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Crafting the Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie
Recipe
1 hr 20 min

Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies
Author: Charles Kelsey

Recipe By Charles Kelsey

Published on July 24, 2024

We set out to achieve a cookie that was crisp at the edges, chewy in the middle, and full of rich toffee flavor. The result? One of our most popular recipes of all time.

Time

1 hr 20 min

Yield

Makes 16 cookies

Why This Recipe Works

Our perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe had to produce a cookie that would be moist and chewy on the inside and crisp at the edges, with deep notes of toffee and butterscotch to balance its sweetness. Melting the butter gave us the chewiness we were looking for. Cutting back on the flour and eliminating an egg white also improved texture and brought the brown sugar flavor to the fore. To give our chocolate chip cookie recipe the crisp edges and toffee flavor we wanted, we let the sugar dissolve in the batter for 10 minutes, then baked the cookies at a high temperature so the edges darkened while the centers stayed soft.

Ingredients

1 ¾ cups unbleached all-purpose flour (8 ¾ ounces/248 grams)
½ teaspoon baking soda
14 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 ¾ sticks), divided
½ cup granulated sugar (3 ½ ounces/99 grams)
¾ cups packed dark brown sugar (5 ¼ ounces/149 grams) (see note)
1 teaspoon table salt
2 teaspoons
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 ¼ cups semisweet chocolate chips or chunks (see note)
¾ cup chopped pecans or walnuts, toasted (optional)

Instructions

Cook along with these step-by-step instructions

step 1 imagestep 2 imagestep 3 imagestep 4 image
  1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk flour and baking soda together in medium bowl; set aside.
  2. Melt 10 tablespoons butter in 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Continue to cook, swirling pan constantly, until butter is dark golden brown and has nutty aroma, 1 to 3 minutes. Transfer browned butter to large heatproof bowl. Add remaining 4 tablespoons butter and stir until completely melted.
    Recipe Tip
    Browning the butter caramelizes the milk solids to introduce new flavor compounds to the cookie. Melted butter will give you a chocolate chip cookie that's just fine; browned butter gives you a chocolate chip cookie rich in toffee and caramel notes that's...well, perfect.
  3. Add brown sugar, granulated sugar, vanilla, and salt to melted butter; whisk until fully incorporated. Add egg and yolk; whisk until mixture is smooth with no sugar lumps remaining, about 30 seconds. Let mixture stand for 3 minutes, then whisk for 30 seconds. Repeat process of resting and whisking 2 more times until mixture is thick, smooth, and shiny. Using rubber spatula, stir in flour mixture until just combined, about 1 minute. Stir in chocolate chips and pecans, if using. Give dough final stir by hand to ensure no flour pockets remain and ingredients are evenly distributed.
    Recipe Tip
    By allowing the sugar to rest in the liquids, more of it dissolved in the small amount of moisture before baking. The dissolved sugar caramelizes more easily, creating a spectrum of toffee flavors and influencing texture. When sugar dissolved in water is heated, the moisture burns off and its molecules break apart, creating a brittle, amorphous structure that translates to crisper texture. But that effect occurs mainly at the cookie’s outer edges. As moisture on the perimeter disappears, the remaining moisture becomes concentrated in the center.
  4. Working with 3 tablespoons dough at a time, roll into balls and space them 2 inches apart on prepared sheets. Bake, 1 sheet at a time, until cookies are golden brown, still puffy, and edges have begun to set but centers are soft, 10 to 14 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking. Let cookies cool on sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack. Let cookies cool completely before serving. (Cookies can be stored in zipper-lock bag for up to 3 days.)

My Rating

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Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Recipe2 hr 20 min

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recipe By Charles Kelsey

Published on July 24, 2024

Time

1 hr 20 min

Yield

Makes 16 cookies

Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

1 ¾ cups unbleached all-purpose flour (8 ¾ ounces/248 grams)½ teaspoon baking soda14 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 ¾ sticks), divided½ cup granulated sugar (3 ½ ounces/99 grams)¾ cups packed dark brown sugar (5 ¼ ounces/149 grams) (see note)1 teaspoon table salt2 teaspoons 1 large egg1 large egg yolk1 ¼ cups semisweet chocolate chips or chunks (see note)¾ cup chopped pecans or walnuts, toasted (optional)

Instructions

  1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk flour and baking soda together in medium bowl; set aside.
  2. Melt 10 tablespoons butter in 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Continue to cook, swirling pan constantly, until butter is dark golden brown and has nutty aroma, 1 to 3 minutes. Transfer browned butter to large heatproof bowl. Add remaining 4 tablespoons butter and stir until completely melted.
    Recipe Tip
    Browning the butter caramelizes the milk solids to introduce new flavor compounds to the cookie. Melted butter will give you a chocolate chip cookie that's just fine; browned butter gives you a chocolate chip cookie rich in toffee and caramel notes that's...well, perfect.
  3. Add brown sugar, granulated sugar, vanilla, and salt to melted butter; whisk until fully incorporated. Add egg and yolk; whisk until mixture is smooth with no sugar lumps remaining, about 30 seconds. Let mixture stand for 3 minutes, then whisk for 30 seconds. Repeat process of resting and whisking 2 more times until mixture is thick, smooth, and shiny. Using rubber spatula, stir in flour mixture until just combined, about 1 minute. Stir in chocolate chips and pecans, if using. Give dough final stir by hand to ensure no flour pockets remain and ingredients are evenly distributed.
    Recipe Tip
    By allowing the sugar to rest in the liquids, more of it dissolved in the small amount of moisture before baking. The dissolved sugar caramelizes more easily, creating a spectrum of toffee flavors and influencing texture. When sugar dissolved in water is heated, the moisture burns off and its molecules break apart, creating a brittle, amorphous structure that translates to crisper texture. But that effect occurs mainly at the cookie’s outer edges. As moisture on the perimeter disappears, the remaining moisture becomes concentrated in the center.
  4. Working with 3 tablespoons dough at a time, roll into balls and space them 2 inches apart on prepared sheets. Bake, 1 sheet at a time, until cookies are golden brown, still puffy, and edges have begun to set but centers are soft, 10 to 14 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking. Let cookies cool on sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack. Let cookies cool completely before serving. (Cookies can be stored in zipper-lock bag for up to 3 days.)
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