I have mentioned these most wonderful cookies before…they are THE definitive chocolate chip cookies. I originally saw the recipe in the New York Times as their reporter, David Leiti, went on a quest for the best chocolate chip cookie in the city. He of course, chose Jadques Torres’ cookies and Torres graciously provided a recipe.
Yes, this is an expensive cookie to make. You need two different types of flours and as with the Salted White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies you need to use high quality ($$) chocolate.
But its worth it. Oh my, is it ever worth it. Wherever I bring these cookies I hear the same thing:
These are the best cookie I’ve ever eaten.
So, go on….make these and feel like a master baker.
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from Jacques Torres
Time: 45 minutes (for 1 6-cookie batch), plus at least 24 hours’ chilling
Ingredients –
- 2 cups minus 2 tablespoons (8 1/2 ounces) cake flour
- 1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour
- (Yes, cake and bread flour really do make a difference, use them!)
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt (sea salt or the like)
- 2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter
- 1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 pounds bittersweet chocolate disks or fèves, at least 60 percent cacao content (Note: Disks are sold at Jacques Torres Chocolate; Valrhona fèves, oval-shaped chocolate pieces, are at Whole Foods.) (I use Ghirardelli 60% dark baking bars and chop them up. I sometimes also add in a few semi-sweet Ghrardelli chips…)
- Sea salt
Directions –
1. Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.
2. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. (We all know I don’t have a paddle attachment…I just use a regular mixer and it works fine.) Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds.
3. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours. (I try to let mine chill for around 36 hours. Chilling for 36 hours makes the dough significantly drier. It crumbles a bit when poked but holds together well when shaped. 36-hour cookies bake up more evenly and are a deeper shade of brown than even 24-hour chilled cookies. They have an even richer, more sophisticated taste, with stronger toffee hints and a definite brown sugar presence….this is all according to the very very knowledgeable David Leite.)
4. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.
5. Scoop 6 3 1/2-ounce mounds of dough (the size of generous golf balls) onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. (I make my cookies by combining two cookie scoop sized dough balls. They must be smaller than what this recipe calls for because I only need to bake mine for around 15 minutes.)
6. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day. Eat warm, with a big napkin.
*swoon*
I used cake and AP flours for my Martin Luther King, Jr. Day cookies and they came out wonderfully. I love chewy cookies, so I also used dark brown sugar only because I heard the higher ratio of dark brown to white sugar makes a chewy cookie. Needless to say they were chewy for days!