Really Chewy Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Really Chewy Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I recently made and posted about Jacques Torres chocolate chip cookie recipe. They were fabulous, the secret to them being the mixture of cake flour and all-purpose (or bread for the original recipe) flour. Well, I had some cream cheese fixing to expire in my basement refrigerator (never got around to baking that Christmas cheesecake), so last week I made some snickerdoodles using half cream cheese, half butter. That produced nice puffy snickerdoodles, just the way I like them.
I was left with the other half of the cream cheese brick, so I decided I needed to try the Jacques Torres cookies with some cream cheese. They turned out even better than the original. They're super chewy, even the next day. Everyone I gave them to at work raved about them, so I think I can comfortably say they're awesome. I have a couple more bricks of cream cheese in the fridge, so I think I'm going to have to try a couple more cookies with cream cheese.

Really Chewy Chocolate Chunk 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

• 1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, softened

• 4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 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 two 9.5 oz bags of Dove Dark Chocolate Promises, unwrapped an chopped into large chunks.)

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, cream cheese, 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 chunks, 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. Bake cookies for 12-14 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...

Makes about 5 dozen cookies