Monday, November 18, 2013

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies...Ever!

Now that I got your attention, I first must apologize in the absence or non-existence of my blogging. Whenever I bake, I tend to always make a mental note to come here and share with you some amazing recipe but that was several weeks ago and well now... its November! Better late than never, am I right?

You know how impatient people can be when waiting for freshly baked Chocolate Chip Cookies to cool? Namely my sister. But for me the problem lies when most of the recipes out there involve "softened room temperature butter". I mean who has time to wait for that? Especially since the climate here in foggy, San Francisco is chilly and so, waiting for the butter to soften up can drive me a little mad. And don't get me started on cookie dough that needs to chill for a day. I was born to be an impatient little baker.

Now what you're probably thinking is that I'm going to use melted butter, but that's not fun and way to overdone. This recipe calls for melted, brown butter! Oh my freaking god, this is so good and it will make your apartment/house smell so nutty and delicious. I have also used this recipe numerous times, because it serves as a great base cookie. I've added Snickers, English Toffee, Reese's Pieces, Chocolate Chunks with Walnuts, Holiday M&M's and they turn out just as amazing as the originals. Please give it a try and let me know what you think.

Chocolate Chip Cookies (with Toffee Pieces)

adapted from Cook’s Illustrated + BethT + Eat, Live, Run

Yields 15 Large Cookies (I'm talking about the size of my hand!)

Ingredients:
  • 1 3/4 c all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 14 tbsp unsalted butter (1 3/4 sticks)
  • 1/2 c white sugar
  • 3/4 c packed brown sugar (recipe suggests dark brown, but light brown is also acceptable)
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 1 1/4 c chocolate chips
  • 1/2 a box of Trader Joe's English Toffee (crushed)

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 and line two large baking sheets with parchment or silicone baking mats. Sift or whisk together the flour and baking soda in a medium bowl. Using a food processor crush half the box of toffee pieces til a coarse grain appears (You can also make this with chunkier pieces of toffee, it is really up to you) and set aside. 
Put 10 tbsp of the butter in a medium skillet set over medium high heat. Allow the butter to melt for 2 minutes and begin to swirl it around the pan, allowing it to brown. Keep the butter moving so it doesn’t burn. Browning should take about 3 minutes and you’ll know it’s done when it smells nutty and it has a dark golden brown color. Remove the pan from the heat and use a heatsafe spatula to transfer the butter to a large, heatsafe mixing bowl. Add the remaining 4 tbsp of cold butter to the melted butter, and stir gently until it is melted.
Add the white sugar, brown sugar, vanilla and salt to the butter and whisk the ingredients together. Add the egg and egg yolk and whisk again until mixture is smooth, 30 seconds. Allow the batter to rest for 3 minutes, then whisk for 30 seconds more. Do this two more times; the end result should be thick and shiny.
Add the flour mixture and stir until just combined, about 1 minute. Gently stir in chocolate chips and toffee pieces, if using. 
Form each cookie with a regular sized ice cream scoop, roll and pat down on your silicone mat or baking sheet, spread them about 2 inches apart (for a half sheet pan, I made 5 very large cookies). Baking time will vary for obvious reasons, but for large cookies, bake for 13-15 minutes. Let them cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, if possible.








I will be posting more asap, before my favorite holiday Thanksgiving arrives! Have a lovely week everyone!

Best,
T

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