Did anyone brave the heat this weekend and make the NY Times chocolate chip cookies?
Here in Boston, we couldn't bring ourselves to turn on the oven until Sunday when it finally "cooled off" to the low 80's, so our dough got an extra day of refrigerator hibernation. (Lucky dough! We would have liked to curl up next to it.)
At least we were rewarded for our sweat and labor with delicious gooey cookies and an extra cold glass of milk. How did this "perfect" cookie do next to your favorite recipe?
Hear our thoughts after the break...
There was a melt-in-the-mouth quality to these cookies that made us want to hold each bite on our tongues as long as possible. As promised, they were crunchy and golden on the outside while staying tender and chewy on the inside. We're not so sure about the whole "three rings" theory from Leite's article, but this cookie is sure to please fans of either texture.
We did indeed taste a deep caramel flavor and a pleasant nuttiness, which Leite says results from the resting period. The pockets of bitter chocolate cut the sweetness of the dough, creating a good balance of flavors in every bite. This is a good argument for using chocolate with the recommended 60% cacao or more.
We expected a bit of saltiness from the sea salt sprinkled on top, but this actually blended right in. Instead of being a main player, we suspect that the salt helps bring out the more subtle flavors and nuances in the cookie, which could otherwise be easily overpowered by general sweetness.
We weren't able to do a comparative hourly testing as some other sites have done. But drawing from our expertise as bakers and lovers of cookies (chocolate chip or otherwise), we felt like the flavors here were more developed and represented a better overall balance than your average non-rested cookie. You taste more than just "sugar."
No doubt about it, this was a good cookie. One that's sure to impress and satisfy, and one that we'll be keeping in our arsenal of recipes.
But perfect? Well, you'll have to decide that one for yourselves!
We'll have notes on our recipe changes, substitutions, and preparation thoughts for you later today!
The full article, "Perfection? Hint: It's Warm and It Has a Secret" by David Leite, is available here.
The full recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookies is available here.
Related: Kitchen Confessional: Good Recipes from the Back of the Box
(Images: Emma Christensen for the Kitchn)
The dough is still resting in my fridge at home! I'll be baking it off tonight - can't wait!
view jlyn13's profile
i haven't baked this recipe yet... but i just can't get over the Potbelly Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie!!... I say, that is perfect!. I have been trying to find the recipe, but so far no success. Anyone?
view Nelly's profile
interestingly enough, i first heard about this on slate's political gabfest. one of the panelists declared them (on good authority from her children) the best cookies ever.
i can't wait to try them out myself, but i wonder if this recipe will be the same after freezing ( i normally freeze pre-formed balls of dough for easier baking later)
view Madinat's profile
Update from Sara Kate: I was a good girl and followed the recipe without straying and indeed, they were absolutely delicious. My cookies were quite puffy though, not like the photo in the Times. My companions for the weekend, having seen what great lengths I'd go to in order to make these cookies (see my comment in Emma's original post about the sweltering heat and my trip to Jacques Torres), thought it was funny how cross I became when the cookies came out puffy. They repeatedly referred to them as scones, and one particularly aggressive friend used the word "muffin." Obviously, there was wine involved.
Anyway, curious if anyone else had this experience. I assume that it comes from using cake flour, with it's low protein content.
Overall: thumbs up. The crowd of all ages went wild. I'd try it again, perhaps I measured something incorrectly.
view Sara Kate's profile
I halved the recipe, but otherwise followed it exactly and they came out beautifully. What's with every single food blog that has made these cookies using chips? Based on the pictures I've seen, I think the discs make a big difference in the way they bake. Mine seemed to spread out a bit more and produced chocolately sections and layers that were very tasty.
view louiedog's profile
I love chocolate chip cookies to distraction, and I like Leite's Culinaria, so I was excited to try this recipe. I made the dough on Friday with the intention of bringing them as part of a picnic to the summer festival at a pub in the woods in Marin.
They were good, but the best? No. They tasted like bakery chocolate chip cookies, or like...mall cookies. Rich, melting, well-engineered, surely, but not transcendent.
The recipe I want is the one from Folie's Cafe on the Rue du Faubourg Saint Antoine near the Bastille in Paris. Thinner and more delicate, but still chewy and with the lovely three-part texture progression.
view CSark's profile
i made three batches (last one will be baked tonight) and io have to say, they were better every time!
view amysahba's profile
I made it according to the recipe with two changes, hand chopped bittersweet chocolate and fleur de sel on top. The cookies didn't puff at all, even with the cake flour. I was initially a little alarmed at how much they were browning, but they were still soft on the inside.
I think the fleur de sel added a lot, although my teenaged neighbor made a hilarious face at his first taste of salt with sweet! Everyone who tested them for me agreed they were the best they'd ever had and a couple of people asked for the recipe.
view mgn's profile
I used discs, too, but they were $4.99 for nine ounces at Whole Foods. I'd like a cheaper alternative. The discs definitely help the chocolate stay melty and make the cookies very rich.
I feel like my cookies were overcooked, even at the 18 minute range. In the future, I'm going to reduce the heat to 325 and bake for 17 minutes.
However, even though the outside of the cookie was too crisp, the inside still had a pretty great texture. The sea salt worked very well, and looks pretty. The cookies taste great, but I have to warn the dear readers here that they are very rich. :)
view rizzuhjj's profile
amazing. baked off my first batch this morning. too perfect for words. worth the cost and effort (and calories!) for sure. they look just like the photos, and taste even better. this will undoubtedly become my staple chocolate chip cookie recipe.
view jessicamt77's profile
After having done more taste tests, I'd like to modify my salt-opinion. I still think that it's primarily a flavor enhancer, but I definitely get little zings of salt every now and then.
I think the problem is that when you sprinkle the sea salt on the mounds of cookie dough, the salt stays right on top. When the cookie spreads out, the salt still stays in a little area.
I'm wondering if sprinkling the entire ball of dough before putting it on the baking sheet would work, or if the cookie would end up tasting too salt. Or maybe sprinkling the salt onto the cookie halfway through cooking when it's still gooey enough that the salt sticks but the cookie has already spread?
More experimentation necessary! Yum! I love salt and sweet!
view EmmaC's profile