This classic treat is easy to eat, easy to make, and although we've covered some recipes on this blog that require a little adventure, sometimes a chocolate chip cookie is all you need.
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| Sean's Review: "Damn tasty." Good enough for me. |
"Damn Tasty" Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from the Original Nestle Tollhouse Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe:
Yield: About 40 3-inch cookies
My Tweaks: I increase the brown sugar to white sugar ratio, and substitute chopped chocolate for chocolate morsels. You'll find my rationale with the pictures below.
1 c butter (225g)
1 c brown sugar (200g)
1/2 c white sugar (100g)
2 eggs (100g)
1 t vanilla
2 1/4 c AP Flour (290g)
1 t baking soda
1 t salt
1 1/2 - 2 c dark chocolate, chopped (160 - 210g)
Method:
1) Cream butter and sugars
2) Add eggs, one at time, then add vanilla. Mix until homogenous.
3) Add dry ingredients all at once. Mix until almost all of the flour is incorporated.
4) Fold in chopped chocolate
5) Scoop dough onto a parchment-lined sheet pan
6) Bake at 375F for about 10 minutes. Rotate after 5 minutes.
7) Leave on the sheet pan to cool
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| I use a #50 scoop, but spoons and fingers work too |
Notes: To achieve a softer cookie from the original, I tweak the brown to white sugar ratio from 1:1 (3/4 cup of each) to 2:1 (1 cup of brown sugar and a 1/2 cup of white sugar). Brown sugar has a caramel taste, and is hygroscopic, meaning it absorbs water. This makes for a more complex flavor and a softer texture. It also makes for a darker color cookie, which may make it difficult to tell if they are done. So even if they appear golden brown, make sure that the edges are slightly darker than the center. If you take them out of the oven too soon, they may fall apart even after cooling.
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| I add less chocolate than most people, so I use the lower bound listed in the recipe, but by all means, go crazy. |
As for the chopped chocolate, I almost never have chocolate morsels on hand, so I use a knife to roughly chop up a bar of dark bittersweet chocolate. I think it's more enjoyable to bite into a cookie with various chocolate chip sizes. Plus, a few chocolate morsel brands for sale have additives to keep them in their cute, little shape. I don't know about you, but I like the way regular chocolate softens in a cookie after it's baked. Plus, the morsel additives interfere in other recipes (e.g., ganache, icing) so I like to use a more multi-purpose bulk chocolate (Trader Joe's has a great one "Pound Plus 72% Dark Chocolate" from Belgium).
The Result: A soft cookie, with a lightly crispy edge. I like the bitterness of the dark chocolate, but you may want to go for a more traditional, semi-sweet chocolate (55-65%). You could even develop a personal combination of milk, semisweet and bittersweet chocolate pieces. Also, be aware that the darker color cookie might throw you off at first, but it is definitely worth it.
The Verdict: I cannot be left alone with three dozen of these cookies. I hope Sean and his brother show up soon, or this is going to get really ugly, really fast.
With every "new" chocolate chip cookie recipe, no one is truly reinventing the wheel. The specific ingredients, the amounts, and the methods are quite similar across recipes, which is expected for something so ubiquitous. My personal approach outlined here, is similar to ones I've seen on Martha Stewart, Cook's Illustrated and Food Network. I encourage you to play around with the different chocolate types, and sugar ratios, to find your perfect cookie.
Then just make sure to enlist all of your family members to make them for you, every day, and you'll be all set! Now that's the life.
Big :)
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