Monday, March 05, 2007

Secrets of really good chocolate chip cookies

Most people I know claim to have the perfect chocolate-chip cookie recipe. I don't believe I have the best recipe, but this is damn close. In the end, I think it's not really the recipe that matters, but how you make them (and the quality of your ingredients, especially the vanilla).

Here's how it's done:

-Always use real butter;
-And real sugar. Don't tell me Splenda should be used, you smug moralizer;
-Melt the butter on a double boiler (careful not burn it). The idea behind this is to have your sugar melt in your butter more easily. Let it cool before you add the eggs, otherwise they will poach in the mix;
-Use real vanilla;
-Use good chocolate: I like buy a brick of bitter-sweet chocolate and chop it up in big morsels;
-Use an electric mixer to combine the sugar, butter and eggs. Mix for a good 5 minutes;
-Use a rubber spatula to fold the dry ingredients in the wet ingredients;
-Mix the dough thoroughly but don't over-mix it;
-Refrigerate the dough at least an hour. When dough is firm, form dough into 1 inch balls. If you don't refrigerate the dough, your cookies will come out flat. In the end, you want to eat little Matterhorns;
-Make sure your cookie sheet is cool (or cold). Parchment-paper-it;
-Only cook a few cookies at a time. Leave the rest of the dough in the freezer. Take the frozen dough out of the freezer only when you're sure someone will eat them immediately when they are done;
-Do not bake longer than 9.5 minutes. 10 minutes and they'll be too cooked (I'm serious);
-Eat approximately 2 minutes after they are done.

The recipe:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks, 1/2 pound) unsalted butter, softened or melted
3/4 cup granulated [white] sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 cups bitter-sweet chocolate morsels
1 cup white chocolate chips or butterscotch chips or your drug of choice.

Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in large mixer bowl. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition; gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and chips.

Bake in preheated 375-degree oven for 9.5 minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes. Eat the damn cookies.

When you are done eating the cookies, go make some music: Shiver

2 Comments:

Blogger KL.D said...

So now you're starting a "Who's-got-the-best-chocolate-chip-cookies-recipe-war" uh? Well then, we'll see who's gonna win! I declare cookie-war to you!

7:04 PM  
Blogger Kine said...

Beware, coworker: my cookies can become easily airborne. This could get messy.

1:39 PM  

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