I am constantly looking for the ultimate chocolate chip cookie and I think I found it.
Jeff recently purchased a cookbook called Ad Hoc At Home from Thomas Keller. Not only is this a cookbook with great recipes, it is also instructional, explaining different types of cooking tips and techniques. Jeff and I have both sat down at numerous times and have actually started reading the cookbook.
As always, I begin the cookbook in the dessert section, "Hm-mm, could there be a chocolate chip cookie recipe? Ah, yes, and it looks very interesting, dark brown sugar, two types of dark chocolate, this looks good!" On went the oven and out came the mixing bowls. As I read the ingredients I found that this recipe used the same 7 basic ingredient as in Andria's Chocolate Chip Cookies. The only true difference was dark brown sugar and brown sugar. I liked chopping up the two different types of chocolate and they brought really nice flavor to the cookies. I love a chocolate chip cookie that has a lot of dark chocolate with a little less cookie.
If the dough had any indication of what the cookies would taste like, I could have eaten the whole bowl! These are definitely a favorite of mine (and our family). They melt in your mouth, crunchy edges with soft middles and the two types of chocolate are wonderful. A little bit of bittersweet chocolate with sweet cookie. Oh, delicious!
We ate a bunch and the remainder landed in the freezer. I always like to have cookies in the freezer for two reasons 1. a ready dessert to serve at home or bring with you, 2. after writing about these great cookies, I can enjoy one from the freezer. Yes, they do taste good frozen!
Chocolate Chip Cookies
(makes about thirty 3-inch cookies)
2 1/3 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
5 ounces 55 percent chocolate, cut into chip-sized pieces
5 ounces 70 to 72 percent chocolate, cut into chip-sized pieces
8 ounces (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup packed dark brown sugar, preferably molasses sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
Position racks in the lower and upper thirds of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with Silpats or parchment paper. (I used my seasoned cookie sheets and the cookies came off easily.)
Sift flour and baking soda into a medium bowl. Stir in the salt.
Put chips in a fine-mesh basket strainer and shake to remove any chocolate “dust” (small fragments).
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, beat half the butter on medium speed until fairly smooth. Add both sugars and the remaining butter, and beat until well combined, then beat for a few minutes, until mixture is light and creamy. Scrape down sides of the bowl. Add eggs one at a time, beating until the first one is incorporated before adding the next and scraping the bowl as necessary. Add dry ingredients and mix on low speed to combine. Mix in chocolate.
Remove bowl from mixer and fold dough with a spatula to be sure the chocolate is evenly incorporated. The dough or shaped cookies can be refrigerated, well wrapped, for up to five days or frozen for two weeks. Freeze shaped cookies on the baking sheets until firm, then transfer to freezer containers. (Defrost frozen cookies overnight in the refrigerator before baking.)
Using about two level tablespoons per cookie, shape dough into balls. Arrange eight cookies on each pan, leaving about two inches between them, because the dough will spread. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the tops are no longer shiny, switching the position and rotating pans halfway through baking.
Cool cookies on the pans on cooling racks for about 2 minutes to firm up a bit, then transfer to the racks to cool completely. Repeat with second batch of cookies. The cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to two days for best freshness.