Oh these blessed cookies. Before I get to the story behind the name, “I Want to Marry You Cookies,” my experience on the Cooking Channel, and how they eventually became the top recipe on the Cooking Channel in 2012 (which still shocks me to this day), let’s talk about what is IN these insanely good cookies.
It’s a rich toffee cookie with browned butter, 3 kinds of chocolate, and a touch of oats – plus everything is done in one saucepan. That’s it! You don’t need to pull out your mixer because you do everything by hand. Your arm is going to get a workout!
You start by browning your butter to a light golden color. Oh my heavenly goodness. It’s what makes the biggest difference in these cookies. You are adding a toffee element to the cookies without even trying. The dough is like eating a See’s Bordeaux Chocolate, I kid you not. Go ahead and eat that dough!
Adding dark brown sugar gives it the extra depth of rich flavor. This is where you need those muscles, stirring it until the browned butter and sugars become one (let’s get em married). Then let it cool before adding the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla. You DO NOT want scrambled eggs!
Stir them together and add the flour, oats, baking soda, and salt. This is the fun part. The sky is the limit on what you can add. The base of these cookies is so darn good that you can add whatever you please. Our favorite is milk chocolate chunks, semi-sweet chocolate, white chocolate and nuts. The nuts are a great addition to cut the richness. You can use M & M’s, all different kinds of chocolate chips, chopped up chocolate bars, and nuts.
- 1 cup Butter
- 1 cup + 2 Tablespoons Dark Brown Sugar
- ½ cup Sugar
- 1 Egg
- 1 Egg Yolk
- 1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla
- 2 cups Flour
- 1 cup Rolled Oats
- ¾ teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ⅛ teaspoon Cinnamon
- 1 cup Chocolate Chips (combination milk, semi-sweet or dark)
- ¾ cup White Chocolate Chips
- Optional Nuts
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium low heat until melted and starts to turn a golden color. Remove from the heat.
- Immediately add the dark brown sugar and granulated sugar and stir until sugars are incorporated and smooth. You want to keep stirring until all of the grainy texture is gone. Chill the mixture for 10 minutes.
- Remove from the refrigerator and stir in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla.
- Add the flour, oats, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon and mix together.
- Stir in the white chocolate chips and chocolate chips.
- Roll into balls or use a scoop, and place on a light-colored cookie sheet.
- Chill for 30 minutes or wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. The dough gets better when it chills for 24-48 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Remove the cookies from the refrigerator and bake for 12 to 16 minutes.
Now here’s the story of how it all came to be….I’ve been watching Food Network for as long as I can remember! I would sit on the couch for hours, salivating at their food concoctions and dreaming of cooking in the Food Network Studio someday. I literally wrote it on my bucket list and tucked it away.
It was Spring of 2011, when I came across a new contest that Food Network was advertising for their new sister channel, The Cooking Channel. They were looking for the ultimate PERFECT dishes from around the globe in different categories and I knew I had to enter. The grand prize winner won a trip to NYC to film a segment in Food Network Studios for a show called, “The Perfect 3.”
I couldn’t submit this cookie fast enough!
It was a cookie – a browned butter cookie that I had been working on perfecting for years. I wrote a little story about it, put a name to them, and sent it off hoping I would receive good news. I had to write a little background on how the cookie came to be and this is what I sent to the Cooking Channel and crossed my little fingers:
“These cookies are the surefire way to get someone to fall in love with you…or at the very least gain a serious addiction to cookies. By giving these cookies away, you may need to be prepared for a marriage proposal on the spot. I have been baking since I was a little one. I was the only girl in a house full of brothers (5 to be exact), so I quickly found my spot in the kitchen. My love affair with baking started with cookies and it is how I won dates in high school by delivering them every Sunday night to my “friends.” Love would usually ensue. Now I find joy in baking them for my own 4 little ones who are my ultimate taste testers in the quest for the perfect cookie. They say we got it years ago so it is about time to share it.
Everyone can make a chocolate chip cookie and it is usually involves some type of creaming of the butter and sugars. This is what makes mine unique (and ridiculously sinful). Everything is done in one glorious pan – the saucepan. You melt the butter completely and then add the sugars. The aroma that comes from the sugars as they dissolve into the butter is heavenly. It adds a rich, toffee flavor to the cookies that you don’t get from creaming and creates a smooth, melt-in-your-mouth texture.”
I will never forget where I was when the email came through telling me I was a top 3 finalist. I screamed and jumped around like a lunatic! I couldn’t believe that it could really be happening.
I had to make a demo video of me making the cookies for the Cooking Channel. The pressure was on! But to quote the very insightful and wise (haha), Eminem….”You only get one shot, do not miss your chance, this opportunity comes once in a lifetime.” I had his lyrics going through my head and I knew I had one shot to get to NYC.
The video was edited and turned in, the votes were tallied, and we waited. It seemed like forever but I finally received word… I was the winner of the Perfect 3 Cookie Contest! We were going to New York City to film on my actual birthday! It doesn’t get any better than that in my book.
My husband and I landed in NYC and checked into our hotel. I will never forget walking into the room and seeing an envelope from the Food Network with my name on it. It all seemed surreal. The next day we were filming the show in the afternoon, so we had the morning to take a long bike ride through the city.
When we got back, I had no idea that production had been trying to get a hold of me. The day before we left, I made the mistake of putting my phone in my backpack with a water bottle – so my phone was now sitting in a bag of rice (anyone else feel my pain?). Because I had no phone and the producers resorted to calling me on the hotel phone and once I answered, they told me that they were ready for me earlier than expected. I was sitting there with wet hair and half of my makeup on. I rushed like a mad woman to get ready and rushed to the studios.
We were taken to a special elevator with access to the studios. We arrived, walked down a long hallway with all of the Food Network Stars photos and ended in the green room. We met the production team and Kelsey Nixon, who is charismatic, sweet, and beautiful all wrapped into one. We chatted about attending the same college, discovered how we knew so many of the same people and I felt immediately at ease and comfortable in her presence.
I quickly got my hair and makeup done and was whisked away to the studios. It was a whirlwind as the production crew gave me a huge list of directions. Just as we were getting ready to shoot, they asked me to take off my high heeled shoes so I was completely barefoot during the set. I had to walk to the freezer, reach down and pull out my cookie dough…all the time wondering how in the world they were going to edit out my bare feet. Happily they did….TV magic!
It was a one take deal and then it was done. I cringe when I watch it because I would have liked 3 or 4 more takes to get it perfect but I wouldn’t change a thing. It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I felt blessed every single second I was there.
I Want to Marry You Cookies ended up becoming the most popular recipe on Cooking Channel in 2012. http://blog.cookingchanneltv.com/2012/12/26/cooking-channel-top-recipes/ You can find the recipe online here as well – http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/i-want-to-marry-you-cookies.html. I was grateful to check that off my bucket list. It was one of the best days of my life!
Give these “I Want to Marry You Cookies” to someone you really, really love and they are sure to love you 10 fold in return.
Happy Baking!
Thanks for another great cookie. I’m watching my calories, but I’v put it in my recipe box for later.
Thank you, awesome Aunt Cindy! We need to do lunch soon. Miss you!
This recipe is amazing! I am addicted to all of your cookies!! Thank you for the recipes!
Thank you, my sweet friend! You know that’s a huge compliment coming from you! xox
You are just the cutest! When it comes to cookies, there’s nobody I would trust more. Can’t wait to try these!
I am full-on cookie nerd, Jamie! Haha! But it’s the one type of science that I like. 🙂 Thank you, friend!
Hi- I baked these again and this time after browing the butter I melted an ice cube(from another recipe) in the warm butter which both cooled it and added a little water back to help dissolve the sugars – success!! The cookies, well most of them…..are going to the kids school for their open house. I still can’t believe how good they(and the dough!!) are.
Thanks again for the recipe!
Hi Dan!That is such a fabulous idea! Thank you for sharing it. That dough gets me every time. It’s as if I am eating a decadent Bordeaux See’s Chocolate. Thank you for trying them and for reaching out. Always great to hear from you!
Found this on Pinterest. They are now my new favorite cookie! The smell is glorious! I wish I could find a candle that smelled that good 😊. I will be making these again and again!
Haha Donna, you are so right! We do need a candle. You are right….the smell is divine. There’s nothing like it! Thanks so much for the kind comment.
I’m trying these cookies for the first time. Is the butter and sugar supposed to be a completely homogeneous mixture or will it still be separate? I have been stirring and stirring and I cannot get it incorporated.
Hi Rebekah! Thanks for trying out the cookies! I am sorry that I am just getting back to you. The most important part is that the butter and sugar looks smooth. You want to get all of the graininess out of the sugar. The butter and sugar will looks slightly separated until you add the eggs. I hope that helps! By the way, how did they turn out? 🙂
I have made these cookies twice. While they turned out great, both times I have been unable to get rid of that grainy texture of the butter and the sugars. No amount of stirring fixes it… Am I doing something wrong here?
Hi Alina! Thank you for reaching out! They definitely shouldn’t be grainy. There could be two reasons for this happening to you:
1. The butter may be cooking for too long and some of the liquid is evaporating which is creating less liquid. If the dough is crumbly at the end, this is the reason for it.
2. The butter needs to be hot when adding the sugars. This helps to dissolve the sugars. You will need to stir it for at least 2-3 minutes to get it incorporated. It should look shiny and smooth after you are done stirring it.
I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any more questions. I am happy to answer any of them. Have a great day! – Melissa
Oh and one more thing, Alina. I put together a 1 minute video on how to make these cookies and you can find it on my Modern Honey Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/Modern-Honey-647096745429756/
If you scroll down to June 29th, you will find the video. It gives you an idea of what the mixture should look like after stirring it. 🙂 Hope that helps!
Hi Melissa – I have gone back and made all three of your ‘anchor’ cookies, MJ’s top secret, Levain and these- trying to figure out which is our favorite and it is a tough job. At first I had decided Levain but after making these again with only M&Ms for chocolate, well I think we have a winner….
One thing I tried from another recipe, is to add a little Nescafé freeze/dried coffee when I mixed in the eggs. Just a half teaspoon further develops the rich caramel flavor. It has to be Nescafé for the caramel flavor, my sister tried espresso powder and it wasn’t the same. I think these cookies and their dough are the best I have ever made (so far….) Thanks again for these fantastic recipes!
So good to hear from you! I LOVE that you tried out all 3 recipes. Thank you so much for sharing your feedback and thoughts! This has to be one of my favorite pastimes ever….trying out cookie recipes. 🙂 I am glad that we have a winner! These are definitely one of my favorites too. Such a great idea to add the Nescafe! Thanks as always for your wonderful support. Enjoy your beautiful Fall weather!
Hello! Just wondering how many cookies this recipe makes, approx? I’m deciding if I should double it or not but can’t find how many a standard batch makes.
Thanks!
Hi Rebecca! Great question. I would say that it depends on how large you make them. I generally get about 20 cookies out of a batch. You may get 24 if you make them a tad smaller. If you want them x-large, you may only get 16. I hope that helps!
It does, thank you! I have another question if that’s ok; I made these last night but accidentally only used one cup of flour (that’s what I get for baking at midnight) and they are all rolled and ready for baking… Will they just melt down to nothing with only half the flour? Or should they be ok? I want them to be good but don’t know if I have the time or mental energy to mix it all together again, add the flour, then roll them again.
Thanks for your help!
I am probably too late in getting back to you, Rebecca! If you did bake them, they probably came out really flat! If you haven’t baked them yet, I would definitely throw them in a bowl and add the flour that you missed. The cookies won’t set up no matter how long you cook them without the correct amount of flour. I hope that helps! Good luck!! 🙂
I found this recipe a week ago and my kids have made make them 3 times since then and they vanish within a day!!!!! Love the base of the cookies but I wondering could I substitute the chocolate for raisins to oatmeal raisin cookies(my husbands favorite!!!!) but would they come out with the same texture if chilled overnight???
Wao I loved your story… sounds like a dream come true… so happy for you!! I love baking and cooking… im a cook myself… I will definitely try this recipe! Thank you
What is the difference between melting the butter in the saucepan vs melting it in the microwave? The cookies look amazing, I’m excited to try them!
For some reason I couldn’t cool the butter/sugar mixture, everytime I did, the sugars would solidify and I would have to reheat the butter. I’m not too sure why it’s happening! I also tried cooling them on the countertop, but the same thing happened. Do you have any ideas? I ended up quickly mixing in the rest of the ingredients in hopes that my eggs didn’t scramble. The dough is currently resting in the fridge, fingers crossed it turns out!
I made these for my 2017 Christmas cookie tray and they came out nothing like the pictures, and I’m not sure what I did wrong. They were very dry and hardly spread at all. Way too dense.