THESE COOKIES! I made them for the Superbowl and they were the easiest recipe I've made in this book so far, I mean, come on, they're cookies. And when it comes to chocolate chip cookies, I'm a little particular. I'm a fan of softy, melty, slightly underdone cookies that keep their chew long after their baked. No raisins. No nuts, No frills, just chocolate and sugary butter, please.
But these cookies—I'm still thinking about them, even though they have all sorts of ingredients I like to keep out of my cookies: walnuts, oatmeal, molasses. I'm such a fan I'm tempted to make them again instead of the next recipe in the cookbook.
Here are a three easy tips to make any chocolate chip cookie the best cookies ever & a few ways to make this recipe easier on yourself.
Tip 1 / Use A High Quality Chocolate Bar Instead Of Chocolate Chips
I was skeptical when the recipe called for 12oz of bittersweet chocolate instead of chocolate chips. And when I was shopping I was tempted to get chocolate chips instead. But part of this whole endeavor is to follow the recipes exactly, so I spent the extra money and got this 70% cacao by Guittard at Sprouts.
Not gonna lie, when I was chopping the chocolate bars by hand I was like ... why?? It calls for chopping it into 1/2" chunks. It seemed like a lot of work and the chunks that you end up with are way bigger than normal chocolate chips. But holy cow ... now I get it.
This chocolate stays melty-ish at room temp and is much richer. It balances perfectly with the texture of the cookie. It's definitely a pricier option, but if you're ever in some sort of cookie bake off, USE THIS TIP.
Bon Apetit perfectly sums it up in this article:on why they don't recommending baking with CONVENTIONAL chocolate chips
"Consider a just-out-of-the-oven cookie made with chips. The chips are soft and shiny, but still maintain their perfect chip shape. That's thanks to stabilizers and preservatives. Although there's (probably) no harm in eating them, stabilizers compromise the flavor of the chocolate and give it a waxy texture."
Tip 2 / Incorporate Molasses Into Your Next Cookie Bake, But Don't Overdo It
Molasses is an underutilized ingredient in 'Murica. It's basically concentrated brown sugar flavor, and can be used to add flavor without adding too much additional sweetness. It also keeps moisture in, yielding cookies that are less likely to dry out and become too crunchy. Basically, molasses is the perfect additive to most cookie recipes.
I will say that 4T of molasses did create a flavor that was a bit too strong for my personal taste, but the flavor did mellow out a few days after baking. Next time I will reduce to 2-3T. This is not a complaint most of the cookie eaters had.
Tip 3 / To Form Cookies, Use A Small Ice-cream Scoop
This is an easy one. Your cookies are a similar size and you don't have to worry about dirtying your hands. The recipe calls for pressing down the cookies once they are on the tray, but I found that they spread out just fine without that extra step. So just plop em down and you're ready to go.
Oh, and be sure to leave plenty of room between the cookies! They spread out like crazy and get stuck together unless you give them breathing room.
Tip 4 / Take Cookies Out Of The Oven When They're Seem Underbaked
The key to getting the perfect texture in a chocolate chip cookies is to remove them from the oven when they are still to soft to handle or remove from the tray. They will appear to be underdone, but just let them sit on the tray for minute, which lets them firm up the perfect amount to allow a spatula underneath to remove to a cooling rack. This method ensures a soft & chewy cookie aka the perfect cookie ever.
More Tartine Recipe Reviews
