Making the perfect cookie is not a two-hour affair. It’s not even a twelve- or twenty-four hour event. According to a collection of New York City’s top bakers, the best chocolate chip cookie doesn’t emerge until thirty-six hours after its ingredients have been carefully assembled. The long hydration period allows the slow-moving eggs to work themselves into the dough for the perfect flavor. These top chefs also recommended using a chocolate chip with a high cocoa percent (at least 60%), a healthy dose of sea salt (at least a teaspoon), and a good chunk of dough (to get a six-inch cookie).
On top of these suggestions, I like to add a little extra vanilla, white chocolate chips, and toffee chips, for what I consider my perfect chocolate chip cookie.
White Chocolate-, Chocolate-, and Toffee-Chip Cookies
PREP TIME: Overnight chilling recommended
COOK TIME: 12 minutes
YIELD: 30 Cookies
WHAT TO GRAB:
2 sticks butter, at room temperature
2 eggs, at room temperature
2 1/4 cups flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup toffee bits
HOW YOU DO IT:
1. In a mixing bowl or electric mixer, cream the butter and granulated sugar until fluffy. Add the brown sugar and mix again. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla.
2. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the batter.
3. Stir in the chips and toffee bits.
4. Wrap the dough in Seran wrap and refrigerate for up to thirty-six hours. After thirty-six hours, let the dough rest for about thirty minutes, to get back to room temperature.
5. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Drop tablespoons of the batter* onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, being careful not to overcrowd the batter!
6. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden, then transfer to a wire rack so they can cool! (But not too long – warm cookies are infinitely better than cool ones!)
*Note: If you don’t need thirty cookies at once, you can easily measure out the batter into tablespoons and freeze the balls of dough in plastic bags until needed.
neilfein
I’ve got a batch of the dough chilling in my fridge; I’ll make them Friday night. The dough smells wonderful! One question: Why a wooden spoon to stir in the white chocolate and toffee? I’ve broken them in the past trying to stir cookie dough with them.
Charles
Neil, I think the original recipe may have noted using a wooden spoon, but any spoon will do.
neilfein
I made a few after chilling the dough for an hour, and they were delicious; I can only imagine how good they’ll be on Friday! (I’m also guessing they won’t spread as much; the cookies I made yesterday were on the flat side.)