I didn’t choose the baking life… the baking life chose me.

Seriously–for someone who doesn’t really enjoy baked goods that much, I sure make a hell of a lot of them. And now that I bake as an almost-full time job, I am a bona fide slave to the oven. You’d think that I’d keep a large radius of distance between me and my new master on my days off, right? Alas, my friend: that is incorrect!

But I don’t mind jumping into my own kitchen after leaving the kitchen at work to prepare more food, which I suppose speaks to my passion for food and cooking. It’s still just as fun to me as it was before I started working at this bakery; perhaps even more so since I have complete control over what I make in my own house. When I’m at work, I’m following someone else’s recipes and directions–which, while educational, certainly doesn’t offer the same kind of creative stimulus that making recipes at home creates.

So how is baking for a living going for me? Friends ask me whether I still enjoy baking, and the answer is yes. Whether I’m at work or I’m at home, in the end, I’m still making food for others’ enjoyment–and that’s why I find it so gratifying.

Speaking of others’ enjoyment, that is definitely the purpose of these cookies. I can eat maybe one or two of these before I’m chocolate-ed out; based on the reception these had at a recent game night with friends, I am in the minority. I’m normally not a fan of white chocolate, but I really enjoy it in small bursts with this very chocolate cookie. And the best part about this recipe? It makes cookies with crispy edges and a chewy center. Definitely best on the day they’re baked, but you’ll still find them delicious for up to a week.

Recipe adapted from Remodelaholic.

My father is an unapologetic fan of chocolates and sweets. I remember a never-empty jar of mini-Crunch bars in the den when I was growing up; and a pint of Rocky Road ice cream was ever-present in the freezer. The last time I visited his place in the Philippines, a jumbo-sized plastic jar with assorted Hershey mini-chocolate bars sat just a few steps away from his nightstand. The memories of my dad’s sweet tooth are so strong that I associate these candies with him regardless of the current time or place.

He flies back to the country a few times a year to spend time with the family, and since there are no direct flights from the Philippines to Colorado I get to see him during layovers going either way. Sometimes he stays with James & me in our tiny apartment, sometimes he’s here for dinner and gone in a few hours. Of course, anytime I get to spend time with him is precious. But I figured that I would show him how happy I was to see him again during his most recent trip by baking him a batch of cookies to temper his sweet tooth!

Why these cookies, when the combination of chocolate + cookies is endless? I distinctly remember my mom coming home from the grocery store with chocolate-covered pretzels on a weekly basis and watching them disappear next to my father’s computer. And as much as I love Crunch bars (who doesn’t?), I’ve been trying to stay away from candy for the sake of my own diet—if I had leftover candy bars after incorporating them in a recipe, it would be the end of me!

I brought the batch of cookies with me to the airport when I picked him up, and to say that he enjoyed them is an understatement! Since then, I’ve baked a few more batches: two batches in Boston for my whole family, a batch for my visiting aunt and cousin (and significant other!), and the most recent one… well, I just dropped my father off at the airport to fly back to the Philippines, and I thought it would be a sweet way of sending him off until I see him again for Christmas in a few months. See you soon, Daddy!

This recipe from The Brown-Eyed Baker is pretty solid as-is—the only changes I made were to add more pretzels (at my father’s request, of course!) and to leave them in pretzel chunks instead of finely crushed. The pretzels soften slightly during baking because of the oil in the cookie, but still retain enough of their own texture to make the cookie more interesting to chew on. Because I increased the pretzel “presence” in the recipe, I also increased the chocolate chip ratio. What you’re doing, in essence, is taking a peanut butter cookie recipe and throwing in pretzels and chocolate. Who knew that something so simple could elevate the cookie to another level?

Recipe adapted from The Brown-Eyed Baker