If you have ever lived near or visited Westwood, CA (aka UCLA) and not been to Diddy Riese cookies - you have not been there. That is one of the only places I have ever been where people wait in line a half hour for something that costs .35 and don't complain once. You can smell the place from a block away and, if for some reason your nose is broken, the line around the corner tells you something special is inside. I would push small children out of the way for one of their white chocolate chip cookies - delish! Definitely my fav cookie shop west of the Rockies! Did I mention they also have ice cream which you can morph into your cookie for a monster ice cream sandwich like the ones above? Um, yeah.
http://www.diddyriese.com/
1. Tackle the New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe. I'm going to follow the recipe exactly and see if they live up to the hype. I love the idea of sprinkling sea salt on top! Williams Sonoma has these little Sea Salt Caramels around the holidays which first introduced me to the idea of using sea salt with sweets and the result was amazing....soo yummy...the salt really did enhance the flavor and I can't wait to see if it does the same for the NYT cookies. 
2. After scouring the Internet, I think I found a good contender to fulfill my craving for New York style Black & White cookies. I had one when we went to Manhattan for Christmas and I immediately wanted to find a recipe to match the fluffy, sweet, cakiness of this cookie. I love finding the perfect recipe for classic treats and I'm hoping this cookie will take me back to the magic that is New York City. The reviews of this recipe along with the photo of the finished product is what sold me - what a puffy cookie! Yay... Hope it lives up to my expectations :)
