I think it’s pretty fair to say that when most of us think of making chocolate chip cookies, we look on the yellow Nestle bag for the Toll House Cookie recipe.
Recently my friend Kim had a chocolate chip cookie fail! She asked me “What happened? What did I do wrong“ I made a few suggestions off the top of my head, but it got me thinking. I wanted to search for the BEST, no fail, Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe.
Surely the Nestle Toll House recipe is the best known, but did you know there is a science to all that flour, sugar, eggs and chocolate? That’s why some times your cookie may come out perfect and the next time they don’t. Or wonder about flat cookies vs fluffy cookies?
In my search for the best chocolate chip cookie recipe, it appears that The New York Times had the same question I did a few years ago, and set out on a quest for the best chocolate chip cookie recipe! It’s a great read if you have ever wondered why you have cookie making “issues”.
I also discovered, that I must be one of the only bloggers that had not heard about this recipe! HA! Amanda, Julie, Maria, Jamie and a whole slew of others have written about it, while I had my head in a hole! So I’m asking…no BEGGING you……don’t ignore this post as “just another chocolate chip cookie recipe”!
If I can help just ONE person discover it, my job will be done! Seriously, my search is over this IS the BEST Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe. This is not a recipe you want to adapt, and you want to follow the directions precisely the first time. Trust me on this, I followed it to a “t” because I wanted to see if it really lived up to it’s name!
A little planning and patience is needed with this recipe . You will need cake and bread flour and a minimum of 24 hours to chill…..but SO worth it!
The size of this cookie plays a big roll as well.
The instructions say to form the dough into a ball a little larger than a golf ball, suggesting 3.5 ounces (I used a cookie scoop and my kitchen scale and made mine 3.15 ounces)
I wanted to show you how big these look in my hand! lol Do me a favor, try it!! you will LOVE the look on their faces when you bake them a big chocolatey perfectly chewy cookie.
“Their larger size allows for three distinct textures. First there’s the crunchy outside inch or so. A nibble revealed a crackle to the bite and a distinct flavor of butter and caramel. Then there’s the center, which is soft. A bull’s-eye the size of a half-dollar yielded easily.
But the real magic is the one-and-a-half-inch ring between them where the two textures and all the flavors mix.” ~ Maury Rubin, City Bakery, on West 18th Street, NY
Absolute best chocolate chip cookie you'll ever eat!
Ingredients
- 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 (I used Ghirardelli chocolate chips )
- Sea salt
Instructions
- Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.
- 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
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.
- 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.
Notes
Recipe from Jacque Torres and The New York Times
*NOTE CHILL TIME of 24-72 hours- it WILL yield a better cookie
Don’t be the last person to try these! I promise you! THIS is The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe (don’t change a thing!)
My sweet friend Lisa has post the BEST Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe if you’d like to check that one out too!
I’m Lovin’……Chocolate Chip Cookies
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On my way to get supplies!!! Now can you please do the same thing with a no fail sugar cut out cookie that you frost! I’ve tried them all and they never turn out very good! Can’t wait to hear your suggestions!
This is the recipe I use every time without fail for my cut out cookies
http://tidymom.net/2010/halloween-cookies/
Oh the recipe looks yummy! Thank you for hosting and have a great weekend.
Can’t wait to make these… I adore a good cookie… I’m sure the kiddos will LOVE pulling out a jumbo choc. chip cookie from their lunch too.
Have a great weekend Cheryl!
I have always used the Nestle Tollhouse & never chilled my choc chip dough, but these look SO good that I’ll have to try them! How long do I have to chill before I just straight out eat the dough?! HA!
chill for 24 hours? ha! the dough would not last that long.
Oh my gosh! Those cookies look amazing! I can’t wait to make some! Thank you for hosting, this week, and every week.
These do look the best!! Love all these link ups this week
Well I guess I’ll just have to try them out for myself.
Whenever anyone mentions Nestle Toll House it reminds me of that episode of Friends. Phoebe loses her grandma’s secret cookie recipe and they spend days experimenting. Turns out it was right there on the packet!
HAHA!! we do the same thing!
They ARE the best, aren’t they?!? We waited the 36 hours before baking them. I’ve never had so much willpower in my life.
These are so good!! I used chopped up Godiva Dark and Milk chocolate bars(expensive but worth it) and they came out so good.
I bet those were fantastic!!
New fan here from interest and I am in looooooove! Your cooking, photography, everything is just outstanding. Happy to be here
thanks so much!!
Hi Cheryl! ‘Just recently found your blog and love it. These cookies look like they are to die for. I have been trying lots of the “world’s best chocolate chip cookie” recipes only to be disappointed, but I am going to have to take your advice not to pass this recipe by and give it a try! Because my pants aren’t quite tight enough!
I so want to make these! I have a question though, is bread flour the same as all purpose flour?
no, bread flour is higher in protein, resulting in greater volume and better texture.
So in a cookie, yes you could use either…….but in this case the bread flour will yield a fuller cookie that I we’re looking for
I already have the cake flour and the bread flour so I have no excuse not to make these fabulous looking cookies, pronto!
I am baking these right now. Good flavor but I had to make mine smaller since they spread out too much. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
This will be my recipe going forward!
These have probably always will be my go to chocolate chip cookie recipe – they are amazing. I actually have an adapted version coming up on MBA later in the week. I totally agree – they are the BEST!
I made a gluten-free version of these a while back and they were AMAZING!!
How did you make the gluten-free version. I’d love to get that recipe, I haven’t found a cookie recipe yet that’s gluten free and doesn’t fall apart and crumble.
I can’t wait to hear from you!
Kim
I just added the link to Lisa’s Gluten-free cookie in the post http://withstyle.me/2011/07/21/best-36-hour-gluten-free-chocolate-chip-cookie/
Oh my {yum}. My tummy is now aggravated with me for skipping lunch, then teasing it with your fab cookies
Dear Cheryl, Just found you on pinterest. I’m impressed with all your posts! Also thinking I found “‘Sister-in-Christ”? Have a question thought maybe you might be able to help me with since you have such a multitude of ideas: Do you know if you can chop chocolate with a Vidalia Chop Wizard? My daughter-in-law in Greece is making “American style cookies” but has a serious callous from hand cutting her great chocolate with a sharp knife. Checked about possible knife with divits on the sides..which is recommended; but then thought of this chop wizard which is advertised on TV. I don’t have one, but wondered if you do or know anybody that has tried this???????? Appreciate your reply. Thanks!! Sandy
Can you believe I have actually never tried the famous NYT recipe for chocolate chip cookies? Yours look so tasty… I am putting them on my to-do list.
I found this post from another link over at Bake@350 and I am so glad I found it. The last time I made cookies from the bag recipe my husband was not impressed. I am curious to know if you have ever frozen a batch of these cookies. I’m going to visit my niece in college and she has requested a care package of frozen cookies to make through out the semester. If not I will have to give it a shot a hope for the best.
I freeze this dough all the time: I shape it into the balls, then pop them into the freezer on sheets or plates or whatever till they firm up, then toss them in a freezer bag. Whenever I want fresh cookies I bring them straight to the oven and bake just a couple minutes longer or so. It works great!
These are definitely better than the recipe on the back of chocolate chip bags. Everyone loved them!!
OK so I know you said don’t make any adjustments for these cookies…what do I do at high altitude?!?!? Anyone have any suggestions? Can’t wait to try these, thank you!!
It shouldn’t need any adjustments……that’s usually only for yeast based recipes
I tried this recipe once, and it was good. Yours are bigger, though, so I bet your turned out better than mine!
Omg, these cookies are amazing!! Definitely the best I’ve ever tasted, and they came out perfectly. I did run into a small problem: a couple of days after I baked them, the cookies were slightly crumbly (but still delicious) even though I kept them sealed tightly in a plastic bag. Not sure what I did wrong, but if anyone could offer tips/suggestions for next time, that would be great! (I used precise measurements, made sure to cream the butter and sugars very well for 5 mins, I doubled checked my baking soda with some vinegar to make sure it was still good, and baked my cookies on cookie sheets lined with parchment. I did have to adjust the baking time to lower than 18-20 mins, as my oven runs a bit hot, so I just kept an eye on them until they were golden brown.)
You can store them with a piece of bread in the container, that will help keep cookies soft
Thank you for the tip! I will try that next time I make them
Hello there:)
When you say cake flour, do you mean the ones that has the baking powder in it??? Or is it simply all purpose flour ?? Thank you
Well, it’s cake flour not all-purpose flour.
Cake flour does not have baking soda in it. Cake flour is a low protein flour. It has a protein content of about 8% (all purpose flour is 10-11%) and is usually bleached.
Cake flour is great for making cakes and other baked goods because it gives you a very tender result. Although all purpose flour can yileld a great cake, there is generally a noticeable difference in the texture between a cake made with all purpose flour and one made with cake flour.
Hence, why this recipe yielded a much better cookie by using cake flour vs all purpose.
You can actually make your own cake flour.
Take a cup of flour, take out 2 tablespoons. Then you just add 2 tablespoons of Corn Starch.
Viola! Cake Flour!
These cookies are NO joke. I saw the recipe forever ago and wanted to make them but never took the time. These were my Valentine’s gift to my jhubby- he LOVES soft-baked chocolate chip cookies and, judging by the fact that he pretty much inhaled a half dozen, I’d say these are winners. I like mine a bit crispy though- they taste almost caramelized!! SO GOOD!
This is by far the best chocolate chip cookies ever! I started experimenting with chocolate for this recipe and found that if you use a bag of semi sweet ghirardelli AND a bag of 70% cocoa ghirardelli the cookies come out even better!! Try it, you won’t regret it!
Finally, finally, finally!!!! I have been baking for years and am well-known for my delicious treats! However, every time I try to make simple chocolate chip cookies, I FAIL!! I have tried every “best chocolate chip cookie recipe” I could find, and somehow managed to still screw them up. But I recently came across this and just had to try it. I followed your precise instructions (even weighed my flour instead of just measuring…turns out my measuring cups measure small?!) and it WORKED!! They turned out perfect. I can’t believe it. I will be posting this recipe along with a link back here on my blog soon! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!