Chocolate Chip Cookies #2: Cooks Illustrated Version

It seems a little preemptive to declare a winner in battle Chocolate Chip Cookies after officially trying only two recipes, but these cookies are so good it is hard not to.

This recipe comes from Cooks Illustrated, a magazine to which Gabe's mom subscribes and gives me all of her archives. It is totally awesome and the people who work for it have the best jobs ever - they pretty much try every little variation on a recipe possible, and feed all of the experiments to tasters who decide upon the best possible version . The magazine explains in scientific detail (with awesome illustrations) why specific techniques impart the best flavor and texture. It has not failed us yet - one issue from last summer alone completely revolutionized our middle eastern cooking, teaching us to make the best hummus, baba ganoush, and falafel possible.

CI's variation on the traditional chocolate chip cookie has several parts, and is based on the theory that the best chocolate chip cookie will have a complex flavor (not just boring cookie playing a supporting role for the chips) and a maximal chewiness/crispiness contrast that last the test of time. To achieve this, they: 1. increase the proportion of brown sugar to white to impart chewiness 2. melt and brown the butter for more chewiness and complex caramel flavor 3. take out one egg white to increase chewiness (egg whites = cakiness) 4. let the batter sit in between whiskings in order to let the sugar dissolve to improve texture 5. make the cookies bigger for more texture contrast.

These people are really serious.


Cook's Illustrated Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 1/4 c all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
14 tbs unsalted butter
1/2 c white sugar
3/4 c brown sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 1/4 c semisweet chocolate chips (respect the cookie and use something nicer than hersheys!)
3/4 c chopped, toasted nuts (optional)

Preheat to 375. Line/grease two baking sheets.

Whisk together the flour and baking soda.

Brown 10 tbs of the butter: melt it on medium-high, swirling the pan constantly and occasionally stirring to kick up any burning bits of milkfat on the bottom. when it smells awesome and is deep brown, it is ready. Take it off the heat and stir in the remaining 4 tbs of butter until they melt.

Add both the sugars, the salt, and the vanilla into the butter and whisk. Add the eggs and wisk again until smooth. Let it sit for 3 minutes, whisk it again, let sit for 3 minutes, whisk it again, let sit for three minutes, whisk it again. It will be VERY hard to resist skipping this step/eating all of the dough while you are just sitting there waiting. Be strong; trust the genius of the CI.

Stir in the flour until it's homogeneous and then add the chips and (optional) nuts. Drop the dough from a spoon to form about 16 cookies. Bake one tray at a time on the center rack until the edges are golden but the center is still undercooked and puffy-looking 10-14 minutes (it'll firm up when they cool). Cook them a little on the sheet and then move em to a rack.

Texture: 8?
Flavor: 9

The texture only has a question mark because we (with a little help from our friends) ate these all up the minute they were out of the oven, so we could not test the lasting power of their crispy chewiness. I think what really made these wonderful was browning the butter - from the minute it was browned to the morning after the cookies were gone, our apartment smelled like nutty caramelly goodness. the Indians are certainly onto something with ghee. However we award it a 9 only to allow for the possibility that something out there could create a more delicious cookie. will we ever know?