Deep fried chocolate chip cookie dough. Why? Because I love you . . .

Now before you run to the nearest store and buy your favorite brand of refrigerated dough to throw into a pot of boiling oil, it isn't that simple. Since the cookie dough in the middle of the fritter is not fully cooked even after frying, I used a modified "faux" cookie dough without eggs in the recipe, so as to not poison my loved ones as they chomp down on these golden nuggets of gooeyness! (This modified cookie dough will not produce the beautiful chocolate chip cookie you see on the right unless you add a egg and some baking soda/powder, etc.)

The faux dough is then frozen until solid and coated in a crispy tempura batter before taking a 350F degree oil bath for a couple of minutes. The result? A lovely combination of fried dough on the outside with a warm gooey cookie dough center.

Step 1: Materials Needed

Cookie dough recipe:

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/4 cup granulated (white) sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 Tablespoons milk
1 and 1/2 cups flour, all-purpose
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup semisweet mini chocolate chips

Tempura fry batter:

Vegetable oil for frying
Cornstarch for dredging
3/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons flour
2 Tablespoons powdered sugar (plus more for dusting afterwards)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup very cold water (plus more if needed)

Equipment:

Hand-mixer, or stand-mixer, or even just a wooden spoon or spatula and your powerful muscles
Heavy-duty large frying pan or dutch-oven
Wire basket or slotted spoon for hot oil
Candy thermometer
Toothpicks

Step 2: The "faux" Dough

Cream together butter and both sugars for 2 to 3 minutes with a mixer. Add the vanilla and milk and beat together until combined. Add the flour and salt and mix together until the dough just begins to pull together. Lastly, stir in the chocolate chips with a spatula or wooden spoon until evenly distributed throughout. Roll the dough into approximately 1-inch balls and place on a cookie sheet that can fit into your freezer.

Bonus: This modified cookie dough recipe is safe enough to eat right out of the bowl! So plan ahead and make a double batch of dough if you think you are susceptible to snacking on it before you get to the frying step.

Step 3: Now Stop . . . Freezer Time!

Freeze the cookie dough balls for 2 or 3 hours, until completely firm.

Step 4: Batter Chatter

Mix the flour, powdered sugar and cinnamon together first in a bowl large enough for dipping. Add the lightly beaten egg and 3/4 cup of very cold water to the dry ingredients. The batter should have the consistency of thin pancake batter. If it is still too thick, add a few teaspoons of water to the batter until it is thin enough to easily coat. Why iced or very cold water? Using cold water for the batter is recommended in order to make a crispy tempura coating. Therefore only make the batter right before frying and the oil is already at the correct temperature. True, the frozen balls will help keep the coating cold, but preparing the batter ahead of time is not recommended.

Dredge the frozen cookie balls in the cornstarch first and knock off the excess powder. Using a toothpick to pick up the cornstarched ball, you can swirl the cookie dough ball in the batter and tap off the extra back into the bowl. Now you can transfer the battered ball to the hot oil without getting your hands messy!

Step 5: Fry Time

Fill up a heavy-duty fry pan or dutch-oven with 2 inches of vegetable oil. Heat oil to 350F degrees. Drop a few (six or less) of the batter-coated cookie balls into the oil at a time, keeping an eye on the oil temperature. Too many frozen balls at a time will drop the temperature of the frying oil drastically, and you want to maintain it at 350F degrees. After the cookie dough balls have reached the perfect golden color, around 2 or 3 minutes, scoop them out with a wire basket or slotted spoon and place them on a paper towel to dry.