New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies

Cookies are one of my favorite things to bake. Cookies are an almost instant satisfaction of a sweet tooth. I love sampling the dough as I make it; love a fresh hot cookie right out of the oven; and I really love them the next day when they’ve been in a Ziploc overnight and they are less crispy, and more chewy and tender.

It seems everyone’s been posting about their new favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe lately, The New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookie, so of course I had to give it a try. These big cookies are made with a combination of cake flour and bread flour, fancy bittersweet chocolate, sprinkled with sea salt and most importantly left to chill in the refrigerator for 24 to 36 hours.

They puffed up more during cooking then a typical chocolate chip cookie, but then flatten to a typical chocolate chip cookie shape. I thought they were less greasy than a typical chocolate chip cookie, which was nice. I couldn’t find any fancy chocolate disks for my cookies, even though I drove to Whole Foods as suggested.  I didn’t make them huge either, so maybe I didn’t get the whole NY Chocolate Chip Cookie experience.

New York Times Chocolate Chip 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.

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

2. 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.

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

4. 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.

Yield: 1 1/2 dozen 5-inch cookies.

Note: Disks are sold at Jacques Torres Chocolate; Valrhona fèves, oval-shaped chocolate pieces, are at Whole Foods.