HappyTummy              

Care for a giant chocolate chip cookie that’s flat and crispy on the edges, but soft, chewy and extremely chocolatey on the inside? I’d say go to Jacques Torres’ Chocolate shop in Brooklyn, but I won’t because, yay—you can make them yourself!

Until now, there were only two chocolate chip cookie recipes I’d ever made in my life. One is the recipe I’ve used pretty much since the day I could hold a wooden spoon—the Betty Crocker chocolate chip cookie recipe that my mom made us throughout our childhood. The other is the Cook’s Illustrated version that I only started making two years ago. Both are delicious in their own right—mom’s Betty Crocker recipe is cakey and somewhat puffy and the CI recipe is extremely chewy and buttery. I love both kinds of cookies, and I’ve never felt the need to try any others.

That is, until now. I didn’t jump on the Jacques Torres/New York Times cookie bandwagon when it was racing through food blogs everywhere last June. I just didn’t want to try the recipe until I had eaten the real deal first. And I got that opportunity on my last trip to New York City in August, when my sister and I tried it in ice cream sandwich form. It was love at first bite. So of course I bought a bag of his chocolate disks so that I could recreate the cookies at home.

These cookies are perfect in every way. They of course taste good, but they also look impressive too. For one thing, they’re the size of your hand when you spread all your fingers out. Then, the sea salt that you sprinkle on top give it that gourmet look. And finally, the cross section of the cookie looks like no chocolate chip cookie I’ve ever seen—as the disks melt while baking, they end up creating a series of chocolate layers. If you love chewy, buttery and chocolatey cookies, you must give this one a go!

Recipe: Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from The New York Times, which adapted it from Jacques Torres’ recipe
Makes 1 1/2 dozen 5-inch cookies.

• 2 cups minus 2 tablespoons (8 1/2 ounces) cake flour
• 1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
• 2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter
• 1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 pounds bittersweet chocolate disks or fèves, at least 60 percent cacao content (see note)
• Sea salt

Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.

Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.

Scoop 6 3 1/2-ounce mounds of dough (the size of generous golf balls) onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day. Eat warm, with a big napkin.