Chocolate Chip Cake-ies?

I had been craving chocolate chip cookies for awhile.  Nothing fancy, just some buttery, chewy chocolate chip cookies.  But I held out, didn't have enough time to make them, didn't want a huge batch of cookies sitting in my kitchen tempting me.  

But I couldn't hold out any longer.  The cookies in the coffee shop kept starring at me, so I knew I had to make some.  Plus, one of my friends is having a birthday potluck tomorrow, which means that not ALL of these cookies will be entering my stomach and works as a perfectly legitamate excuse to make them.

At first I had been looking at a recipe for Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies.  They looked good and simple, but after waiting so long I decided to be a little more daring with these Banana Chip Cookies of Heidi's.  Of course, I changed up a few things based on the ingredients I had.  Mainly, I didn't include banana chips or nuts and instead made half with only chocolate chips and the other half with chocolate chips, coconut and cinnamon. 

They hardly spread out in the oven and came out looking similar to muffin tops or scones, but I was excited to try one nonetheless.  I mean, they are chocolate chip cookies.  When I bit into one, I was surprised.  It didn't seem like a cookie at all; it was cake-y, soft, not that buttery and with a slightly moist crumb.  I was confused.  Did I do something wrong?  I checked the recipe again and I hadn't, so I suppose this is they way they're supposed to be.

It's not like they're bad or anything.  They're not.  They just don't seem like cookies... at all. With that said, I definitely preferred the variety I made with the coconut and cinnamon over the plain chocolate chip ones, so I'm putting the recipe for those here.  The flavor was layered and nutty from the toasted wheat germ, whole wheat flour and coconut with a subtle spice from the cinnamon.  I think that maybe if I don't think of them as cookies, I might enjoy them more.  So, perhaps, then, they should be called cake-ies.

*Note: I have just realized these, being "cake-ies" and all, taste quite good with a little frosting (chocolate or vanilla, take your pick) spread on top.  So, if you'd like to make frosted cookies (like those totally artificial, yet somehow appealing, grocery store confections), you can press down the dough so it has a flat top before putting it into the oven and frost them after they've cooled.

Chocolate Chip Cake-ies

Adapted from 101Cookbooks

1 cup all purpose flour

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup (toasted) wheat germ
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
scant 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup natural cane sugar (or brown sugar) [I used brown]
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips [I used 1/2 dark chocolate/ semi-sweet chips]

1/2 cup unsweented shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 375 degrees, racks in middle/upper middle. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Whisk together the flour, wheat germ, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, or stand mixer, beat the butter until lightly and fluffy, then beat in the sugar until it is the consistency of a thick frosting. Beat in the eggs one at a time, incorporating each fully before adding the next, and scraping down the sides of the bowl a few times along the way (important!). Stir in the vanilla. Add the reserved flour mix in two increments, stirring/mixing a bit between each addition (but not too much). By hand, stir in the chocolate chips and coconut and mix just until everything is evenly distributed.

Drop 1 heaping tablespoon of dough for each cookie onto the prepared baking sheets 2 inches apart and bake for about 7 - 8 minutes, until barely golden on top and bottom. Resist over baking, they will come out dry and not as tasty. Cook on racks.

Make about 24 cookies.