NYT Chocolate Chip Cookies

I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, but I had to share the recipe for this chocolate chip cookie that’s soft on the inside and crispy on the outside. Topped with flaky sea salt, it’s from the New York Times and is so good that it’s replaced the Cook’s Illustrated go-to I’ve been making for years. The only caveat is that you have to make the dough 24-36 hours before baking, but as a plus, the dough keeps a week or more in the fridge and also freezes well, so you can bake whenever you or someone you love gets the urge for a warm out-of-the-oven bakery-style cookie.

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 cups minus 2 tablespoons cake flour (8 ½ ounces)

  • 1 ⅔ cups bread flour (8 ½ ounces)

  • 1 ¼ teaspoons baking soda

  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

  • 1 ½ teaspoons coarse salt

  • 1 ¼ cups unsalted butter (2 ½ sticks)

  • 1 ¼ cups light brown sugar (10 ounces)

  • 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar (8 ounces)

  • 2 large eggs

  • 2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract

  • 1 ¼ pounds bittersweet chocolate disks or fèves, at least 60 percent cacao content, or use chocolate chunks or chips. 

  •  Flaky sea salt

PROCEDURE

  1. Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.

  2. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.

  3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.

  4. Scoop six 3-½-ounce mounds of dough (the size of generous golf balls) onto baking sheet. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day.

RecipesSusan JohnsonComment