Nuts (pecans, walnuts, almonds)
Pretzel bits
Heath bits
Bacon bits – not the fake ones, but real bits of crumbled bacon that you’ve just cooked up. Trust me on this one. They’re amazing in these cookies.

What are your comfort foods? What do you make when everything is too much? Let me know in the comments.

P.S. I’m still angry. I’m still exhausted. But I have cookies. And that’s something.

P.P.S. If you want to try the bacon bits version, cook up about 6 strips of bacon until crispy, crumble them, and add them to the dough along with or instead of chocolate chips. Sweet and salty and perfect.

P.P.P.S. These cookies freeze well if you make a double batch and can’t eat them all right away. Which you probably can’t, unless you have a lot of people to feed. Portion them out, freeze the uncooked dough. Pull out 2 or 3 or 6 as you need them. Bake in your toaster oven or your regular oven.