Jacques Torres Chocolate Chip Cookies

Jacques Torres Chocolate Chip Cookies

I've already got plenty of chocolate chip cookie recipes that work great for me. Sometimes I like them small and crisp, sometimes I like them thick and cakey, and sometimes I like them dense and chewy with some crispiness around the edges. I think this chocolate chip cookie is like that: It's got a lot of chew and a lot of chocolate and it's got a buttery crisp edge. Very nice. 

I wasn't really looking for a new chocolate chip cookie recipe, but if you spend enough time on Pinterest, you get sucked into some amazing looking pics of chocolate chip cookies that take you down another rabbit hole of cookie baking. This rabbit hole was worth it. I used a whole two bags of Dove Dark Chocolate Promises on this recipe, so it had better be worth it, right? 

I'll have to take some better pics of these, but for now, the ones I have will do. If you're looking for a generally great chewy chocolate chip cookie recipe, look no further.  For Me-For You got it right when she called this "The Only Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe I Will Need to Know For the Rest of My Life." I don't know if I'd go THAT far, but if you're looking for that ONE awesome recipe, use this one.

Jaques Torres Chocolate Chip Cookies

       --adapted from For Me-For You who in a roundabout way got it from Jacques Torres

Ingredients:

• 2 cups minus 2 Tbsp. cake flour 
• 1 2/3 cups bread flour (I used King Arthur Unbleached All Purpose Flour)
• 1 ¼ tsp. baking soda

• 1 ½ tsp. baking powder

• 1 ½ tsp. coarse salt, such as kosher

• 2 ½ sticks unsalted butter, softened

• 1 ¼ cups packed light brown sugar

• 1 cup plus 2 Tbsp.  granulated sugar

• 2 large eggs
 (room temperature)
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract

• 20 oz. good quality semi sweet chocolate chips/chunks/discs (I used 2 9.5 oz bags of Dove Dark Chocolate Promises, unwrapped an chopped into large chunks.)
• Sea salt or kosher salt for garnishing

Instructions:

Combine flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Put dry ingredients through a sieve to sift them together. Set aside.

Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars until very light and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Reduce the mixer speed to low/stir; then add dry ingredients, and mix until just combined. Add the chocolate chips, and mix briefly to incorporate. Place in an airtight plastic container, and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Once chilled, you can bake or scoop dough balls to freeze for later baking.

When you’re ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F. Remove the bowl of dough from the refrigerator, and allow it to soften slightly. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat.

Now here is where you have to decide what size to make the cookies (unless you made the balls earlier for freezing). I used a medium sized Pampered Chef cookie scoop, which is probably about 3 tablespoons. Bigger is probably better with these cookies. (For Me-For You used a 1/3 measuring cup for hers.) Place scoops onto parchment lined cookie sheets and leave about 2 inches between cookies. Sprinkle each dough ball with a little bit of sea salt or kosher salt. Bake cookies for12-14 minutes or until puffed and browned at the edges. Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then transfer the cookies onto the rack to cool a bit more. 

Enjoy with a tall glass of cold milk. Mmmm...

I'm not sure yet how many cookies this makes.

Lots of chocolate. LOTS.