Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies

in

I've made (and eaten) more chocolate chip cookies in my lifetime than is morally acceptable. During a summer spent assisting in a pastry kitchen in Manhattan, it was my primary task to produce the salad-plate sized stunners (their signature item) for the daily line out the door. It was only in this grueling repetition that I gained confidence in two facts:

First, that letting dough rest for 24-72 hours contributes to a VAST improvement in cookie quality. For a genius breakdown of all the scientific reasons for this (and every other cookie element) consult this beautiful amalgam of baking science. 

Secondly, that you are entirely in control of where your cookie falls on the many sided taste and texture spectrum: chewy<>crispy, thick<>thin, cakey<>doughy, salty<>sweet, and perhaps the most debated: how much chocolate is too much? This recipe is for my perfect chocolate chip cookie, which is to say one with a dense structure, a crisped caramelized edge, a slightly doughy center, a hearty dose of flaky sea salt and a modest amount of chocolate. The humble cookie is a playground for contrast and I happen to think the gargantuan shingles of chocolate that are trending these days drown out the subtle, buttery delicacy of a really incredible dough. 

So there you have it. Make these cookies on a day where self-restraint is high, stick them in the fridge for a day or four and then watch (and smell) as they bake their way through the miracle of the Maillard Reaction.

Ingredients

  • 8oz (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
  • 3 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda 
  • 2 tsp kosher salt
  • 2 eggs, at room temperature
  • 2 tsp good vanilla extract 
  • 12 oz bittersweet chocolate chips 
  • Maldon sea salt (optional garnish)

Method

Source: Adapted from "Seven Spoons" by Tara O'Brady

  1. Melt your butter very slowly on a low flame until no solids remain, but before it bubbles.
  2. In a medium bowl, mix together your flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk well and set aside
  3. In a large bowl, combine the melted butter and both sugars. Whisk to combine until the sugar has broken down and the mixture is smooth. Then, add your eggs one at a time, whisking well to combine. Lastly, add your vanilla and give it one last whisk. 
  4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and, using a spatula, gently fold until the flour begins to disappear. Stop before it disappears completely, add your chocolate chips and then give it a few more stirs.
  5. Lay out a large sheet of wax paper on your counter top, plop the mound of cookie dough into the center of the sheet and use the wax paper to wrap it like a log. No need to fuss here--it's nothing but a storage method. Once you have the log, twirl the ends (like a tootsie pop) and plop the whole thing into a large ziplock bag and into the fridge until you're ready to bake. (24 hours minimum, 72 max before moving to the freezer for later use)
  6. When ready to bake, pre-heat your oven to 360 degrees F and line your baking sheets with parchment. Pull off balls of dough and roll into balls of your desired size. I find the sweet spot for size is about 3.5oz of dough, wielding finished cookies the size of CD's, but they work just as well in smaller format. 
  7. Line up your dough balls on your parchment-lined baking sheet and very gently (with only the heel of your palm) give each one a little smush. You want the surface to remain flat, but the entire mound to become more of an plateau, less of a ball. Sprinkle some crystals of maldon sea salt atop the raw dough and bake for 10-12 minutes-- and remember, cookies will continue to bake from residual heat once removed from the oven, so always err on the side of under-done.