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11 Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes

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    11 Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes

    The attached chart is from ChefSteps, some of the best chefs I know. They are a division of Breville and the team is steeped in chemistry and physics and choc chippers are all about the science. They have put together a comparison of some of the best chocolate chip cookie recipes from the best chefs on the internet. Finally, they have created a recipe by averaging and stealing from the others. Cool stuff. You should subscribe to their site especially if you are into sous vide.

    • Grant Crilly is the boss at ChefSteps. I have cooked with them in their labs.
    • BraveTart/Stella Parks is a hugely popular blog and cookbook author.
    • SeriousEats is my favorite cooking site and Kenji also writes for NY Times. He wrote the foreword to my book.
    • Toll House. The original.
    • Milk Bar’s pastry chef is Christina Tosi considered one of the top bakers in the world.
    • Jacques Torres owns two incredible chocolate stores.
    * America's Test Kitchen is a high quality test kitchen TV show
    • Professional Baking is a classic textbook.
    • Anna Olson is a Canadian pastry chef/consultant and former TV chef.
    • Pan Bang is by cookbook author Sarah Kieffer.

    Here's their treatise and video on the subject. You probably need to be a member to get it
    ChefSteps is here to make cooking more fun. Get recipes, tips, and videos that show the whys behind the hows for sous vide, grilling, baking, and more.

    ​
    Attached Files
    Last edited by Meathead; October 11, 2022, 04:36 PM.

    #2
    I am a big fan of Kenji's recipe and when I want to make a really good cookie that is the recipe/technique I use. But there is also nothing wrong with the recipe on the back of the bag of chips when you want something quick and easy.

    Comment


    • Jerod Broussard
      Jerod Broussard commented
      Editing a comment
      I got Pillsbury in the fridge; RTE process, pasteurized eggs, heat treated flour, eat as is or bake. I try to sneak one "as is" into my ice cream.

    #3
    Fascinating! I have my go to recipe. To JoeSousa point, I use the recipe from Ghirardelli as my starting point. Over the years, it has evolved. While we have learned about the differences in salt here in THE Pit, I can start a whole new thread about vanilla. I have 3-4 in regular baking rotation. And actually, this year will be my first year with homemade vanilla. I laid some down in April to be ready for December.
    Jerod Broussard sometimes I just wanna thump you in the nose 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

    Comment


    #4
    I’ll have my in-house bakery student give some of these a go. I’ll be impressed if they are a lot better then hers. I’ve had a couple ( maybe 3 ) on the list including the milk bar and still take the ones on my counter!

    Comment


      #5
      Must…bake…them…ALL!

      Comment


        #6
        Nice coincidence - I'm about to try to make a low(er) carb CC cookie. Sub Swerve for the sugar, use unsweetened chips that I'm melted with a little swerve and then cooled and made into chips.

        Comment


          #7
          Wow! This statement sort of turns my world upside down.

          "We realized that, in terms of the final cookie, being particular about the process is far more important than the quality of any individual ingredient."

          Is the statement speaking of texture or taste, primarily? There’s a lot of discussion about how to manipulate the texture so I’m guessing that’s what the authors consider most important. However, if they are chocolate chip cookies, then doesn’t it make sense you want to use the best chocolate (ingredient) available so that taste is paramount? I’ve always thought that processes can be forgiving but ingredients cannot. Put another way, if you start with the finest ingredient that dominates the food, you can still get by with a less than optimal process. But then, what does a hack like me know? Just thinking out loud.

          Comment


          • SheilaAnn
            SheilaAnn commented
            Editing a comment
            WayneT so much goes into the process. I’ve been bitten in the @ss several times. You have to cream the butter and sugar. You add the eggs one at a time. The dry ingredients get sifted together. Then add the dry to the wet. Process. I’ve skimped and ended up with 💩 cookies. More times than I can count. I have seen the light.

            As for chocolate…like wine…. Bake with what you like. I personally prefer a 60-70% cacao chip/chunk.

          #8
          Originally posted by WayneT View Post
          Wow! This statement sort of turns my world upside down.

          "We realized that, in terms of the final cookie, being particular about the process is far more important than the quality of any individual ingredient."

          Is the statement speaking of texture or taste, primarily? There’s a lot of discussion about how to manipulate the texture so I’m guessing that’s what the authors consider most important. However, if they are chocolate chip cookies, then doesn’t it make sense you want to use the best chocolate (ingredient) available so that taste is paramount? I’ve always thought that processes can be forgiving but ingredients cannot. Put another way, if you start with the finest ingredient that dominates the food, you can still get by with a less than optimal process. But then, what does a hack like me know? Just thinking out loud.
          I read that as "getting the process correct or not has a much bigger effect than going from good ingredients to great ones".

          Also, when talking 'best', ingredients can be subjective. Is a chocolate chip with more cacao better than one with less but with some sugar? Is milk chocolate the better choice? Does it make a noticeable difference to use Kerrygold butter vs Darigold?

          Comment


            #9
            WayneT and rickgregory we should almost have our own "meet-up" to discuss.

            I use different chocolates for different applications. As mentioned earlier, I have 3-4 vanillas in rotation for my baking. Is one better than the other? Prolly not… but they blend better with the ingredients I use. And don’t get me started on cinnamon. 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼

            rickgregory does butter matter? Sometimes. Margarine is the devils work. I just bought darigold today for a catering project. (The cornbread I was talking about). I don’t think that there is much difference between kerrigold and darigold. Unless you are a butter snob. I am a snob. Can I tell that difference? Probably not, but can I pick out the bougie stuff from Normandy? You bet your crostini I can.

            Comment


              #10
              Originally posted by SheilaAnn View Post
              WayneT and rickgregory we should almost have our own "meet-up" to discuss.
              SheilaAnn rickgregory That would put me in rarefied company, indeed; you give me far too much credit. Like I said, I'm still somewhat of a hack when it comes to cooking but I know what I like and I know when I've made something OK vs something that really flips my organoleptic switches.

              Y'all both make excellent points and I completely agree about the importance of process and the subjective nature concerning the degrees of separation in ingredient quality. E.g. when does the next tweak in a process no longer yield improved results (also subjective?) and when does the use of a new, very high end ingredient become indistinguishable from its predecessor? (Sometimes when I want to illustrate a point, I might revert to extremes so I'll try to avoid that pitfall in this discussion.)

              I think we all would agree, there are instances, and examples, when even the best cooks using the best processes cannot tease out an above average food when using inferior ingredients. Conversely, a complete rookie could use the finest ingredients available and still have a less than average outcome. So, I'm talking about that huge gray area where proven processes are used along with above average ingredients.

              If I am turning out chocolate chip cookies that I like a lot, in terms of both taste and texture, maybe because I didn't know anything better exists, the first thing I would change to invoke the greatest impact would be in the chocolate itself, the dominant ingredient around which everything else in the recipe revolves. I'm not saying I don't care at all about texture, I do, but in some foods it is secondary so long as it doesn't deviate unintentionally from norms. I don't know if this illustrates my point any better, but once I find a stellar improvement in taste, I can always go back and revisit the texture thing. In summary, I'll choose to improve taste before texture when there's a foundational ingredient upon which the entire recipe stands.

              Regarding chocolate: Ever since I read a magazine article about artisanal chocolate and the Scharfenberger Chocolate Company in Berkley, CA, I've become more conscious of the quality of base ingredients, both intermediate and final. I was so damn disappointed when John Scharffenberger sold out to Hershey but they were spun off again in 2021. Hooray! I don't mind paying a premium for higher quality ingredients WHEN they make a difference in the final product. And, as SheilaAnn said, you can bet your bruschetta I can tell.

              Comment


                #11
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                  #12
                  I cookied out while I was off during the height of the pandemic. I made far more cookies than any sedentary human should have.

                  Experienced bakers already know this, but occasional bakers need to know this: Ya ever go to the baked goods table at the local church bazaar, and all the homemade cookies are ever so slightly overdone on the bottom? Like someone went through all the cookies and salvaged the ones that were almost right? Yeah, that’s someone who only bakes cookies once a year—for the church bazaar. Cookies don’t look done when they are done. They change after you take them out of the oven, while cooling on the baking sheet and then on the cooling rack. Take them out somewhere in the range that is offered in the recipe. The worst you’ll have either way is slightly gooey or slightly crispy. As always, an oven thermometer is really helpful!


                  This is the recipe I liked best. I looked at the footnote and ignored it.

                  Betty Ford’s Double Chocolate Cookies

                  Makes approximately 20 cookies
                  • 1 cup of butter, softened (see footnote)
                  • 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar (see footnote)
                  • 2 eggs
                  • 2 tsp. vanilla or brandy
                  • 1 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate, melted
                  • 1/4 cup sour cream
                  • 2 cups flour
                  • 3/4 cup cocoa
                  • 1/2 tsp. baking soda
                  • 1/2 tsp. salt (omit if using salted nuts)
                  • 1/4 tsp. baking powder
                  • 2 cups white chocolate chips (or butterscotch)
                  • 1 cup chopped Brazil nuts or almonds

                  Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, and beat well. Add the brandy or vanilla. Stir in the melted chocolate and the sour cream. (You can melt the chocolate in the microwave, but do this gradually, because baking chocolate can easily scorch. Microwave it one minute, then in 30-second intervals. As soon as the chocolate has lost its solid shape, take it out and stir it until smooth.)

                  In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Mix them all together with a fork, and then a spoon. Turn the mixer back on at a low speed, and add the dry ingredients, about a cup at a time. Incorporate everything thoroughly.

                  Stir in the chocolate chips and the nuts. Drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheets. (You can use ungreased cookie sheets, or line them with parchment paper. I prefer parchment because I found the cookies would sometimes stick to the ungreased cookie sheets, but the cookies can dry out a little with parchment, making them more like a biscotti, so for a gooey cookie, bake them at the lower end of the time scale.)

                  Bake for 12-15 minutes. Twelve minutes is enough for a softer cookie; 15 minutes gives you a firmer cookie. These cookies do not spread on the baking sheet, and because they’re so rich, the smaller size seems just right. Let the cookies rest on the cookie sheet for five minutes before you move them to wire racks or towel paper to finish cooling.

                  Footnote: This recipe is pretty retro, and you might look at the ingredients and exclaim, "Two sticks of butter? All that sugar?" as I originally did. Experiment, if you like. You can cut the butter in half. You can also cut back on the sugar—I found that one cup was enough to get a nice, creamy texture. But who was ever mad about more butter and sugar at Thanksgiving?​


                  ​
                  ​

                  Comment


                    #13
                    Originally posted by SheilaAnn View Post
                    rickgregory does butter matter? Sometimes. Margarine is the devils work.
                    (nods in agreement)

                    I just bought darigold today for a catering project. (The cornbread I was talking about). I don’t think that there is much difference between kerrigold and darigold. Unless you are a butter snob. I am a snob. Can I tell that difference? Probably not, but can I pick out the bougie stuff from Normandy? You bet your crostini I can.
                    I think the difference in some European butters is a higher fat percentage (I know Stella Parks, an excellent dessert baker, specs US butter in her recipes for this reason) but if we held that constant, could we tell in baked goods? Maybe....

                    Originally posted by WayneT View Post

                    SheilaAnn rickgregory That would put me in rarefied company, indeed; you give me far too much credit.
                    That's all Sheila
                    ​

                    Comment


                      #14
                      Not so average after all.

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                      I only used 3/4 of the amount (344 g) of chocolate pistoles the recipe called for and it was 74% cacao, which played very well with this dough. I also used Kerrygold butter which I found to have a much richer taste than the three commodity butters (Land O Lakes, Kirkland's & a local grocery chain house brand) I keep around for most baking purposes.

                      Comment


                        #15
                        SheilaAnn Psssst, process is key! I had an epiphany.

                        Comment


                        • SheilaAnn
                          SheilaAnn commented
                          Editing a comment
                          WayneT Sift the drys. Butter is room temp. Cream the butter and sugars. Add eggs (room temp or close to it) one at a time. Add vanilla at the very end. Use great chocolate. Use great nuts (if that’s your jams).

                        • WayneT
                          WayneT commented
                          Editing a comment
                          SheilaAnn And, scrape down the sides of the bowl often. That's actually the step that sent me down the road to enlightenment. For a pro like you, I'm sure that's second nature.

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