Vosges Goji Bar Cookies

Oh, the oven is back! It's here! It's fixed! The landlord installed the new heating element, and it works like a champ. To celebrate my oven's return, and to break in the new element, I thought I'd make a quick batch of cookies.

Not just any cookies, though. See, I need to preface this by telling you that I have this fascination with Vosges Haut Chocolates. If I find myself in Chicago, it's mandatory that we stop by one of their stores. Vosges makes gourmet, exotic truffles in unusual flavor combinations ( dark chocolate + ginger + wasabi, for instance, as can be sampled in their amazing black pearl truffle). And while some combinations sound absolutely crazy, the creations are actually very good.

Luckily, you can find Vosges chocolate bars in a few places here in Larryville. I like to keep a Vosges chocolate bar or two in the house, in case of unexpected chocolate cravings. And I just happened to have an unopened bar of my absolute favorite, the Goji Bar. This bar is a "deep" milk chocolate studded with dried goji berries and Himalayan pink sea salt. It is very very good, and I thought perhaps perfect for celebratory Welcome Home cookies.

I took a basic chocolate chip cookie recipe, and instead of the chips used my Goji Bar (you can most certainly switch back to chips if you try this recipe). These cookies were The Yum - crispy edges and chewy centers, just the way a perfect cookie should be. The Vosges chocolate was great in these cookies, the goji berries were a touch of tart-sweet while the chocolate was just milky enough to be smooth. The sea salt takes a second to hit your palate, which makes for a nice little surprise. My only complaint, if you try this recipe: the cookies spread A LOT. However I think if you added much more flour, they would lose their amazing texture, so the spreading I will take.

Vosges Goji Bar Cookies

Ingredients:

1 c. butter, softened

1 c. white sugar

1 c. packed brown sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla extract

3 c. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. hot water

1/2 tsp. salt

2 c. chopped Vosges Goji Bar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Cream together the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Dissolve baking soda in hot water. Add to batter along with salt. Stir in flour and chopped chocolate bar. Drop by large spoonfuls onto ungreased pans.

Bake for about 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are nicely browned.