My Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie

My husband is a self-proclaimed “cookie monster.” While I prefer a cake for my birthday (or more specifically the birthday cake from Milk Bar in New York, which I order and proceed to enjoy for breakfast, lunch, and dinner) he wants cookies. Last week he turned 30 and while celebrations have had to be more limited this year, I knew one thing for sure, I could not skimp on the cookies for my Cookie Monster. His favorite cookie? You guessed it, chocolate chip! While I woke him up with Ina Garten’s overnight Belgian waffles for his birthday breakfast, I made sure the cookie train started rolling for on-demand enjoyment throughout the day. If you too want to board the cookie train, grab some butter, and all aboard! These cookies are the perfect texture of soft but also crisp, and sweet, and salty! I guarantee you will not be able to eat just one; make them for yourself, or for the cookie monster in your life.

Ingredients:

• 2 sticks of softened butter (1 cup)

  • I used European, salted butter. But I like a little salt with my chocolate, so if that does not fit your vision, use unsalted butter here instead.

• 1 cup brown sugar

• 1 cup of sugar

• 2 eggs

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 3 cups of all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 12 oz or 2 cups chocolate (dealer’s choice of wafers, chips, or chopped chunks!)

• Optional additions: 1/2 teaspoon espresso powder and 1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a stand mixer, cream together sugars and butter, on a medium speed. Add in eggs one at a time until well combined, and then add vanilla (and almond extract, if so desired!).

3. In a large bowl combine, flour. salt, baking powder and soda, and, if you feel the need, espresso powder, mix together.

4. Turn the stand mixer back on a gentle stir and slowly add in the dry ingredients. Once combined, add in the chocolate of your choice and mix in!

5. Shape into golf ball size dough balls and place them onto a baking sheet. I line my baking sheet with a Silpat.

6. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until done to your liking. I found that the 17-18 minute mark ensures the gooey center and crunchy top—also known as the perfect cookie.

Baking Surfaces Review: Foil vs Silpat vs Parchment

Have you ever looked at a baking surface and wondered how it was affecting the way your cookies or baked goods turned out? Whether smooth, ridged, or textured, in chemistry even the smallest variables can have an affect on the outcome. It seems as though same applies to cookies, which are really just little, delicious, chemistry experiments! I have been wanting to run this test for over a year, and finally, my quarantined self found the time—still trying to stay productive! So here are my findings in comparing the results of different baking surfaces. These cookies were made from the same recipe, were scooped with the cookie scooper to be the same size, and were baked at the same temperature, for the same amount of time.

1. Foil- A much used option when it comes to covering things or making them in the oven. I feel that foil is often used in baking cookies. I found that the cookies baked morphed into less uniform circles. However, I did feel that the cookies baked very evenly, as foil works by reflecting the thermal energy used back to the food. The cookies baked on the foil-lined baking sheet also got crisper overall and toasted on the bottom, but did not burn. Also, I think by having more thermal energy directed towards the cookies, the butter and sugar had more of an opportunity to carmelize, and had a nutter/more distinct flavor once baked. If you like a chewier cookie, this is the baking surface for you! Rating: 8/10

2. Silpat- If you’re not familiar with a Silpat, I feel that today you have made a very important, life-changing, discovery. A Silpat is a non-stick, food-safe, silicon mat. When it came to the shape of the cookies, all of the cookies baked on the Silpat achieved a beautiful, circular shape, and the whole pan was very uniform. The cookies baked very evenly, but the bottom of the cookie did not get as toasted at the cookies made on the parchment or the foil. Overall, the cookies had a softer, more tender texture. Although the picture of the cookies above does not depict this, the cookies made on the Silpat were overall smaller than those baked on the foil and parchment, I think this is due to the texture of the mat that makes it harder for the cookies to spread. If you like a softer cookie, this surface is for you, and you can buy them here! Rating: 8.5/10

3. Parchment Paper- There is a picture of cookies on the box of my parchment paper. This had to be tested. Parchment paper is heat-resistant, moisture-resistant, and non-stick, all of the elements needed in order to be a baker’s partner in crime. However, I found that the cookies burned on the bottom and while still edible, it was not the toasted element the foil gave me. The paper was also the slickest surface option and while the dough was heating and spreading, it seems the bottoms of the cookies spread and baked first, and the rest of the cookie followed. As a result, the sides did not spread evenly and did not attain a circular shape. Overall the cookies this baking surface produced were overdone and unevenly spread and baked on the sides. However, my husband did want me to add that they were super crunchy. So if you want a crunchy cookie, this is your baking surface! Rating: 6.5/10