UPDATE: I have tweaked the recipe to add more sugar. Click here for updated recipe. 

Big, fat chocolate chip cookies. Now that’s what I’m talking about!

When I first began this blog, I was on a hunt to find the best chocolate chip cookie recipe. I like them big and fat. Carol, from Carol’s Cookies, is my idol. She makes them just the way I like it. Problem is, no recipe out there can compete with hers. And you better believe she is tight lipped about her secrets.

Carol left me no choice but to figure this out the hard way. Trial and error, and lots of ’em.

Enter Vanilla Sugar. I came across her blog the other day from Tastespotting. As I was scrolling through, I found cookies that look like the closest thing I’ve seen to Carol’s Cookies. Big, fat chocolate chip cookies. Funny thing is—she’s trying to reproduce her favorite cookie as well, only it’s from a different bakery, Levain Bakery in NYC. I made the recipe Friday night. They were close, but they weren’t Carol’s. (Now keep in mind, we are trying to reproduce two different cookies.) Carol’s Cookies are sweeter and not as doughy tasting. So I slept on it. I woke up. Read a thread about how to reproduce Carol’s Cookies. (Looks like I’m not alone in this endeavor.) Then, I made a POA (plan of action)!

POA—try Vanilla Sugar’s recipe again with some slight tweaks. More sugar. Regular butter instead of European butter*, although I love European butter. But, same technique. Speaking of technique, these are not your mom’s chocolate chip cookies. Throw everything you know about making chocolate chip cookies out the door. Let your butter come to room temp, forget about it. Cream your butter and sugar together until pale in color, think again. Preheat oven to 350° or 375°, not this time.

 

Big, Fat Chocolate Chip Cookies
recipe adapted from Vanilla Sugar

8 oz. (2 sticks) unsalted butter*, chilled
1 1/4 c. granulated sugar
3/4 c. packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 c. AP flour
3/4 tsp. sea salt
1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
12 ounces (2 c.) good quality semisweet chocolate chips
1 c. crushed walnuts (optional)

1. Using a grater, grate chilled butter into a large bowl. Make sure to scrape out butter left on grater. If butter is too warm, stick it in the freezer for 5 minutes.
2. Add sugars to the butter. Using a mixer, mix until just combined. Do not over beat.
3. Add vanilla and eggs, and mix until just combined. Again, do not over beat.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
5. Add flour mixture to butter mixture, and mix until just combined. Dough will look crumbly. You are right on track.
6. Stir in chocolate and crushed walnuts (optional).
7. Take off your rings—you’re gonna need your hands for this. Gather dough into a large ball, as you would if you were making a snow ball. Place on pan lined with a Silpat or parchment paper.
8. Preheat oven to 365°. Meanwhile, place cookies in the freezer for about 15 minutes.
9. Bake cookies for 18 minutes or until slightly browned around edges. Cookies will still be doughy in the middle.
10. Allow to cool completely before eating. The doughy center will stiffen up a bit.

*Note: In the pictures, I used European butter. However, I used regular butter the first time I made the recipe and the cookies held their shape much butter better. Therefore, I made the executive decision to go with regular butter in the recipe. A little tid-bit for you: according to Sunset Magazine, too low-fat butter (aka margarine) or too high-fat butter (aka European butter) can cause spreading. Go regular or go home.

Here’s the visual recipe.


Have I arrived? I don’t know. But I feel a lot closer than I did last week.

If there is one thing you could do to change the world what would it be?

World peace.

We’ve all heard this question and answer a million times while watching the Miss America Pageant or Miss Congeniality. What if world peace could be brought…in the form of a cookie?

This is exactly what Dorie Greenspan‘s neighbor thought (Dorie is the author of this recipe). He gave Dorie the idea to dub these cookies World Peace Cookies after exclaiming, “we’re convinced that a daily dose of the cookies is all that’s needed to ensure planetary peace and happiness.” I have to agree with Mr. Neighbor.

Because she’s the brains behind this peace, I’m going to let Dorie describe these decadent morsels. “The cookies are chocolate sables, French shortbreads, but, because they’ve got more brown sugar than white in them, they’ve got more chew than most shortbreads. They’ve also got a generous amount of dark chocolate chunks and enough fleur de sel, moist, coarse-grained French “finishing” salt (i.e., salt to be used in teensy quantities as a spice or condiment), to make them noticeably salty and completely addictive, in the way so many good things with salt are.” This rings music to my ears. My #1 baking philosophy is to use high quality, coarse salt. The contrast of salt makes the sweetness taste that much sweeter. And who can say no to chocolate? So now I have just one question for you—If there is one thing you could do to change the world what would it be?

Without further adieu, I give you…

World Peace Cookies
Recipe housed by Bon Appetit

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder (I used dark unsweetened cocoa)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
11 tablespoons (1 stick plus 3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
5 ounces extra-bittersweet chocolate (I used dark chocolate chunks)

1. Sift flour, cocoa, and baking soda into medium bowl.
2. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until smooth but not fluffy. Add both sugars, vanilla, and sea salt; beat until fluffy, about 2 minutes.
3. Add flour mixture; beat just until blended (mixture may be crumbly). Add chopped chocolate; mix just to distribute (if dough doesn’t come together, knead lightly in bowl to form ball).
4. Place dough on a sheet of parchment paper. Roll into 1 1/2-inch-diameter log. Chill until firm, about 3 hours or flash freeze for 30 minutes. (Can be made 3 days ahead. Keep chilled.)
5. Preheat oven to 325°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat. Using thin sharp knife, cut logs crosswise into 1-inch-thick rounds. Space 1 inch apart on prepared sheets. Bake 1 sheet at a time until cookies appear dry (cookies will not be firm or golden at edges), 11 to 12 minutes. If frozen, cook about 5 extra minutes. Transfer to rack; cool.

TIPS
• Not keen on dark chocolate? Replace it with chunks of milk chocolate, white chocolate, nuts, andes mints, etc.
• Place cookies in a cute package, give to a friend, and spread world peace.
• Enjoy cookies within 3ish days of baking. They tend to dry out quickly.


 
 
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