Bready or Not: New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies
There are a gazillion variations on the classic chocolate chip cookie. The types of chips, different brands of chips or flour or vanilla, the sugars, the amount of vanilla, with added Biscoff, with added cat saliva, whatever. However, there is one recipe that's been making the rounds for a few years now with reactions like "ZOMG BEST COOKIES EVER." This is the recipe dubbed "The New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe," created by baker Jacque Torres.
I finally caved. I had to try this recipe. There are a lot of things that set it apart: the mix of cake and bread flour (I had never even bought or used cake flour before!), the insane amount of chips, and the minimum 24 hours for the dough to meld in the refrigerator.
However I did make some modifications.
Mind you, I love good chocolate, but for me the good stuff means Ghiradelli over my usual Nestle. I don't need some recipe screaming at me to buy frou-frou chocolate that costs more than a month of cat food. I also don't need huge honkin' cookies--they need to readily fit in containers so my husband can tote them to work!
Therefore, I used a mix of three kinds of chocolate chips, finishing off some open bags of Nestle and Hershey's: milk chocolate, mini semi-sweet, and white. I then used my tablespoon scoop to parcel out the dough, which meant I had 65 (!) cookies. Not small, either. Very average, large-as-my-palm cookies.
I tried out the recipe and was very skeptical. Could it really be that good?
In a word: YES. It's an excellent recipe, and a rare case where I would describe the cookie as being complex. It's simultaneously dense yet light, crisp yet chewy. The sea salt on top heightens the sweetness of the chips. The whole thing is really texture-perfect. Due to the cost of supplies, time span, and the sheer amount it makes, this won't be my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe, but it is one I heartily recommend, and will definitely make again.
New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies
slightly modified from the original version by Jacque Torres, published in The New York Times
2 cups minus 2 tablespoons (8 1/2 ounces) cake flour
1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
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, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 1/3 cups (20 ounces) chocolate chips, any kind, mix and match
Sea salt, for sprinkling
1. Sift together the cake flour, bread flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a large bowl and set aside.
2. Cream together the butter and sugars on medium speed until very light, about 5 minutes [see picture below]. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition, then add the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low, gradually add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the chocolate chips.
3. Press plastic wrap against the dough and refrigerate for at least 24 hours, up to 72 hours.
3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat.
4. If you want large, bakery-sized cookies, scoop out 3 1/2-ounces of dough, roll into a rough ball (it should be the size of a large golf ball) and place on the baking sheet; or you can use a tablespoon scoop, or smaller as you prefer.
Sprinkle dough balls lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft: 18 to 20 minutes for golf ball-sized, or 11 to 13 minutes for tablespoon-sized. Let cool on a wire rack.
Repeat with remaining dough (or keep some of the dough refrigerated for up to 3 days, and bake cookies at a later time). Store leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Yield: 65 tablespoon-sized cookies
OM NOM NOM.
I finally caved. I had to try this recipe. There are a lot of things that set it apart: the mix of cake and bread flour (I had never even bought or used cake flour before!), the insane amount of chips, and the minimum 24 hours for the dough to meld in the refrigerator.
However I did make some modifications.
Mind you, I love good chocolate, but for me the good stuff means Ghiradelli over my usual Nestle. I don't need some recipe screaming at me to buy frou-frou chocolate that costs more than a month of cat food. I also don't need huge honkin' cookies--they need to readily fit in containers so my husband can tote them to work!
Therefore, I used a mix of three kinds of chocolate chips, finishing off some open bags of Nestle and Hershey's: milk chocolate, mini semi-sweet, and white. I then used my tablespoon scoop to parcel out the dough, which meant I had 65 (!) cookies. Not small, either. Very average, large-as-my-palm cookies.
I tried out the recipe and was very skeptical. Could it really be that good?
In a word: YES. It's an excellent recipe, and a rare case where I would describe the cookie as being complex. It's simultaneously dense yet light, crisp yet chewy. The sea salt on top heightens the sweetness of the chips. The whole thing is really texture-perfect. Due to the cost of supplies, time span, and the sheer amount it makes, this won't be my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe, but it is one I heartily recommend, and will definitely make again.
New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies
slightly modified from the original version by Jacque Torres, published in The New York Times
2 cups minus 2 tablespoons (8 1/2 ounces) cake flour
1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
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, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 1/3 cups (20 ounces) chocolate chips, any kind, mix and match
Sea salt, for sprinkling
1. Sift together the cake flour, bread flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a large bowl and set aside.
2. Cream together the butter and sugars on medium speed until very light, about 5 minutes [see picture below]. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition, then add the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low, gradually add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the chocolate chips.
3. Press plastic wrap against the dough and refrigerate for at least 24 hours, up to 72 hours.
3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat.
4. If you want large, bakery-sized cookies, scoop out 3 1/2-ounces of dough, roll into a rough ball (it should be the size of a large golf ball) and place on the baking sheet; or you can use a tablespoon scoop, or smaller as you prefer.
Sprinkle dough balls lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft: 18 to 20 minutes for golf ball-sized, or 11 to 13 minutes for tablespoon-sized. Let cool on a wire rack.
Repeat with remaining dough (or keep some of the dough refrigerated for up to 3 days, and bake cookies at a later time). Store leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Yield: 65 tablespoon-sized cookies
OM NOM NOM.
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