Happy Valentine’s Day! Today we are celebrating my love for chocolate chip cookies.
Last Valentine’s Day, my boyfriend bought me a giant square chocolate chip cookie from Mrs. Fields. With “I Love You” iced right on it. And I ate it. All. In one sitting day.
Yep.
And in the 8 or so months of my little blog’s life, I have baked a heck of a lot of chocolate chip cookies.
That is partly mostly because I like to eat them, but also because I wanted to test out all the different chocolate chip cookie recipes out there, to see which ones I liked, which ones I loved, and which ones I would never make again.
There have been Brown Sugar Chocolate Chip Cookies, Baking Illustrated’s Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies, Wholewheat Chocolate Chip Cookies, Lindor Filled Chocolate Chip Cookies, Oreo Chocolate Chunk Cookies, Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies, Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies, Peanut Butter Filled Chocolate Chip Cookies and Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies and way more, but I don’t want to scare you (or myself!).
There have even been things like Chocolate Chip Cookie Pots and Nutella and Peanut Butter Cookie Cups. And I’m sure there will be many more cookie recipes in the future!
I have blogged about these New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies before. The thing is, that as a food blogger, I feel the need to be constantly trying out new recipes and blogging about new things. But I really like the New York Times cookies. And I wanted to make them again, for Valentine’s Day. So why not blog about them again? Why not share my baked good loves with you?
Because after making these cookies for the first time over 4 years ago, they have remained my favourite chocolate chip cookie recipe. Ever. Even after starting this blog and spending the last 8 months testing out all the cookie recipes I could find, these are still my absolute ultimate recipe.
They are chewy inside, with crisp edges, they make large, thick cookies, and they stay great the next day without going soft. They make a huge batch, and you can keep the dough in the fridge for a few days while the dough marinates and bake from it daily.
See? Perfect. So go and make them. Hear me? Now. For your Valentine. Or just for yourself.
NEW YORK TIMES CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
Adapted from the recipe by Jacques Torres in the New York Times.
2 cups minus 2 tbsp cake flour (8 1/2 oz)
OR 1/4 cup cornstarch + 1 1/2 cups plus 2 tbsp plain flour
1 2/3 cup bread flour (8 1/2 oz)
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp sea salt (plus extra for sprinkling)
275g unsalted butter, softened (1 1/4 cups, 2 1/2 sticks)
1 1/4 cup light brown sugar (10 oz)
1 cup plus 2 tbsp white sugar (8 oz)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups chocolate chips or chunks of your choice
In a large bowl, sift together the cake flour (or combination of cornstarch and plain flour), bread flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix to combine and set aside.
Using an electric mixer, beat together the butter and both sugar for about 5 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.
Turn the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
Now, Jacques Torres says that the cookie dough needs to sit in the fridge for a couple of days to marinate for the best flavour, and he is absolutely right. So put it into a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap, pressing it down onto the top of the cookie dough and refrigerate for 24 – 72 hours. The flavour develops and they become even more deliciously delicious (if that is possible).
36 hours is the ultimate marinating time, but this recipe makes such a large amount of cookies that I never stick to the rules. I always bake a batch straight away, then another the next day, and a third one the day after that. The flavour of the cookies intensifies and is fantastic.
So whenever you are ready to bake, Take your dough out of the fridge so it can soften a little. Preheat the oven to 175 C and line a few trays with baking paper. Use a cookie scoop to scoop rounds of the dough onto the trays, allowing room for spreading.
Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake for 9-11 minutes, until lightly golden around the edges. Makes about 60 cookies.