All twirly…
Oh to be young again, I don’t mean my twenties, I mean like 8. Remember when you were 8 and everything was exciting to you? One of the referee’s little boy is there from time to time. Whenever I stop to talk to him he is usually so excited about something that I think at any moment he is going to burst like a pinata.What was he so excited about this time? A plastic Sponge Bob toy from the McDonald’s Happy Meal. He explained in great detail to me all the wonderful things this $.20 toy could do. He then went on to play with a tennis ball up against the wall for what seemed like forever, smiling the whole time.
One of the neighbor girls is always twirling. Spinning around and around, only never seeming to get dizzy(I on the other had get dizzy watching her). She spins and spins and spins everywhere she goes, which is usually just in her driveway. I said to her once, “you sure to like to spin” and her response was, “it’s my favorite.” Spinning around in a circle over and over again, throwing a ball against a wall and playing with a plastic toy(most likely to be recalled 
) and beyond happy to be doing it. Where are those days?
When my husband started to complain about the fact that he hadn’t had cookies in a few days(poor, poor him) I set out to find something that he would eat. I ran across these cookies and immediately they reminded me of my twirling neighbor girl. They are called Chocolate Marble Chunk Cookies, but to me they are Twirly Cookies, inspired my my little neighbor girl and her favorite activity.
Chocolate Marble Chunk Cookies
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
¾ tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup firmly packed brown sugar
¾ cup granulated sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 large eggs
¼ cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder, sifted
12 ounces chocolate chips, semi sweet
Preheat oven to 375F.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, using paddle attachment, beat butter and sugars together on medium-high for 3 minutes. Beat in vanilla extract, followed by eggs, one at a time. Scrape down bowl and mix for another 30 seconds. At low speed, add the four mixture, until just blended.
Transfer 1 ¾ cup of the dough to another bowl and set aside. Add the cocoa powder to the dough remaining in the mixer bowl and mix on low speed until blended. Add half of the chocolate and mix until blended. Stir in the remaining chocolate into the light cookie dough.
Fill one side of a 1-TBSP measuring spoon with the light dough, making it well rounded, not level. Fill the remaining half with chocolate dough. Roll the doughs into a ball and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Moistened your palm to prevent sticking, and flatten the dough into a 1 1/2-inch disk. Repeat with the remaining dough, spacing the cookies 2 inches apart. Bake one sheet at a time, for 8-10 minutes, until the lighter dough just begins to color. Let cookies cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and cool completely.
Source: The Good Cookie by Tish Boyle, John Wiley and Sons, 2002
34 Responses
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November 18th, 2007 at 1:10 am
They look lovely, more interesting than standard cookies and I bet they tasted great too.
November 18th, 2007 at 1:14 am
These look great! Can’t wait to try them.
November 18th, 2007 at 2:06 am
That’s such a great snap of the neighborhood and childhood! The cookies look super good. Swirling chocolate always wins hearts. Yes, that poor poor husband!
November 18th, 2007 at 2:56 am
That was an enjoyable read. And those cookies – they look perfectly scrumptious!
November 18th, 2007 at 3:17 am
hi what are the texture of these cookies like? and does the chocolate flavour of the dough come through?
November 18th, 2007 at 5:25 am
You’ve hit on the natural enthusiasm and joy of childhood. I would twirl if I could eat these cookies!
November 18th, 2007 at 5:59 am
Wonderful post! I remember twirling, and I see my six-year-old granddaughter twirling now — it makes me smile. These cookies will make my cookie-loving husband smile, too. I’m printing the recipe for him.
November 18th, 2007 at 7:12 am
Peabody, this is such a lovely story, and provides a wonderful metaphor for the Chocolate Marble Chunk (a.k.a. Twirly) Cookies!! Even though I’m STILL easily amused today, by all the little things, I definitely have lost my interest in twirling – I’d end up falling over or something, haha ;0)
November 18th, 2007 at 9:54 am
Very sweet little story. I hope thinking about it all and baking these cookie compelled you to do something simple and childish – run around the kitchen table really fast, count how many seconds you could hold your breath – before you allowed yourself to eat one.
November 18th, 2007 at 10:54 am
I wish I was 8 again… but then I remember that 8 years olds aren’t allowed to spoil their dinner with cookies and I am.
November 18th, 2007 at 1:19 pm
I love the look of these and I know two other little people who would definitely love them, one of whom is a big twirler!
November 18th, 2007 at 3:25 pm
love the story about your neighbor! these cookies look scrumptious… wouldn’t it be something if she found your blog?
November 18th, 2007 at 3:28 pm
Along with the enthusiasm of youth, I miss the energy of youth. An afternoon spend jumping rope was an afternoon well spent. Now it would be crippling!
Your cookies look wonderful. My cookie jar is empty (yes, my husband is deprived, too) so these might be next in line to bake.
November 18th, 2007 at 4:55 pm
love those twirly cookies. I remember my young days too. Yes, I had those twirly classmates…they made me dizzy too!
November 18th, 2007 at 5:04 pm
Yes, they look like twirly cookies to me! (And I get dizzy just thinking about your neighbour twirling! Course I have a boy who spends most of his time on his head, so I knew where you were coming from.)
November 18th, 2007 at 5:24 pm
My friend’s 3 years-old twirls all the time and never seems to get dizzy too! Love the color contrast of your twirly cookies.
November 18th, 2007 at 5:52 pm
Is your husband a picky eater when it comes to cookies? These look fabulous (but so does everything else you do..)
November 18th, 2007 at 6:14 pm
Ah, yes to be a kid again — at 8 years old I probably could have eaten this entire batch of cookies in one sitting and still would have been thin as a rail! How times change
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November 18th, 2007 at 6:38 pm
I love it! (The stories and the cookies!)
November 18th, 2007 at 7:16 pm
Such an inspiration to get you started in making these beautiful delights!
November 18th, 2007 at 8:36 pm
I know what you mean about wanting to a kid again…I would love to be so carefree too……*sigh*
Love the twirly cookies
November 18th, 2007 at 10:21 pm
I miss the days when I could jump off a wall and not worry about my knees giving out
The body ages, but the mind stays young, eh?
November 19th, 2007 at 9:32 am
All that twirling made me dizzy. Adorable cookies.
November 19th, 2007 at 2:33 pm
You paint the picture of children so well, and love your twirly cookies, Tish’s book is a good one right enough
November 19th, 2007 at 3:38 pm
You can’t go wrong with chocolate and cookies!
November 21st, 2007 at 4:27 am
Hey, I made these cookies last night, and they were FANTASTIC! SO rich and soft and yummy. I put a few shakes of cinnamon in them, and that really boosted the smell and taste, I think. Thanks for the recipe, I’d been excited about making these for days, they just looked so delicious. And I was right!
November 21st, 2007 at 11:36 am
I remember when I was ten and love watching “Highlander” over and over on TV.
November 21st, 2007 at 11:36 am
I forgot to say I loved the cookies, Pea!
November 21st, 2007 at 9:09 pm
I was younger than 8, but I remember sitting for hours in the sandbox making play small sand cakes with flowers and leaves from the back yard, and pebbles from the creek for decoration. (Never ate any of them.)These cookies let you play with dough, too. Bet I could pretend to be 4 or 5 and in the sandbox again making ‘em. These cookies could become a favorite easily.
November 22nd, 2007 at 1:47 am
Perfect! I love looking at your pictures!
November 22nd, 2007 at 6:13 am
“burst like a pinata” I love it and my 8 year old is exactly like that!
November 29th, 2007 at 7:15 pm
[...] Again, I’m dazzled with one of Peabody’s delicious looking baked goodies… this time its Chocolate Marble Chunk Cookies. They look delicious and its a very simple recipe with ingredients I’ve always got on hand Perfect. [...]
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