Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have a mental list of cooking requirements for myself, and a perfect chocolate chip cookie is definitely a top item. And though the Toll House cookie is a good one, I wanted something a little different. I think my search is over! I found this recipe a couple months ago and got the chance to make them last week. They were gooey, which is a must, and the size of a child's face, which is a great bonus!


Chocolate Chip Cookies

If you have a kitchen scale, I highly recommend using it here. This recipe is written in both volume and weight, but I chose to use the latter, so that I wouldn’t have to mess with measuring cups. It was unbelievably quick: just put a bowl on top of the scale, tare it to zero, and go.

2 cups minus 2 Tbsp. (8 ½ oz.) cake flour
1 2/3 cups (8 ½ oz.) bread flour
-or- 17oz all purpose flour - that's what I used
1 ¼ tsp. baking soda
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
1 ½ tsp. coarse salt, such as kosher
2 ½ sticks (1 ¼ cups; 10 oz.) unsalted butter, softened
1 ¼ cups (10 oz.) light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. (8 oz.) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 ¼ pounds chocolate chips or chunks (The original recipe called for bittersweet chocolate, but I chose to use semi-sweet instead)
Sea salt, such as Maldon, optional

Combine flour(s), baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Whisk well; then set aside.

Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars until very light and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Reduce the mixer speed to low; then add dry ingredients, and mix until just combined. (Unless you have a plastic guard that sits around the rim of the bowl, this will make a big mess at first, with flour flying everywhere. I found that carefully holding a dish towel around the top of the bowl helped a lot.) Add the chocolate chips, and mix briefly to incorporate. Press plastic wrap against the dough, and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. The dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.

When you’re ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F. Remove the bowl of dough from the refrigerator, and allow it to soften slightly. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat.

Using a standard-size ice cream scoop – one that holds about 3 fluid ounces, or about 1/3 cup – scoop six mounds of dough onto the baking sheet, making sure to space them evenly. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt (I skipped the additional salt for Greg's sake), and bake until golden brown but still soft, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer the entire baking sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then transfer the cookies onto the rack to cool a bit more. (Because there is so much brown sugar in the cookies, if you try to take them off the cookie sheet before the sugar can cool you will end up with a mess!)

Repeat with remaining dough.

Yield: About 24 (5-inch) cookies.