Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies
After dozens of batches and much experimentation, I have finally crafted my holy grail recipe for classic chocolate chip cookies. This recipe only requires an hour of rest time unlike plenty of others online that require several hours or even overnight, lest you end up with a cookie so thin and crispy that it has hardly any mouthfeel at all. This recipe also works very well as a raw dough, since who doesn’t love sneaking a bite or two while you portion out your cookies? And once portioned, this recipe freezes well for easy baking on a lazy night.
The secret ingredient—cold brew coffee—doesn’t give these cookies a coffee taste but rather enhances the flavors in the chocolate and brown sugar.
Yields: 2 Dozen Cookies
Active Time: 20m
Total Time: 2h
INGREDIENTS:
2 sticks (16 Tbsp) unsalted butter
12oz all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
2oz white sugar
8oz brown sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 Tbsp whole milk, or milk alternative (see note)
1 Tbsp coffee, or cold brew concentrate (optional)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1½ tsp kosher salt
12oz semisweet chocolate, preferably chopped from whole bars, or chips
Maldon flakey salt for dusting (optional)
RECIPE:
Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Bring to a slight simmer and cook until a little toasty and a slightly darker shade of yellow, 3-5 minutes. Turn off the heat and let cool slightly.
In a medium bowl, measure out the flour and baking soda. We will save the salt for a bit later (see note).
Measure out both sugars in a large bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer. Add melted butter and beat with a paddle (or rubber spatula by hand) until combined and most of the sugar is dissolved.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the whole egg, egg yolk, milk, vanilla, and optional coffee. Mix into the butter and sugar mixture.
Sift dry ingredients into the bowl, stopping a few times to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the kosher salt and combine. Add the chocolate. Move dough to the fridge to chill for at least one hour.
Preheat oven to 375F. Scoop dough into balls using a 1.5oz scoop, or whatever scoop you have (results may vary, though) onto two baking sheets. Bake for 15 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through.
When cookies are done baking, immediately sprinkle with maldon flakey salt. Allow to cool on pans for 5-10 minutes, then moving to a cooling rack. Enjoy!
HELPFUL NOTES
I found that when sifting the dry ingredients, the salt crystals were often too big to go through the sieve and got sifted out by accident. Adding the salt later avoids this while still letting you remove any debris from your flour.
If you’re wondering why we prepare the egg mixture and sugar mixture separately, I’ve found it becomes a homogeneous dough much easier this way. Also, the heat from the butter can cook your eggs so…let's not do that.
You are free to use chocolate chips; I can’t deny that it’s easier. But I’ve never loved the coating that producers put on chocolate chips to keep them from sticking to each other. I find that whole bars of semi-sweet chocolate are more cost effective, and the rustic texture you get from chopping it yourself creates a better cookie in the end.
If using a milk alternative (and I do!) I recommend using a barista blend, which has added fat. We want that fat here, which adds to the richness of the cookie and cuts the acidity of the chocolate and coffee.
