I first came across this recipe whilst perusing another great baking blog, Bakergirl. Like most, I was intrigued by their name – would these cookies actually induce offers of marriage? With the hundreds of other chocolate chip cookie recipes out there, it seemed a pretty bold statement. The answer? Yes. Yes, they would. I would marry myself after baking (and eating) these.

So what makes them so special? I can tackle this question in two ways. Firstly, the recipe is slightly unusual in that the butter is melted then mixed with the dark brown and white sugars, rather than the traditional method of creaming them together. Unlike your average chocolate chip cookie, it also includes oats and both white and dark chocolate. The second way in which to answer the question of what makes them so special is to give a borderline erotic description of how amazing they taste. However, as this a family-friendly blog, I will try to curb my enthusiasm to PG levels of excitement.

Will you marry me? (I'm talking to the cookie)

To begin with, let’s take a look at these cookies. See how gorgeous they are? Those massive chunks of white and dark chocolate are just begging to be eaten. After having sufficiently admired your cookie, the next step is to taste it. The first bite is divine. The edges are just slightly crispy, but the centre is still chewy because of the addition of the oats – yet it doesn’t have the ‘porridgey’ taste that some oatmeal cookies have.  As you continue to enjoy your cookie, you become aware of its other qualities.  The cookie itself is buttery and sweet and complements the deep cocoa flavours of the dark chocolate. The white chocolate provides balance and just rounds out the sweetness with its mild vanilla flavour. Finally, it is with bittersweet emotions that you lick those final crumbs from your fingers.  But you know that you can always grab another!

If only butter, sugar, and chocolate were the key ingredients to making men more marriageable, then there would a lot fewer single ladies in the world. ;)

You are so scrummy and delicious.

‘I Want To Marry You’ Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup/225g unsalted butter
• 1 1/4 cup/250g packed dark brown sugar (don’t use light brown!)
• 1/2 cup/225g granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tsp/5 ml vanilla extract
• 2 cups/250g flour
• 1/2 tsp/2.5ml baking soda/bicarb of soda
• 1/2 tsp/2.5 ml salt
• 1/4 tsp/1.25 ml cinnamon
• 1 cup/90 g rolled oats
• 200g white chocolate, chopped into chunks (original recipe uses chocolate chips)
• 200g semisweet/plain chocolate, chopped into chunks

Directions:

1. Melt the butter. The original recipe says to do this in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat. I used the microwave! Stir the dark brown and white sugars into the melted butter and mix until well incorporated. Chill for 10 minutes.
2. Whilst the butter/sugar mixture is in the fridge, sift the flour, baking soda (bicarb of soda), salt and cinnamon together.
3. Give the butter/sugar mixture a good stir if any butter has set on top during chilling. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract, mixing well.
4. Add the flour mixture, stirring until just incorporated. Add the oats and stir until they are mixed throughout. Stir in the chocolate chunks (the cookie dough will be quite thick!)
5. Shape heaped tablespoons of cookie dough into balls. I got about 40 cookies from this recipe. Chill the cookie dough balls for at least 30 minutes, preferably longer.
6. Turn on the oven to 165C/325F a bit before you actually want to bake the cookies. Place 9 cookies on a baking try lined with baking parchment, flattening the cookies very slightly. Keep the rest of your cookie dough in the fridge whilst the current batch is in the oven. Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until the edges are just beginning to turn golden. You don’t want to overbake your cookies!
7. Cool on the tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
8. Devour.