These ultimate chocolate chip cookies might just be the best chocolate chip cookie you’ll ever eat. A tiny bit fussy, but 100% worth it!
If there is one dessert I get can’t enough of, it’s a warm from the oven, ooey gooey chocolate chip cookie. I make a fresh cookie from my overstocked freezer stash just about every day of the week. Sometimes twice on Fridays. And Mondays. Because, Monday. If a new bakery opens up in town, the first thing I order is, you guessed it, a chocolate chip cookie. And when I’m on vacation, I make it a mission to find the very best cookie money can buy. It’s worth noting that my current favorite hails from the ski lodge at Deer Valley, Utah. It’s SOOOO good! I love a quick, no chill chocolate chip cookie recipe just as much as the next girl, but I also don’t mind going the extra mile for a cookie that is 110% worth the effort. These legendary chocolate chip cookies from Jacque Torres might be the opposite of an everyday recipe in a pinch, but there’s a reason the New York Times declared them the best chocolate chip cookie you’ll ever eat.
What makes these chocolate chips cookies the best?
I’ve made a few {thousand} chocolate chip cookies in my day so when I set out to make this recipe the first time I was like, jeez, this is one high maintenance cookie. Two kinds of flour? Seriously?? Extra special chocolate? Is this guy for real? And don’t even get me started on the 72 hours of chill time. I just HAD to see what all the fuss was about. So I made a batch. And then another. And then another one after that. Long story short, these cookies are INCREDIBLE! They have the perfect balance of salty and sweet, gooey and chewy. When I say these are the ultimate chocolate chip cookies, I’m not kidding. They are the real deal folks and believe me when I say all the extra fuss makes for one magical cookie. Full of rich, chocolatey flavor, they’re soft on the inside and perfectly crispy and chewy on the outside. They’re also super thick and who doesn’t love a melted dark chocolate puddle in the middle of their cookie? The recipe might be a tad bit more complicated than you’re used to and you’ll need to plan ahead to get your cookie fix, but these are without a doubt the most delicious chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever sunk my teeth into.
Tips for the best chocolate chip cookies
Okay friends, let’s get a few things straight. This is not the time to skimp on the good chocolate. And yes, you do have to change out of your pj’s and go buy the cake flour and bread flour. The flakey sea salt on top is NOT optional and if you can’t wait the full 3 days for the dough to chill, promise me you’ll hold out for at least 24 hours. Again, #worthit. Let me remind you this is not the time to go rogue in the kitchen…for the full ultimate chocolate chip cookie experience you need to follow the recipe to a “t”. To make sure your cookies bake up perfectly every time, follow the tips below.
1. Measure the flour carefully. Too much flour in the mix is the number one reason why cookie recipes fail. Excess flour makes cookies {and most other baked goods} dry and prevents them from spreading in the oven. Carefully spoon your flour into the measuring cup and then level it off with the flat edge of a knife. Whatever you do, don’t scoop the flour directly from the bag or container with the measuring cup as it causes the flour to be packed in too tightly. This recipe calls for two types of flour that you might not expect in a cookie. Without boring you with all the science behind it, the gist of it is that the cake flour and the bread flour combine to give the edges a chewy texture, while the center of the cookies remain soft and gooey. It’s like magic!
2. Use high quality chocolate. Jacque Torres is known as “Mr. Chocolate” and being the chocolate connoisseur that he is, it’s safe to say he knows a thing or two about what kind of chocolate works best in chocolate chip cookies. If feves aren’t readily available, I suggest swapping them for Guittard bittersweet chocolate discs. If you don’t have discs on hand, go for coarsely chopped bittersweet or dark chocolate over chocolate chips. Whatever you do, don’t skimp on good chocolate and reach for one that is at least 60% cacao for the very best flavor. These cookies are as good as they are because they’re basically a 1-to-1 ratio of chocolate to cookie dough. Yes please!
3. Let it chill. As if these cookies weren’t already high maintenance enough, Jacques recommends that we chill the dough for a full 72 hours before baking. As in you make the dough on Friday and you aren’t sinking your teeth into freshly baked cookies until Sunday?? Seems like a big ask so I did a little experimenting on my own. I baked the cookies after 24 hours. Then again at 48 hours and finally after a full three 3 days of chilling. Basically, the longer the dry ingredients have to soak up the wet ingredients, the crispier, chewier, more flavorful cookie you’ll have. I’m a lot of things but a patient baker I am not. I generally bake these cookies off anytime between 24 and 36 hours and they are nothing short of spectacular! Bottom line, wait 24 hours minimum or be like me and always have a stash of frozen dough in your freezer to bake off whenever the craving strikes.
4. Do not over bake. For those soft, gooey centers be sure to pull the cookies from the oven when the edges are set and golden brown and the center of the cookie is puffed and pale. The middle of the cookies might seem slightly under baked but the residual heat from the pan will continue to bake the cookies once they are removed from the oven. Once the cookies cool they will have perfectly soft and melty centers.
5. Don’t skip the sea salt! Just a little sprinkle of salt enhances the flavor of the massive amount of chocolate found nestled inside the cookies. I could tell you it’s optional, but I’d be lying. The added salted doesn’t make these cookies overly salty. Just a pinch of salt is like a chef’s kiss to these ultimate chocolate chip cookies.
Tips for freezing cookie dough
This recipe makes a LOT of cookies which means this is a perfect opportunity to upgrade your freezer stash. To freeze the cookies, scoop the dough into balls before you chill it. I like to use a kitchen scale to measure the cookie scoops for perfectly uniform cookies. Line up the cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet and freeze flat for one hour. Once frozen, transfer the cookie dough balls to a plastic freezer bag and place it in the freezer. When you have a hankering for a freshly baked cookie, you’ll have these bits of heaven perfectly portioned out ready to bake in the time it takes to preheat the oven. Simply bake the cookies as you normally would, increasing the baking time by about two minutes. It’s that easy!
There’s a reason these ultimate chocolate chip cookies are on repeat in my kitchen and it’s not because I gave them away to neighbors or shipped them off to my husband’s office. Nope. We kept them all to ourselves and we ate them aaalllll!! These cookies are the definition of irresistible and the only way to save them all for myself is to add extra salt on top so my kids run in the opposite direction. On the off chance you have extra cookies that require safe keeping, store them tightly at room temperature for up to 4 days. Pro-tip: you can also store the baked cookies in the freezer for an impossibly easy after dinner treat.
If you’re looking for a next level chocolate chip cookie experience, give these cookies a try. The flavor! The texture! Those chocolate puddles!! These cookies are the whole package and I just know you’re going to love them as much as I d0.
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