The Science Behind the the Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie!

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Every family has their go-to family recipe for chocolate chip cookies, and mine is the Jacques Torres Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe with a few tweaks here and there! It seriously makes the most perfect cookie in the world. Yes, I am that confident! They’re chewy, soft, and have that perfect bakery-baked flavor! Making this cookie all comes down to science and baking!

Jacques Torres flipped the cookie world upside down with his New York Times cookie recipe. People thought it was too fussy, and required too many unnecessary ingredients! But let me tell you, he’s used them for a reason!

The first thing you’ll see different about this cookie recipe is that you use bread flour and cake flour. Bread flour is a high-protein flour which means you’ll have more gluten leading to a chewier cookie. Cake flour, on the other hand, is a low protein flour, which gives you a softer texture. Mixing them gives you a cookie that is chewy on the outside and soft in the middle!

Next, you’ll see that he uses fleur del sel sprinkled on top of his cookies before he bakes them. This is because salt really enhances the chocolate flavor and sprinkling it on top ensures that your tongue will get a taste of salty before it gets the sweet! I used flaky sea salt, but a teeny weeny sprinkle of kosher salt will work as well!

He also stresses the importance of resting the dough for a minimum of 24 – 36 hours! I baked off the cookies at 0, 24, 36 and 72 hours and the 36 hours cookies were the best! This is for multiple reasons. First, resting the dough loosens the gluten and makes a softer cookie. Second, the dough hydrates evenly, which leads to an even bake. Eggs have a hard time hydrating flour because it’s thick and the butter has coated the flour molecules, preventing the egg from getting to it. The longer you rest it, the more egg hydrates the flour. You’ll see this through how much the consistency changes as the dough rests. When you initially make your cookie dough, it’ll be super loose and wet, but by 36 hours it’s a harder drier dough since all that liquid has been soaked up by the flour!

For my personal tweaks, I changed the use of light brown sugar to dark brown sugar because I think dark brown sugar adds a lot of caramelly and toffee-like flavors to the cookie. I also use either vanilla bean paste or a vanilla bean. This makes a huge difference in flavor and for me, it’s worth splurging on! I also use two types of chocolate because I love me some milk and dark chocolate! Be sure to use good quality chocolate like Guittard, Valrhona or Ghirardelli. I used Valrhona feves, which you can find at Whole Foods. They’re the small disc-shaped chocolates in tubs near the cheese section! I used Guittard dark chocolate chips for the rest!

I know it looks like this recipe is super fussy, but it’s totally worth it! If you’re looking to impress or thinking of making a homemade gift for someone, these cookies are absolutely perfect. Give them a try – you won’t regret it!

The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie!

Total Time: 14 minutes
Yield: 4 dozen cookies 1x

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Instructions

Sift cake flour, bread flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a medium sized bowl. Set aside.
In the bowl of your mixer or a large bowl, cream butter and sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, ~ 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing in between each addition, scraping down the bowl as needed. Add in the vanilla bean paste and mix. Add dry ingredients and mix on low until the dough just comes together. Fold in your chocolate until evenly distributed. Press plastic wrap against the dough, making sure it is completely covered, and refrigerate for at least 36 hours, or as long as 72 hours.
Preheat your oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Take 2 tbsp of dough and roll it into a ball (1.5 oz each) and place on the parchment-lined baking sheet 2 inches apart. Sprinkle the cookies lightly with a bit of fleur de sel or sea salt. Bake 14 minutes,no longer, no earlier! Rotate the baking tray 180 degrees at the 7 minute mark.
Allow the cookies to cool on your baking sheet for 10 minutes, then move them to a rack to cool completely. Store in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 3 days!