Jaques Torres' Chocolate Chip Cookies

For Easter dinner I asked my cousin Mike what he wanted me to make for dessert. Anything in the world- give me a challenge. "Chocolate chip cookies". Ok- chewy or crispy? "It doesn't matter". Ok if there were both chewy and crispy on the table which one would you grab first? "I'd probably eat both." -The conversation went something like that for a while until- CHOOSE ONE!!!! "Ok let's go with crispy".

So I went on Taste Spotting- my newest obsession, designed specifically for people like me who choose recipes solely on the basis of a good picture. Try typing chocolate chip cookie (or any other ingredient or dish) in the search box and check out the results. The most gorgeous mouthwatering pictures and some pretty damn good recipes to boot! I looked at the New York Times take on the best chocolate chip cookie- but I've done it before- so I went with the Jaques Torres one this time instead. It's a little bit more involved than the average cookie and it takes some ingredients that not everyone has lying around- but it's Easter, so I figure let's go crazy, right?

So you make this batter and then you leave it in the fridge for an entire day at least, these are not impromptu cookies- they take some foresight. However, I am not a planning person and I am not patient at all so I decided to bake half of the batter right away and leave the other half to "marinate" in the fridge until Easter day. I threw the impatient half of the dough into the freezer for about 10 mins so it wouldn't melt all over the oven and then portioned and baked them. The batter is like velvet because of the cornstarch and they actually turned out well- I made everyone at work try them and they got good reviews. So it will be interesting to see how the impatient cookie compares to the one that's still sitting in the fridge. I will let you know how that turns out later today while I'm making my STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE!!! for Easter Dinner. (In memory of my Nona who put whipped cream and strawberries on a Duncan Hines cake and no one was the wiser.)

For the flour in this recipe you can use either AP flour, cornstarch,and bread flour OR cake flour and bread flour. The bread flour is a must, I had cornstarch so I used that and the AP flour- I don't usually keep cake flour lying around.

Ingredients:

(1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
OR
2 cups minus 2 tablespoons cake flour)

1 2/3 cups bread flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups butter, room temperature (2 1/2 sticks)
1 1/4 cups brown sugar, packed
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 2/3 cups dark chocolate chips

Method:

Oven Temperature: 350 F

1. Set out your butter and eggs to reach room temperature.

2. If using all-purpose flour and cornstarch as a substitute for cake flour, level your all-purpose flour and cornstarch as you measure them and sift together 4-5 times. (If using cake flour skip this step)

3. Sift together the cake flour or AP flour and cornstarch with the bread flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

4. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugars for about 3 minutes, until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for about a minute after each addition. Add vanilla and beat to combine. With machine set at lowest speed, slowly add the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand, dispersing evenly throughout. Turn dough out onto plastic wrap and throw it in the fridge. Refrigerate for 24-72 hours. Or just throw it in the freezer for 10 mins if you're an impatient freak like me.

5. When you are ready to bake your cookies, remove them from the fridge to reach room temperature. Once your dough is just about scoopable, preheat your oven and prepare your baking sheets. Scoop the dough onto the baking sheets using a fairly large scoop.

6. Bake for 10-12 minutes in the preheated oven, switching racks and rotating the trays halfway through the time. Don’t go longer than 12, even if your dough looks a bit doughy in the middle. Let the cookies cool on the baking trays just until you can move them to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Later today... STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE with Nora and cousin Arthur

Photo Credits: Bright Eyed Baker and Thyme