Chocolate Chip Cookies!
You can keep your madelines, lemon pistachio tuilles, and mocha dusted macarons - for me there is no more sublime a cookie than a perfectly baked chocolate chip.
From Toll House to the $250 Nieman Marcus recipe (a myth, by the way) there are seemingly endless varieties and ways of tarting up the classic. Mr. Goodbits swears by his Texan grandmother's recipe that involves, amongst other things, pecans and corn flakes. An old neighbor of mine used a secret ratio of bread, cake, and AP flours in hers.
I on the other hand follow a few simple rules, time tested, to achieve my perfect milk companion.
Tip #1 - Butter and Shortening make a great team!
All butter cookie recipes tend to yield a rich, but very crisp cookie. All shortening recipes lack the buttery flavor and are too soft and cake-like. A half butter, half shortening blend provides the richness of flavor with the soft chewiness I prefer.
Tip #2 - If one bag is great, 2 bags are better-er!
I use 2, yes 2! bags of semi-sweet chips in my recipe. This provides my ideal ratio of chocolate to dough. I also keep my chips frozen prior to mixing, and keep the batter frozen until it's time to pop in the over (more on that later). This way, the chips retain as much of their shape as possible rather than oozing into a gooey mess.
Tip # 3 - Just a nip will do!
When it comes to mixing in the chocolate chips, I find that this batter needs an extra bit of - lubrication - in order to accommodate the extra density of the chips. After adding the chips to the batter, I add just a tablespoon of alcohol, brandy or whatever you have on hand. Why alcohol rather than water or milk? Alcohol will evaporate more quickly during the cooking process, so as not to effect the consistency of the batter making it runny. You'll be using such a small amount, and it will be evaporating, so there will really be no taste of alcohol in the final product. You can of course leave this out, but it might mean taking a little extra muscle and a wooden spoon to coax all the chips into place.
Tip #4 - Where sugar is sweet, brown sugar is deep!
I never use granulated white sugar in my chocolate chip cookies. Dark brown sugar, when combined with just a bit of raw granulated sugar gives a depth of flavor that isn't too overly sweet.
Tip # 5 - Mix. Chill. Shape. Freeze.
After mixing up the batter, chill it for around 10 minutes. This will allow the dough to rest and will make it easier to shape into logs to be frozen. The benefits of freezing the dough, even if you are planning to use it right away, are many. For one, it makes it very easy to slice-and bake, ensuring consistency in size which translates to even baking. Not to mention my aforementioned chocolate chip gooiness control measure.
Tip #6 - Sweet likes salt
The flour-power neighbor mentioned earlier also had another trick up her sleeve. Right before popping her cookies in the oven she would dust them with coarse sea salt. The result was a salty counterpoint to the sweet dark chocolate and it makes your tastebuds sing. This is my one and only embellishment, but instead of using coarse sea salt, which tends to have difficulty sticking and gives you large pops of salt, rather than uniformity - I use a very light pinch of fine sea salt which blends right in and gives a gentle blanket of salty/sweet throughout.
There you have it! I don't claim this as "the ultimate, all time best chocolate chip cookie recipe ever!" but I wouldn't sneeze at a $250 donation for it either!
Goodbits' Chocolate Chips
10 minutes prep time. 2 hrs to overnight freezing time. 8 minutes per batch baking time. Yields 30-40 cookies. 375 degree oven.
Ingredients
1/2 cup (approx 8 TBsp) butter
1/2 cup (8 TBsp) shortening
1 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup raw sugar (or granulated, if you must)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 egg + 1 egg yolk (creates better texture than 2 whole eggs)
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour - OR - 2 2/3 cups cake flour
(2) 12oz bags semi-sweet chocolate chips (about 6 cups)
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon brandy or other alcohol (optional)
Fine sea salt for dusting cookies, a pinch for each.
wax paper and/or plastic wrap
Method
NOTE: I recommend letting the butter and eggs stand at room temp 20 minutes before starting, it will allow them to blend more easily. Also, if using a stand mixer, start with the paddle attachment, then switch to the dough hook when it becomes time to add the chocolate chips.
1. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and shortening until combined, about 1 min.
2. Add brown sugar, a teaspoon at a time, beating until well combined.
3. Add salt and baking soda, beat until combined.
4. Add egg + egg yolk and vanilla. Beat until combined. Your batter should be a rich, silky consistency at this point.
5. Add flour, a little at a time, until well mixed. If using a stand mixer, you may wish to switch to the dough hook at this point. Add raw sugar and chocolate chips, blend until combined. You may add up to 1 tablespoon alcohol at this step to get all ingredients to come together.
6. Chill for 10 minutes.
7. Spoon dough into the center (horizontally) of 2 sheets of approx 14" of wax paper. Knead the dough loosely into a log, roughly 12" long and 4" in diameter on each sheet of wax paper. Be careful not to overwork the dough at this point as the heat from your hands will make the dough sticky and difficult to work with.
8. Roll the dough up and twist ends to secure. If storing for an extended period of time, cover the logs in plastic wrap and/or aluminum foil to prevent freezerburn. Dough will keep for 4-6 weeks in the freezer if properly wrapped. NOTE: The logs, once wrapped will be a bit unwieldy, I always transfer the rolls to my cookie sheet before popping them in the freezer to keep them level and shapely.
9. When ready to bake, remove from freezer and slice log into pieces approx 3/4" to 1" thick. Lightly dust each cookie with a pinch of sea salt.
10. Bake a dozen at a time on a parchment or silicone lined baking sheet. Check cookies at 8 minutes, edges should be well browned but cookies should still flex when lifted with a spatula.
Cool and enjoy with a tall glass of milk!
(P.S. above illustration by Jess Fink)
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