Chocolate Chip Cookies (dare I say perfect?)

After my mediocre CCC experiment the other day (let's be honest, those cookies kind of sucked), I went back to the  Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe from the New York Times article that I referenced in a recent post. These cookies did not disappoint. They came out thick, with crispy outside and chewy-gooey chocolate-y insides.

I think the key to this cookie's goodness is the aging process. The article explains the chemistry at work here, but there are also flavor development processes going on. Think of your stews, soups and meatloaves. Almost universally, these are better the second or third day than they are when first cooked. Same with these cookies. The rest time lets the flavors meld and deepen - the article describes the 36 hour cookie, in comparison with cookies from younger dough like this: "they had an even richer, more sophisticated taste, with stronger toffee hints and a definite brown sugar presence."

I mixed up the dough for these cookies Sunday afternoon and baked them Tuesday night. They were over the 36 hours, as I baked them at around the 50 hour mark. While the dough aged temptingly in the fridge, we started calling it "the entity" as it was a sizeable mound and beckoned with a siren's call.

Then, after all that, I messed up in the baking. But, like many mistakes, I think I ended up with a happy accident. These cookies are supposed to bake at 350. I wasn't looking when I set the oven and it wasn't until after I took them out that I realized the oven was at 450. The outside got pretty golden brown, but the insides were still gooey. Since this is my preference, I'd gladly make this mistake again.

By a small miracle of exceptional will-power, all of  these cookies (minus the 2 - 1/2 that Tom & I had to sample) got bundled up and delivered to my brother this morning for his birthday. A very happy and delicious ending to a Chocolate Chip Cookie quest that included 2 different doughs, about 4 bags of chips and lots of happy sampling.

Chocolate Chip Cookies
(From the New York Times article, "Perfection? Hint: It's Warm and has a Secret" and recipe adapted from Jacques Torres)
Notes about my adaptations follow the recipe

Ingredients

2 cups minus 2 tablespoons (this is 8-1/2 ounces) cake flour
1 -2/3 cups (this is 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
2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract
1 1/4 pounds bittersweet chocolate disks or fèves, at least 60 percent cacao content (see note)
Sea salt.

What to Do

1. Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.
2. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.
3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.
4. Scoop 6 3 1/2-ounce mounds of dough (the size of generous golf balls) onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day. Eat warm, with a big napkin.
Yield: 1 1/2 dozen 5-inch cookies.

Notes about My Adaptations

Flour - I didn't use cake flour. I used all purpose flour and bread flour. I think you will get slightly different results using only AP flour, but I wouldn't worry too much about it. I did weigh my flours, as I think you get a more accurate quantity that way.

Chocolate - I didn't use the disks. I had 2 types of semisweet chocolate chips (Ghiradelli & Guittard), but I did use 1-1/4 lbs of chips. Holy crap.

Size - I baked a standard size cookie, not the jumbo version described here. Should I even bother trying to be moderate when using 1-1/4 lbs of chocolate and lots of butter?

Bake Temp & Time: I accidentally baked at 450 instead of 350. At that higher temp, the (smaller) cookies took about 11 min. I'd guess that at 350, they'd be more like 12-14 min. 

I'm a Lumberjack and I'm ok

Despite my professed love for the chocolate chip cookie, today's soft but crispy, sugar topped molasses cookie is right up there among my favorites. Don't get me started on how good this dough is in its uncooked state.

This cookie - the Lumberjack - came from an Old Sturbridge Village cookie recipe book that one of my sisters has had for probably close to 30 years. I've tweaked the original recipe a bit, updating the sugar topping (I use Tubinado for the top for bigger sugar crunches) and fiddled with other ingredients from time to time.

Ultimately this is just an easy, dependable, and most importantly, delicious recipe. Most ingredients are always in the pantry and the dough freezes exceptionally well.



Lumberjack Cookies
Adapted from an Old Sturbridge Village recipe book (and from Mary's recipe card)

Ingredients
1 cup white sugar
1 cup shortening (I use Crisco butter flavored. I know, not the purest of ingredients, but it works well)
1 cup dark molassess
2 eggs
4 cups flour, sifted (or not, if you don't feel like it)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger

What to do
Cream together the sugar and shortening in stand mixer on medium high until light & fluffy. Reduce to lower speed and add molasses, then add eggs one at a time. Mix until well combined.

Sift or mix together dry ingredients, then slowly add to wet ingredients while mixer is on low. Mix until combined. Resist eating too much dough at this stage.

At this point, I like to refrigerate the dough for a while, it will make it easier to roll into little balls. I think you get a better cookie starting with colder dough. Putting this dough in the freezer for awhile speeds up your process.

 When you freeze this dough, due to the shortening, it doesn't get rock solid. It is roll-able right out of the freezer. I'll get the oven preheating while I roll out the cookies and pop them in while still chilled. I think starting with frozen dough yields the best results for this cookie. Cooking time may need to be a bit longer when using frozen dough.

When you are ready to roll out the cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Roll dough into walnut-sized balls, then roll the balls in sugar. You can use plain white sugar, but I like a bigger grain sugar. I think the bigger grain sugar adds a better crunch and since these tend to be a darker sugar, adds a little toasty caramel taste to the cookie.

Bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 12-15 minutes. When done, the cookie will have some cracks in the top, but will still be a bit soft when tested. I like to bake these cookies using the convection bake option on my oven. I think it helps create a crisper crust with a soft inside. If I use convection, I'll reduce the cooking time a bit - maybe to 9 - 11 minutes.

Walnut sized cookies will yield about 4 dozen. I've used a small sized ice-cream scoop (about a 2 tsp volume) and got closer to 5-6 dozen.

Some successful modifications I've tried (I've tried these independently, not all in the same batch):
- Add a heavy teaspoon of vanilla extract
- Use a combination of honey and molasses (I think I used about 2/3 molasses and 1/3 honey)
- Add some instant espresso powder. Start small and taste frequently as you go. Be aware that the flavor will strengthen as the cookie bakes.

Some other ideas that I haven't tried:
- Toss in some raisins or other dried fruit, maybe some lemon or orange zest
- Add some nuts
- Use a combination of brown and white sugar.

Chocolate Chip Cookie: Chapter 1

The right chocolate chip cookie may just be the most perfect food in the world.

To me, this "right" cookie has these qualities: it is thick, the outside is crispy, the inside has the right balance of chip to non-chip territory and has just enough goo to it. It is not flat, nor is it cakey. It does not contain nuts (I realize that this is a polarizing statement). It leaves a bit of a grease stain on your napkin.

There is a cookie that is almost this pinnacle of cookie goodness. Its lone flaw is that it contains nuts. Despite that, and I realize I'm contradicting myself, this is the best chocolate chip cookie I have ever eaten. It can be found at the Old World Deli in Freeport ME (at the Big Indian, or the BFI as it is called). A friend and I used to do in-depth analysis on these cookies.  All butter or butter/crisco combined, just crisco? Oven temp? Fat to flour ratio? Chilled dough or fresh? We were a bit obsessed. We used to pump the deli workers for information. They did not disclose much.

I was recently talking to a butcher who told me that he had made chocolate chip cookies with beef lard. Beef lard - brilliant. He did say that during baking you get a bit of a funky smell - think rendering beef, chocolate and sugar combined. However, this was the best chocolate chip cookie he had ever had. Unlike the deli folks, he was very willing to share his recipe. I'll give this a try at some point and let you know how it turns out.

I have come pretty close to replicating the deli cookie (sans nuts) on a couple of occasions. Like most good things, it requires a bit of pre-planning, time and good ingredients.

As good - no - as divinely sublime as that chocolate chip cookie is, sometimes I just make the basic, back o' the chip bag cookie. These are fine, they make me happy, the house smells good.The dough is better than the final product and I eat too much of it. When I make these cookies now, I don't have to scheme with anyone so someone can distract the cookie-maker while the other person sneaks into the kitchen and runs off with the dough.

Recently, I made the back of the bag type of cookie and packed them off to Molly - a willing recipient of baked treats, and a happy tester of anything new I want to try. A bit undercooked is the key to this type of cookie.

I haven't made the sublime type of cookie in a while. It has actually been so long I need to go back through my recipes, notes (yes - I have notes about this type of cookie) and do a quick baking chemistry reminder before I embark on this effort. I'll do this soon, and will update with the next chapter of Chocolate Chip Cookies.

In the meantime, get out there and bake whatever chocolate chip cookie suits your fancy, and eat some dough.

The best part.

Sadly flat, but tasty nevertheless.