ultimate chocolate chip cookies

There are probably as many chocolate chip cookie recipes out there as there are people who claim that their recipe is the best. But, guess what folks? I can definitively and without reserve say that THIS ONE is, in fact, the best one. How do I know, you ask? Don't ask questions. Just accept this recipe as your new go-to cookie recipe and thank me later when you have become influential, rich, and popular due to the fact that you make fantastic chocolate chip cookies.

You're welcome, in advance.

But, here's the secret: you MUST follow the directions exactly. No cutting corners here, folks. The recipe calls for cake flour and bread flour. Just have all-purpose? No go. Go get you some fancy flour and then think about making this recipe.

The recipe says to chill the dough for 24 hours, MINIMUM. Think that you can skip that step? Think again, heathen. Just bide your time. Good things come to those who wait.

Room temperature butter and eggs. No excuses. Just set them out for a few hours. Again, good things, waiting, you know the drill.

Size matters. Read below: cookies should be approximately 1/3 cup. Don't shortchange yourself. There's nothing worse than a puny little cookie that gets too crispy and hard in the oven. Nothing! Make them cookies fat! And, on the same note, don't over bake these bad boys. A soft, chewy cookies is where it's at, y'all. They might look a wee bit underdone when you take them out. But, let them set a minute or two on the baking sheet. Magic happens in those few minutes. Trust.

Finally, the salt for the top. Just do it. It matters. My brother, who is a cookie connoisseur, said that the salt on top MADE these cookies. The man practically inhales cookies. Yet, in the millisecond that cookie touched his tastebuds, he noticed that salt on top. Thus, it must be important.

Okay, go forth and make cookies, my children. Please don't forget about me when you are influential, rich, and popular.

The Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie

Ingredients:
2 cups minus 2 Tbsp. (8 ½ oz.) cake flour
1 2/3 cups (8 ½ oz.) bread flour
1 ¼ tsp. baking soda
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
1 ½ tsp. coarse salt, such as kosher
2 ½ sticks (1 ¼ cups; 10 oz.) unsalted butter, softened
1 ¼ cups (10 oz.) light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. (8 oz.) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 ¼ pounds bittersweet chocolate chips or chunks, preferably about 60% cacao, such as Ghirardelli
Sea salt or kosher salt for garnishing

Directions:
Combine flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Whisk well; then set aside.

Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars until very light and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Reduce the mixer speed to low; then add dry ingredients, and mix until just combined. (Unless you have a plastic guard that sits around the rim of the bowl, this will make a big mess at first, with flour flying everywhere. I found that carefully holding a dish towel around the top of the bowl helped a lot.) Add the chocolate chips, and mix briefly to incorporate. Press plastic wrap against the dough, and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. The dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.

When you’re ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F. Remove the bowl of dough from the refrigerator, and allow it to soften slightly. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat.

Using a standard-size ice cream scoop, or a 1/3 cup measure, scoop six mounds of dough onto the baking sheet, making sure to space them evenly. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt, and bake until golden brown but still soft, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then transfer the cookies onto the rack to cool a bit more.

Repeat with remaining dough.

Yield: About 24 cookies

Source: For Me, For You, originally from Jacques Torres