Friday, October 15, 2010

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate chip cookies can be absolutely delicious if baked right, but otherwise they are simply overcooked and bland. I wanted to find a recipe for the perfect cookie and I think this is a winner.  This recipe is a homemade version of large and chewy cookies found at bakeries. I included the weights for ingredients, since your baked goods will turn out better if you cook with weights rather then measurements. A kitchen scale is nice item to have, although if you don't do a lot of baking it really is not a necessity.

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
(From The Complete America's Test Kitchen TV Cookbook)
Make about 18 large cookies

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons flour (10 2/3 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons  (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled (you can use salted butter, just omit the 1/2 teaspoon salt)
1 cup (7 ounces) brown sugar
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) white sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups (9 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips ( I like to use half chips and half chunks)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line two cookies sheets with parchment paper. Make sure the oven racks are in the middle of the oven.
Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a bowl.
With a stand mixer or hand mixer beat the sugars and butter together until smooth. Add the egg, egg yolk, vanilla  and beat until well mixed. Add the dry ingredients and mix until it is all combined. This should only take about 30 seconds. Mix in the chocolate chips.
Divide the dough into 18 portions and roll them into balls. To create a nice bumpy texture on top of the cookies: take a dough ball and pull it into two equal halves, push the two halves together with the uneven surfaces ( where the dough pulled apart)on top, Place these on a cookie sheet. Space six cookies on each sheet.
Bake until the cookies are light brown on the edges. They should be puffy and soft on the inside (they will flatten as they cool). This should take around 15-17 minutes. If baking two pans at once make sure to rotate the baking sheets halfway through baking time. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets.

No comments:

Post a Comment