Alright, I owe this recipe to Chef Thomas Keller. His marvelous idea of adding two different percentages of chocolate, brown sugar with molasses and chilled butter -- genius. His recipe does not state you need to chill the night before but I highly recommend. Be sure to check out his three-Michelin-starred French restaurant, Per Se, in New York. Warning: you may eat this whole batch.
PREP TIME: 15 MINS
COOK TIME: 12 MINS
TOTAL TIME: 27-30 MINS
Makes 30 cookies
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 1/3 cups plus 1 tablespoon King Arthur Unbleached all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda (make sure it's fresh or it will ruin your cookies)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 5 ounces 55 percent chocolate, cut into chip-sized pieces (or get the chips)
- 5 ounces 70 to 72 percent chocolate, cut into chip-sized pieces (or get the chips)
- 1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- 1 cup packed Wholesome Organic Dark Brown Sugar
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Position the oven racks in the lower and upper thirds of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with Silpats or parchment paper.
- Sift the flour and baking soda into a medium bowl. Stir in the salt.
- Stir in the chocolate. (Put the chips in a fine-mesh basket strainer first and shake to remove any chocolate small fragments - only if you cut the chocolate by hand!)
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, beat, half the butter on medium speed until fairly smooth. Add both sugars and the remaining butter, and beat until well combined, then beat for a few minutes, until the mixture is light and creamy.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until the first one is incorporated before adding the next and scraping the bowl as necessary.
- Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed to combine.
- Mix in the chocolate. Remove the bowl from the mixer and fold the dough with a spatula to be sure that the chocolate is evenly incorporated.*
- Using a cookie scoop or about two level tablespoons per cookie, shape dough into balls. Arrange eight cookies on each pan, leaving about two inches between them, because the dough will spread.**
- Bake for six minutes then rotate the pans and switch their positions. Bake for another 5-6 minutes or until the tops are no longer shiny.
- Let the cookies cool on the pans for about two minutes to firm up, then transfer to cooling racks to cool completely. Repeat with second batch of cookies. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to two days.
* The dough or shaped cookies can be refrigerated and well wrapped, for up to five days or frozen for up to two weeks. Freeze shaped cookies on the baking sheets until firm, then transfer to freezer containers.
**When baking with baking soda or baking powder remember 'soda spreads, powder puffs'.
