Chocolate Chip Cookies

There are endless variations to this classic cookie and many are claiming to be the best chocolate chip cookies… but that’s only because they haven’t had this version. This take on Chocolate Chip Cookies is a little more complicated than the recipe on the back of the Toll House bag, but all the extra work is more than worth it when you wow friends and family with breathtaking, well balanced, cookies.

What You’ll Need:

You might read the list below and think this is a little fancy, but that’s only because it is. Most everything should be available at your local grocer. Cake and bread flours are usually near the 00 flour (next to the all purpose flour).

• Cake Flour
• Bread Flour
• Baking Soda
• Baking Powder
• Kosher Salt
• Unsalted Butter
• Light Brownd Sugar
• Granulated White Sugar
• Eggs
• Vanilla Extract
• 60% Cocoa Chocolate Chips

What’s with all the different flours?

Different flours create different textures because they have different protein contents. The protein percentage dictates how much gluten if formed when water is introduced to the flour. The higher the protein percentage, the more gluten created, and the more chewy your baked good will be. A lower protein content will create less gluten which will create a fluffier chocolate chip cookie

• Cake Flour: 9% protein content- less gluten- fluffy texture
• All Purpose Flour: 9-11% protein content- normal gluten- familiar texture
• Bread Flour: 11-13% protein content- more gluten- chewy texture

Why not just use All-Purpose Flour?

In a pinch, you can. These will come out better if you follow the recipe to a T, but the slight change in texture will be like getting a 95 on a math test: darn good, but not perfection. At a glance, it looks like you are using a protein heavy flour and a protein light flour that should average out to all purpose flour, but the flour ratios are not 1:1.

What about all the Kosher Salt?

It may seem kind of odd to sprinkle large cubes of kosher salt on such a sweet treat, but there is a method to the madness. When Sodium hits our taste buds it alerts the SGLT1 glucose sensor to start moving glucose to the taste buds that detect sweetness. The sodium is essentially enlisting a little power boost for the sweet receptors, allowing them to taste more and not get overwhelmed.

Salt also fights bitterness. This recipe calls for a high cocoa percentage chocolate and cocoa is naturally bitter. Using a strong external salt alongside a high percentage cocoa chocolate lets you keep the cookie balanced while not needing to add more sugar. We’re aiming for sweet, but too much sweetness is overpowering and will detract from your dessert experience.

How to make these Chocolate Chip Cookies:

To make these chocolate chip cookies, first get out your stand mixer and put on it’s paddle attachment. Then gather all your ingredients and two large mixing bowls.

The first step is to sift together all the dry ingredients. So take your: bread flour, cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, put them in a large mixing bowl, and use a whisk to sift the ingredients together. Now set this bowl aside so we can start working on the sugars.

Add the white and brown sugars to the bowl of your stand mixer, then warm the butter and add it. For the best results, warm the butter, carefully use a microwave. You want the butter to be soft to the touch, but not melted. Now add the butter to the sugars and drop the mixers paddle. Turn your mixer to a medium-low speed and cream your sugars. This should take about five minuets. You can tell things are properly creamed when the sugars and butter form stiff peaks when the mixing paddle cuts through them.

Once the creaming is complete, add your eggs to the sugar mixture one at a time, letting them fulling incorporate before you add the next one. Now add in the vanilla extract and allow that to become fully incorporated. Its now time to grab the bowl of dry ingredients and slowly add them in. You want to let them mix until they are just incorporated, like 10 seconds of mixing. Now add in the chocolate chips. I often mix in the dry ingredients and chocolate chips by hand.

Now you are going to remove you cookie dough from the mixing bowl and place it on a piece of plastic wrap. Roll your dough up tight, using as much plastic wrap as you need to make sure the dough is air tight. Then place it in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours.

After chilling, preheat your oven to 350 and take your dough out of the refrigerator. Separate the dough into thirds, then divide each third into thirds. Finally, cut each piece of dough in half. This should give you 18 evenly sized dough pieces. Use your hands to press each piece into a ball, then place six dough balls on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Working in batches of six, bake the cookies for 18 minutes or until golden brown. Using a silver colored baking sheet works best for some reason. Allow the cookies to cool before enjoying.

Storage and Variations

I can’t always eat 18 cookies, but it isn’t for lack of trying. Proper storage is a must unless you’re taking them to a party. To keep my cookies fresh for the longest amount of time, I keep them in a gallon zip lock back with half a slice of bread. The trick helps to keep the cookies moist.

You can also freeze the cookie dough, then keep it in the freezer for up to three months. I am a big fan of freezing the dough in individual servings. That way I can defrost one of two cookies and have a fresh baked cookie whenever I’d like.

As far as variations, I can’t say I’ve ever actually made any. Once I got this recipe honed in I have not any changes, but I have though about running some test batched with dark chocolate m+m’s. If I get around to some text batches I will update this post.