In my experience, the cookie recipes that state 325 degrees for 15-18 minutes (though check at 13) are going to be bricks. Not that I mind hard cookies one bit, but most of my guests and my main taste testers (i.e. hubby & kids) prefer them soft and chewy. Any recipe that calls for the above temp and time, change the temp to 375 and yank them out at 9 minutes and tell me what you think. I bet you'll be more pleased with the texture of your cookie, assuming you like them soft & chewy.
I have two favorite chocolate chip cookie recipes at the moment, one is for simple chocolate chip cookies from Cooks Illustrated, and the other is a coffee chocolate chip cookie from Southern Living. The recipes are almost exactly the same (probably why I like them). Note that both recipes call for 325 with longer bake times. Just trust me and turn up the temp to 375 and yank 'em out at 9 minutes (maybe even 8...set the timer for 8 and you be the judge ;)).
Besides the temperature and baking time called for in the recipes, the only other modifications I made were swapping pecans for walnuts in the coffee chocolate chip cookie recipe, and using 2 tsp of vanilla and 2 Cups of chips in both recipes. I also use a scooper(?) to scoop my batter into equal sized cookie balls. I don't bother doing step 3 in the Cooks Illustrated recipe (too much work and not much benefit if you ask me). I like my cookies relatively uniform in size.
Give 'em a whirl..and even dabble in the temperature/baking time and see what you prefer.
Enjoy!
Chocolate Chip Cookies (Cook's Illustrated)
Ingredients
- 2 1/8 cups all-purpose flour (2 cups plus 2 tablespoons)
- 1/2 teaspoon table salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly (1 1/2 sticks or 3/4 Cup)
- 1 cup brown sugar (light or dark)
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1-2 cup chocolate chips (semi or bittersweet)
Directions
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Heat oven to 325 degrees. Adjust oven racks to upper- and lower-middle positions. Mix flour, salt, and baking soda together in medium bowl; set aside.
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Either by hand or with electric mixer, mix butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Mix in egg, yolk, and vanilla. Add dry ingredients; mix until just combined. Stir in chips.
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Form scant 1/4 cup dough into ball. Holding dough ball using fingertips of both hands, pull into two equal halves. Rotate halves ninety degrees and, with jagged surfaces exposed, join halves together at their base, again forming a single cookie, being careful not to smooth dough’s uneven surface. Place formed dough onto one of two parchment paper-lined 20-by-14-inch lipless cookie sheets, about nine dough balls per sheet. Smaller cookie sheets can be used, but fewer cookies can be baked at one time and baking time may need to be adjusted. (Dough can be refrigerated up to 2 days or frozen up to 1 month—shaped or not.).
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Bake, reversing cookie sheets’ positions halfway through baking, until cookies are light golden brown and outer edges start to harden yet centers are still soft and puffy, 15 to 18 minutes (start checking at 13 minutes). (Frozen dough requires an extra 1 to 2 minutes baking time.) Cool cookies on cookie sheets. Serve or store in airtight container.
Heavenly Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup butter
- 2 tablespoons instant coffee granules
- 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 (11.5-ounce) package semisweet chocolate mega-morsels
- 1 cup walnut halves, toasted
Preparation
- Combine first 3 ingredients; stir well.
- Combine butter and coffee granules in a small saucepan or skillet. Cook over medium-low heat until butter melts and coffee granules dissolve, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, and let cool to room temperature (don't let butter resolidify).
- Combine butter mixture, sugars, egg, and egg yolk in a large bowl. Beat at medium speed of an electric mixer until blended. Gradually add flour mixture, beating at low speed just until blended. Stir in mega-morsels and walnuts.
- Drop dough by heaping tablespoonfuls 2" apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 325° for 12 to 14 minutes. Let cool slightly on cookie sheets. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.
1-2 cups chocolate chips? 2 cups is the minimum for my family of chocoholics :)
ReplyDeleteCouldn't agree more ;).
ReplyDeleteJust made these last night, as the dessert in an "All American" style meal for our Chinese friend here in Austria. He had treated David to some amazing traditional meals in Beijing during one of their conferences this year, and we wanted to make a special meal for him. I used the Cook's Illustrated recipe, followed your most recent tip of chilling the dough, AND baked at 375 for 9 minutes as suggested. According to David, best cookies ever! I had to substitute 1 cup sugar + 3 TBSP beet syrup for the 1 c. brown sugar, as we have neither brown sugar nor molasses here in Austria... still, the cookies were AUSGEZEICHNET! Thank you!
ReplyDelete