Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is coming to theaters this week! In my excitement over the newest Marvel release, I decided to make some treats to honor heroes both large and small. Later this month, I’ll be sharing my recipe for Ant-Man’s atomic-sized apple pies but this addition to Cosmic Cuisine is dedicated to Giant-Man, hence, Giant-Man’s Double Chocolate Chip cookies!
Giant-Man’s cookies are deliciously oversized salted double chocolate chip cookies. They contain both dark and milk chocolate chips and are finished off with a sprinkle of salt for that little je ne sais quoi that makes them perfect.
Giant Man's Chocolate Chip Cookies
Giant Man needs a giant. cookie to satisfy his sweet tooth. With two kinds of chocolate and a sprinkle of flaky salt to set them off, this cookie hits the spot every time. The recipe may only make six, but they're so good that six is all you need.
Ingredients
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
- flaky salt/sea salt for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl, set aside.
- In a second bowl, cream together the softened butter and both sugars.
- Add the egg, vinegar, and vanilla to the sugar. Beat until creamy and smooth. Make sure to get all the butter lumps out.
- Add the flour mixture and mix until just combined.
- Mix in the dark and milk chocolate chips until they are evenly distributed.
- Measure out cookie dough by 1/3 cups and plop on cookie sheet. Leave at least 3 inches between cookies as these will spread quite a lot.
- Bake cookies for 11 to 13 minutes. They're done when the edges are brown. They may still look slightly undercooked in the middle but they'll continue to cook on the pan.
- Sprinkle a pinch of flaky/sea salt over the still warm cookies.
- Let the cookies cool for 10 minutes on the pan. Then move to a wire rack to finish cooling. Or enjoy them warm. These are great with a cold glass of milk or a warm cup of cocoa.
Notes
These cookies are large and require a longer cook time to make sure the centers cook, but don't over cook them! Take them out when they are just brown at the edges to avoid hard, dry cookies. Better that they are a little underdone in the middle then burned on the edges.
If you need more than six cookies this recipe can be doubled or quadrupled really easily. Just use some of those math skills! But these cookies are very filling so think before making (or eating) too many of them.
Small batch, but big cookie taste
This recipe is for six ridiculously oversized cookies. You would probably get two to three dozen cookies from this mix if it was regular size (which should give you the idea that one is more than enough for anyone at a time, even Giant-Man). I actually broke them in half to share with my kiddos because I couldn’t eat the whole cookie.
But if for any reason six cookies are not enough for you, this batch can easily be doubled or even quadrupled. If you do that, I would bake two sheets at a time to cut down on baking time and make your life easier. But I wouldn’t try to put more than six on the baking sheet unless you’re going for a cookie bar.
Speaking of baking sheets, a superhero is more than their super suit, but it certainly helps. It’s the same for your baking pans. Always make sure to suit them up with some parchment paper. It’s a true secret weapon against any baker’s arch nemesis, Sticking! Especially with cookies this big, if they stick they will fall apart when you try to remove them. So use that parchment paper!
Special ingredients for Giant-Man’s Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
Giant-Man’s cookies have both dark and milk chocolate. I can understand the compulsion to just use one or the other, or cut the difference and use semi-sweet. It makes things easier right? And it works great in regular chocolate chip cookies. But when has the easy way ever been the tastiest way? I promise you, the sweet milk chocolate and the slightly dry dark chocolate attract each other like a proton and an electron. And just like those building blocks of the universe, magic happens when they come together.
Similar to how using dark and milk chocolate together instead of opting for semi-sweet, sprinkling the salt at the end really elevates this cookie. It’s important to use “flaky” salt and not table salt. Yes, they’re both salts. But the table salt will soak in and make the whole cookie overly salty. Conversely, a few flakes on top will highlight the sweetness of the cookie and take everything to another level (dare I say, a quantum level?).
One ingredient in these cookies may raise a few eyebrows. My brother went from “I can’t wait to try it” to “I think I’ll pass” when he saw me pull the apple cider vinegar down. Other people may feel the same way. Vinegar can be a polarizing ingredient and it’s usually associated with savory dishes. But its inclusion in baked goods is not as odd as some people think, it’s really just basic science.
You see, most baked goods have one (or more) things to give them a nice rise and keep them from being dense, cloying dough balls. Baking powder, baking soda, yeast, and whisked eggs are the most common rising agents. Recipes that use baking soda (like Giant-Man’s cookies) can gain a little extra rise by taking advantage of simple science. When baking soda and vinegar combine they produce carbon dioxide gas (think science fair volcano). All that gas gives the cookies a nice rise. And the acidic taste burns off in the oven leaving behind just yummy cookies.
Giant-sized chocolate chip cookies are fun for kids to make
Kids love to bake. It’s fun, it’s a little messy (or a lot, we don’t judge), and it’s time with you! This recipe is great for kids for a few reasons. First off, the small amounts of the ingredients make it so that it’s easier to combine them together. Less stirring means happier kids!
Secondly, the cookies are scooped out in giant, ⅓ cup lumps. This is way easier for kids to manage than the tablespoons that cookies are usually measured in. An additional plus, if they don’t measure them perfectly, there’s a lot more room for error in a cookie this big. Finally, there’s eating a cookie that is (literally in the case of my four-year-old) as big as their heads! What child doesn’t dream of that?
Variations on Giant-Man’s Double Chocolate Chip cookies
Now listen. I think these cookies are amazing just the way they are. I don’t recommend changing anything about them. However, I also accept that different people like different things. Still, before trying any of these changes, or one of your own designs, I think you should try them the intended way. It gives you a good reference for how they should taste and what you might want to change.
So if you do want something different, one change I can think of would be substituting peanut butter for half the butter. I do love peanut butter and it goes great with chocolate so this swap would probably work well. You could also change which chocolates you pair. Maybe dark with white, or try three chocolates instead of two. A healthy change would be to swap half the flour with ground oats. This will result in a much denser cookie though and it won’t spread as far and get as giant.
Don’t forget an accompaniment
Food doesn’t exist in a vacuum, and these cookies are no exception. They taste great with a tall glass of milk. Another great choice is a warm cup of cocoa (find a great recipe here). Of course, the best accompaniment is some people you love. Possibly with a good movie to watch. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania releases on February 17th, you could always try to sneak some of these Giant-Man cookies into the theater, I won’t tell!
Are you interested in trying these yummy cookies? Let us know on Twitter or in The Cosmic Circus Discord. And if you haven’t already, check out our latest Cosmic Cuisine, R.O.U.S.es. Ham and Cheese stuffed rolls!
Cosmic Cuisine: R.O.U.S.es. (Rolls of Unusual Sizes) Ham and Cheese Stuffed Rolls
