Big Batch Cookies -- The Sunday Project That Fills the Freezer (and the Heart)

May and I feel something shifting that I cannot quite name. Not anxiety — something quieter. An awareness that the month is going in a direction and I am in it. School is almost done. The balcony is planted and growing. Ryan is on his regular schedule. Patty calls at 7:15. Everything is exactly as it should be and I am paying attention to it with a specificity that suggests I am in a transition period without knowing what the transition is.

I made a full batch of pierogi this weekend as a Sunday project — not for any occasion, just because I wanted to. Forty-two in total, potato and cheese, crimped and boiled. Fried half in butter and onion for dinner. Froze the other half for later. Ryan ate nine at dinner and said they were the best batch yet. I texted Babcia Rose and she sent back the thumbs up emoji. That is the current state of my pierogi: Babcia Rose thumbs up approved.

I have been looking at the house listings again this week — not as future-planning, but as getting-more-serious planning. We have been in our apartment for two and a half years and we love it and also there is a next thing. I feel the next thing coming without knowing its specific form. There is always a next thing. The awareness of it is the first sign that it is coming.

Six months of trying. I am not marking it with anxiety but I am marking it. We talked this week about what six months means — whether to see a specialist, what the options are, how we want to approach the months that might follow. Ryan was calm and clear in the way he is when he is holding something hard with steadiness rather than denial. He said we handle it together. I said I know. He said: I know you know. We do.

There is something about a Sunday project with a real yield — something you can count, stack, and feel proud of — that I find deeply satisfying right now. The same impulse that sent me to the kitchen for forty-two pierogi is the one that keeps pulling me toward this Big Batch Cookies recipe: make something substantial, freeze half, and know it is there. It is a small and concrete kind of readiness, and some weeks, that is exactly what I need to make.

Big Batch Cookies

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 36 minutes | Total Time: 56 minutes | Servings: 48 cookies

Ingredients

• 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat and prep. Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C). Line several baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Whisk dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3. Cream butter and sugars. In a very large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the softened butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together on medium-high speed for 3–4 minutes until light and fluffy.
4. Add eggs and vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla extract until fully incorporated.
5. Combine wet and dry. Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture, mixing just until no dry streaks remain. Do not overmix.
6. Fold in chocolate chips. Using a sturdy spatula or wooden spoon, fold in the chocolate chips until evenly distributed throughout the dough.
7. Portion the dough. Drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart. You should get approximately 48 cookies total.
8. Bake. Bake in batches for 9–11 minutes per sheet, until the edges are set and golden but the centers still look slightly underdone. They will firm up as they cool.
9. Cool. Let cookies rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
10. Freeze the rest. Once fully cooled, layer extras between sheets of parchment in a freezer-safe container or zip-top bag. They keep beautifully for up to 3 months.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 185 | Protein: 2g | Fat: 9g | Carbs: 25g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 105mg