Chocolate Chip Cookie Bliss

Submitted by Heather

I don't really feel like I need a new chocolate chip cookie recipe, but everywhere I look there is someone claiming THEIRS is the best/softest/chocolatiest, etc..  I've tried many and  found some great recipes.  This recipe caught my eye because it 1) uses bread flour and cake flour, which is unique and 2) requires (okay, strongly requests) that you wait at least a day before  you bake them.  What?!  The idea is that with the wait time, the flour in the cookies have enough time to hydrate, resulting in a much drier dough and a softer and chewier cookie.  At least I think that's the science behind it!  


I will say that these cookies are wonderful.  The texture is crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside and the little surprise of salt sprinkled on the top is very welcome and delicious.  So, make the dough and hide it at the back of your fridge so that no one knows you made it (allowing yourself, of course, to snitch some of the dough during the long wait).  Then you can surprise everyone with some fantastic cookies the next day and they'll all wonder where they came from.  Heaven.

By the way, the cookies in the picture at the top and bottom of this post are sitting on the same plate, but used very different quantities of dough. The average-sized-cookies at the top of this post are made with a cookie scoop that holds about 2 Tablespoons of dough, and the ones right above this paragraph followed the instructions in the recipe below which required me to weigh them (about 3 1/2 ounces).  The small ones are yummy, but you must also try the big ones - the contrast in textures is delish.


The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yield: 1 1/2 dozen 5-inch cookies.

•2 cups minus 2 tablespoons (8 1/2 ounces) cake flour * leave the TBs in for high altitude*
•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 (I used kosher 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 (20 oz.) bittersweet chocolate disks or fèves, at least 60 percent cacao content (see note)
•Sea salt (or kosher salt)

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 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.

4. Scoop 6 3 1/2-ounce mounds of dough (about 1/3 cup) 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/kosher 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.

source:  http://www.thesisterscafe.com/ (and The New York Times, David Leite and Jacques Torres)