The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

A couple days ago I had a conversation with a friend... let's call her Dennis. Dennis, bless her heart, is trying to learn how to cook. A few weeks ago she called me to ask how to bake a potato. Yes. You heard me right. Bake a potato.

Anyway, our most recent cooking conversation went something like this:

Dennis: good morning!
Me: good morning! (note: it was around 8:30 PM, but this is part of the Dennis ritual, just part of her charm)
Dennis: you would be so proud of me! I'm baking!
Me: Well done, Dennis! What are you baking?
Dennis: Cookies! Granted, I bought cookie dough and just placed it on the cookie sheet, but it counts for something!
Me: Yes! It's a good step in the right direction!
Dennis: But I need your help.
Me: Oh? (another note: I live about 1,000 miles away from Dennis, so was hoping she wasn't relying on me to call 911 in case of kitchen explosions or anything)
Dennis: How do I know when the cookies are done?
Me: They should be golden brown on top and not burned on the bottom.
Dennis: I just emailed you a picture. Are they finished?

Dennis' Cookies

Me: (fascinated) ... are you baking your cookies in a roasting pan?

Yes. She was indeed baking cookies in a roasting pan. Further, her boyfriend (who doesn't bake at all) also noticed the roasting pan but, unlike me, was too polite to suggest a cookie sheet.

At this point, a few minutes had transpired, so I told Dennis to get her cookies from the oven.

Dennis grumbled something about feeling like the protagonist of a children's novel -- "Dennis bakes a cookie" -- and I suggested that my favorite in the series would be "Dennis eats a sandwich". Never has anyone eaten a sandwich with such wonder and awe as Dennis. It's a thing to behold.

I told Dennis she might want to check on her next batch, and she revealed that she was only making one batch because "9 cookies is enough". What does that mean? Enough for what? The mind boggles.

I should mention here, Dennis is a very smart person. She's a neuroscientist, she does brain surgery for a living, and successfully coordinates and teaches thousands of students a year at a large university. So for all of us who have ever failed at baking the perfect cookie, have no fear, even the best and brightest among us have trouble.

I, like Dennis, have gone through my share of cookie-related struggles... mostly they involve trying to find the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe. This endeavor involved baking dozens of recipes when I should have been doing other things, like writing my dissertation for example.

There are two secret ingredients that make this recipe so great (I should mention that this recipe was adapted slightly from Jacques Torres' recipe). The first is sea salt, because salty and sweet is a winning combination. The second is time -- letting the dough rest for 24 - 72 hours (ideally 36) before baking really results in the perfect combination of chewy and crunchy. The wait can be hard, but in the meantime, let them eat dough!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients: 

2 c minus 2 T cake flour

1 2/3 c bread flour

1 1/4 t baking soda

1 1/2 t baking powder

1 1/2 t sea salt (plus more for sprinkling over the cookies) 

2 1/2 sticks butter

1 1/4c brown sugar

1c + 2 T sugar

2 large eggs

2 t vanilla

3 1/2 c chocolate chips 

Sift the flours, baking soda, and baking powder into a bowl. Ad the salt and give it a shake or a stir to incorporate the salt with the other dry ingredients a little. Don't sift the salt though, it won't fit through the sifter. 

In the meantime, cream the butter and both sugars together until the mixture is very light. This takes about 3 minutes or so in my standing kitchenaid mixer, but it may take longer (more like 5 minutes) if you have a hand mixer or a less powerful mixer.

Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each egg. Add in the vanilla and mix a little more. 

Turn the speed down to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing just until they are combined. You don't want to mix it too much here, because otherwise you'll pump extra air into your batter and we're making cookies here, not souffle! 

Add in the chocolate chips and mix just a smidgen longer, until they're well incorporated throughout the dough. 

Ok. Now this is the hard part. Cover the dough with plastic wrap, put it in the fridge and walk away. 

Yes. Seriously. Walk away. Don't make your cookies now. Don't do it! You'll regret it, they won't be as delicious! 

As a consolation though, you should eat the dough off the mixer paddle. Delicious. But don't blame me if you get salmonella. 

You have to wait a long time -- 36 hours is best, but wait at least 24. You can see how well my self control holds out... I um... maybe eat some cookie dough along the way... 

Once the tortuous day and a half has passed take the dough out of the fridge and let it stand 10 minutes or so while you preheat your oven (to 350). This will make it a little easier to work with. 

Line your cookie sheet (or I suppose roasting pan, if you are so inclined) with parchment paper and use a cookie dough scoop (or an ice cream scoop works just as well) to plop mounds of dough onto the parchment paper. 

Now for secret ingredient #2 -- sea salt! Sprinkle just a little sea salt over the cookies. So delicious. 

Bake the cookies until they are golden brown but still soft, about 15 - 20 minutes. About half way through turn the cookie sheets around and switch racks so the front cookies are in the back and the top cookies are on the bottom.

Transfer your cookies to a cooling rack (or, if you, like Dennis, don't own one, a plate will work) until they're cool. 

This makes a lot of cookies, but I don't know exactly how many because I always eat a LOT of the dough in that limbo, wait for the dough to be maximally delicious, period. 

Enjoy!