[Note: This recipe got a refresh and slight simplification in 2016. Read it here.]
This past summer, David Leite, whom you may know from the fantastic Leite’s Culinaria, set out to find the consummate chocolate chip cookie.
He spoke to Herve Poussot, a baker and an owner of Almondine in Dumbo, Brooklyn, who warned him it was more than a recipe he was looking for.
He researched the technique of Ruth Graves Wakefield, who owned the Toll House Inn in Whitman, Massachusettes in the 1930s, where she invented the chocolate chip cookie, and who once wrote that she would let the dough rest overnight before using it. He spoke to Shirley Corriher, author of CookWise, a book about science in the kitchen, who agreed that an overnight rest was the best way to get a drier and richer dough that has fully soaked up the egg.
He spoke to Maury Rubin, owner of the rightly fawned-over City Bakery (a place as famed by the public at large for its chcolate chip cookies as it is on this site, for the cranberry caramel and almond tart), who said that they must be served warm, that the dough must rest for at least 36 hours and that they must be big enough to allow for three different textures: crisp edges, a soft center and a ring between them which is chewy, with hints of toffee.
He spoke to Jacques Torres of Jacques Torres Chocolates, who said that baking chocolate was best, as were large pieces.
He spoke to Dorie Greenspan who said that he shouldn’t underestimate the value of salt in baked goods.
And then Leite came up with a recipe that was a sum of all of the things that he learned, and it was published in the New York Times.
Oh, and what did I do, so that my account of these cookies could live up to the amount of research, dedication and love put into their creation? I baked them.
And I broke one open.
And quickly discovered that I am not as generous of a person as I once thought I was. So if you’re coming over to my apartment tonight to bite your nails and watch the election returns, don’t be surprised if I’m all “what cookies?” and only bring out pepita brittle for dessert. The Smitten Kitchen, as it turns out, is no democracy.
One year ago: Roasted, Stuffed Onions
Leite’s Consummate Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from David Leite via The New York Times
[Note: This recipe got a refresh and slight simplification in 2016. Read it here.]
Yield: 1 1/2 dozen 5-inch cookies.
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 disks or fèves, at least 60 percent cacao content
Sea salt
1. Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.
2. 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 try to 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.]
3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.
4. 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.
* I found Valrhona’s fèves or oval-shaped chocolate pieces, at Whole Foods in half pounds. Baking discs can be found from a number of brands, from Jacques Torres to E. Guittard (Fresh Direct used to sell these by the quarter pound, but now just in one pound boxes, but still at a very reasonable price) to Ghiradelli. Can’t find them? Use the largest chocolate chips you can find. Ghiradelli sells some slighly larger ones in the brown bag (as opposed to the standard-sized chips in the gold bag) though I may have mixed the two varieties up. It wouldn’t be the first time.
And here I was, dreaming of a second chocolate chip cookies today. That’s right, I had one for breakfast, from City Bakery no less. I think that chocolate chip cookies are, after all, the breakfast of champions!
Can’t wait to make these!
How did you know I was looking for a new chocolate chip cookie recipe??? Oh this is fabulous.
Just looking at the images of cookie dough makes me want to make a batch. .
I’m wondering where you can find these chocolate rings. Also do you have any suggestions as where to purchase large quantities of chocolate. I feel as though I go through it a lot, and the 8oz at the supermarket that I can find is never enough.
Any Suggestions?
One word: divine!!! Those chocolate pieces look amazing! Will definitely have to use them. :)
I’ve been making these for a few months now (since the recipe was published). They are an all time family hit — there is a batch on the counter right now. I must say though, my cookies look nothing like the cookies pictured here. Mine are big and much thicker. I use a standard ice cream scoop to dole out my cookie dough. For what it’s worth, I followed Molly’s advice regarding these cookies (Molly of Orangette and now Bon Appetit fame) when it came to scooping out dough and also in terms of flour (she uses unbleached all purpose).
Amy – I use 60% cocoa Ghiradelli chips, which I buy in bulk (3lbs for $8 at Sam’s Club).
My friends laugh that I can take chocolate or leave it, but oh, I just don’t think I could possibly pass on these. This entry is bookmarked for Thanksgiving!
Happy nail biting!
That is some serious chocolate.
I would totally eat those. Or just about any old cookie dough with chocolate chips thrown in. I’m easy like that.
Angie (from HalfAssedKitchen.com)
these cookies are on my list to bake too. I’m thinking about running the experiment, as he did in the NYT, of how the cookies change based on the time you let the dough sit before you bake them off. It just seems so interesting, and I want to find out for sure if I can tell the difference or not.
What chocolate did you use?
I must know….Must…must…must.
They look gorgeous, and I’ve been curious about this recipe, but I have to ask: was it worth the agony of having chocolate chip cookie dough sitting in the fridge for days on end? In our house, we’d have to deck out the refrigerator with the equivalent of a chastity belt (if you know what I mean, and I think you do) to keep us from scoffing the lot before it got baked.
Also, I’m kind of attached to the Toll House cookie recipe on those packets of horrible Nestle chocolate chips. (I’ve been known to scribble down the recipe at the grocery store, before rejecting the Nestle in favor of the Valrhona. Is that ethical?) I wonder how they’d fare in a side-by-side tasting. Perhaps it’s my scientific duty to carry this out.
If you need to hide the cookies, I know a place in Houston that will keep the cookies safe. Only if my belly is an acceptable hiding place.
Deb, please pardon my and what I’m about to say.
I COULD EAT EVERY FUCKING LAST ONE OF THESE DAMN THINGS!!!!!
Ok, I got that off my chest. I needed to say that in those terms to express how the visuals are setting me off.
I. NEED. THESE. NOW.
These cookies are awesome, I have made them in obscene amounts since this recipe appeared in the Times. Chocolate and butter have even banded together to inspire a little creative blasphemy.
http://www.bobslamelife.com/2008/08/rite-of-passage.html
Ok, this is creepy. I made this exact same dough last night so I could bake the cookies this afternoon for our election party! The very same recipe from the very same New York Times article! I’m headed to turn on the oven right now. (I weighed everything out and used all purp flour in place of the cake and bread flours. It works fine. So do regular choc chips. I use course gray sea salt from Penzey’s on top.)
P.S. For those asking, the 24-26 hour wait is completely worth it. The depth of flavor from the rest is obvious to me. I allow myself some more than normal dough sampling when I make it, which helps me wait out the rest time more easily.
Chilling of chocolate chips cookies dough for 24 hours is something new to me! Thanks for sharing the recipe, I’m gonna try it out very soon!
Deb, are those regular chocolate or tempered chocolate discs? I read what Torres said, and he uses “couverture” which sounds like it’s tempered? Just curious which you used, and if you noticed a difference.
Haha.. great post! As if one needs any further encouragement to try the recipe – the pictures alone do the job!
Dear God! Had I not already voted – I would probably write in David Leite for president – anyone who can create something that glorious should definitely run our country;)
i can eat 8 of these right now! just get me a glass of milk!!
Just yesterday my boyfriend and I were whining about the faults of (too small) chocolate chips in cookies and also how much we hate chopping block chocolate for cookies. Now,discs! How perfect! Can’t wait to try these!
These cookies really are incredible, even if you make them the non-fancy way, i.e. with regular flour and chocolate chips. I can’t even express how fantastic they are.
These look delicious! But do you have to use the chocolate disks/feves to get them to taste divine? Chocolate chips are so much easier to come by….
http://www.thepetitgourmand.com
what is bread flour? where do i get it?
These look great, but are they worth the work and waiting – are they that much better than the usual, easy chocolate chip cookies? Also, what’s with bread flour plus cake flour? Don’t the two togeter just approximate regular flour?
Thanks,
Allie
Wow! I’m DEFINITELY making those! I think I might have everything to do these, so maybe I’ll make the dough tonight to try and relax.
Mmmm, I *love* the big chocolate chunks!
ooh…i have some feves stashed away in my freezer waiting for me to stop being a scaredy-cat and make them…how long did yours hang out in the fridge?
i made the blondies tonight for our election returns!
These look worth all that effort!! I’ve never seen big chocolate disks like that before, where did you find them??
mmmm, they look heavenly good!
Wow, these are the best looking chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever seen! I’m salivating over here.
These baking pieces are perfectly shaped for spherical cookie perfection! I had not noticed them at whole foods, will look. I agree with the salt remark: I make a couple of chocolate cookies which I top with Fleur de Sel, I think the combination rounds out really special, deep, dark cookies when used both inside and out!
I’m kind of surprised that I’m the first person to point this out, but in your title, you spelled consummate wrong. But everytime I look at it again, it makes me smile. This is the way I’ve been talking lately! You have it spelled both ways in your article. :-)
These cookies are amazing! I made them as soon as I saw the article months ago. Once I perfected the recipe, I started tweaking it a little. Used dark brown sugar instead of light and turbinado sugar instead of white. Also used half regular chocolate chips and half solid chocolate chopped into fine shavings. So good! The salt on top makes them too. Flaky Fleur de Sel is the best!
Oh, American girl, please tell me: what is “bread flour”? I canguess that “cake flour” is wheat, and not too finely ground; but here in Europe, we bake bread with all kinds of stuff. Is it wheat or what? Wholegrain wheat?
And by the way, your blog is my favourite food blog, absolutely amazing.
Thanks!
Mari
Hmm, I’ve made these a few times, and they haven’t totally knocked me out. I have noticed some slight improvements in all types of cookies after an overnight rest. The rest seems to bring out the butterscotch flavor in chocolate chip cookies.
If you don’t have a paddle attachment for the mixer, is it a big deal to just use the regular beaters? I’ve wondered this about other recipes but this recipe has made me actually ask it!! Looks amazing.
Oh my oh my- once you try this chocolate chip cookie recipe you’ll never go back. The only reason I stopped making these weekly is that I ran out of vanilla and have refused to buy more in an effort to save my waistline. As others have said, it works just fine with all-purpose flour and nice quality chocolate chips. And you must MUST wait the 24-36 hours. Heaven awaits- ’tis worth it!
I still haven’t baked your favourite chocolate chip cookies on this site that I’ve been meaning to try … and now I don’t know which one to make first! :) But I’ve been thinking of doing a chocolate-chip-cookie test on my blog so this might be the right time…
Yeah, um, I’m not even a chocolate fan, but I want to inhale my computer right now.
Wow. Oh, the yummytasticness of those cookie pics is just too much! I have to concur with Matt, Comment #13. :-)
For once, a chocolate chip cookie that is more about the chocolate, and less about the cookie!
O.M.G.
These look soooo good.
You had me at the 2nd picture – with the thick dough on the paddle. Then I saw those HUGE dark chocolate pieces and it was all over for me!!
I’ve never thought to let chocolate chip dough rest – but it makes so much sense! I’ll definitely be trying that the next time I make a batch.
I need these
I made these cookies over the summer, and they were good, but the problem with the 36 hour waiting period is that every time I opened up my refrigerator to get something, I also had to take a bite of the cookie dough. ooh, it was good. it was even better baked. but not good for the waistline. not good at all.
The only way to let chocolate chip cookie dough rest intact around here is to make it and then LEAVE TOWN.
David Lebovitz mentioned you in his blog today, and says he scared of you. It’s pretty funny.
Love your website…a “must visit” everyday. I began making these cookies a few months ago too after seeing the NYT article. I had been searching for a number of years for the BEST choc chip cookie and had tried countless recipes. Let me just say the search is OVER. These are truly the best I’ve ever had and I believe they are totally worth the extra “effort.” Thanks for a beautiful post.
i make a cookie extremely similar to this, although you say a tsp and a quarter, i say a ginormous heaping tsp of baking soda. anyway, my cookies are much thicker than yours. i wonder what the difference could be? and if you’re looking for a fantastic variation, try adding your favorite granola. it may just change your world.
PS love everything you do. i’ve been scouring your site since early summer. thank you.
omg. DROOL.
Where’d ya get the chocolate?
I never thought about having the chocolate pieces so big in the cookie. Good idea. Excellent. I vote Jacques Torres and David Leite for our next prez & vice prez. Chocolate chip cookies could do wonders for our economy and world piece.
Thanks for all you do, Deb.
OMG! OMG! I bet this is what they serve for dessert in Heaven.
I was wondering if you were going to write about these! They are great cookies! I made them a few months ago and found them to be very buttery at room temp so I ate them straight from the freezer. Each bite was wonderful. And then I thought it was too fussy to do it with two flours so I made them again with AP flour and they were still marvelous. I think it’s the refrigerator time. OK, back to election coverage…
I had read something about letting the dough rest for up to three days. If I can control myself.
I’m so glad you enjoyed them! I thoroughly love them and make them often. (Oh, Kate, while I appreciate your faith in me to run the country, I’ll leave it up to brand-new President-Elect Obama!)
David
I’ve turned into a big party pooper with chocolate chip cookies. I withhold about 1/3 the chocolate pieces. I know what you’re thinking WTF..What’s the point? Well, the point is..I like the darn toffee flavor of the cookie as much as the chocolate..and lately, CC cookie recipes are putting in SO MUCH chocolate, that the toffee flavor you mention is obsured! Well..I just can’t have that! I do agree about the salt..I’ve gone back to salted butter and still add the amount of salt the recipes call for..it’s just right!
Hiya, just found your wonderful blog through ” a little goodness ” , going to go back and read everything, but in relation to the cake Leslie talked about on there , what weight is a stick of butter , HELP ??????
I promise I’m not the same Susan as #57 above . . . but I agree with her 100%–there IS such a thing as too much chocolate in a truly delicious chocolate chip cookie. Hitting a big ol’ patch of chocolate with every bite is not as appealing as eating a delectable cookie with a bit of chocolaty goodness spread throughout. But I’ve got to try this recipe. I’ve never heard of leaving the dough to chill.
I was going to write but JC stole my thunder almost word for word. I usually use a mixture of 60% and semisweet Ghiardelli chips, I like the large flat shape of the 60% chips, and much cheaper than the feves.
I’ve made these cookies several times, and people are BEGGING ME to make them again. I was (happily) making them three days after I was home from the hospital with our new son. They are that good. the best part is refrigerating them, yes they’re tough to scoop but you get a little workout and the delayed gratification makes them that much better. Honestly, I’ve never made or tasted a better cookie, and the recipe is practically foolproof, it is the no knead bread of cookies.
i have been wanting to make these since reading that article in the nytimes food section. i have been such a lazy baker recently. I don’t think i’ve made cookies in 7 months. that’s terrible!
I just lovee this post!and it’s on my top baking list now!:)
This is great! those chocolate feves are gorgeous! those look like the perfect things for these cookies! big disks with a cookie dough pocket! how perfect!
I have a tendency to make everything chocolate. Hubby and I have a hard time with non-chocolate desserts (humm…. this tart is great but something is missing…)
So. i’m wondering if any of you have bought chocolate in large quantities and stock them in pounds and types (bittersweet, semi sweet, 70, 60% etc). How long are their shelf lives? does chocolate that has crystallized okay for cookies? where do you get them in large qty?
Favorite chocolate brand for baking, truffle making? i’ve used S.Berger in the past for truffles (holiday goodies), and everything else. recently i’ve got some guittard in my cabinet. Never had them side by side though. I took a cooking class where they preferred guittard over Berger for truffles. Do you have a preference?
thanks for your input! It is hard to get answers when i am the only baker i know! help! jeniyo@hotmail.com
AMAZING!!I’ checking your web site every day and I love it!!
Where I can find the “bittersweet chocolate disks or fèves” ??
Hi Deb, these look amazing but can you help me out with the bread flour? What strength or how hard iis the bread flour you used? I have trouble every time I try to do something bready, and I think it’s because I’m not using the right kind of flour. Thanks, because I really want to make these cookies!!
Wow! These cookies look absolutely fantastic. I would have hid them at home as well. Where did you find those chocolate disks? Were you happy using them instead of chunks? Beautiful post!
Just last week Shirley Corriher released her new book “Bakewise”. Check it out when you have the chance!
WOWZA those look decadent.
*drooling*
Where can I find the exact same chocolate disks that you used? I’m in rural Michigan, and can only dream of the wonderful shops that you have near your apartment! *sighs*
i’ve also been making these since the recipe was published and it’s the only chocolate chip cookie recipe we use now. they got rave reviews from our co-workers, and any time i say i’m going to bake something, my husband hopefully asks “the good chocolate chip cookies?”
i just use regular-sized, good quality chocolate chips. mostly b/c i’m too lazy to make runs to whole foods or a specialty store very often. but one of these days, i’m trying the discs!
and the chilling is torture, indeed! i always bake one sheet of cookies right away to tide us over and chill the rest of the dough for a couple of days. it’s amazing what a difference the chilling makes- the color of the cookies alone is much more pleasing. and i LOVE the little sprinkle of sea salt.
I’ve made these before, and they were as fantastic as they look. I think I will have to make them again this afternoon!
Oh, I love these cookies too! They are unbelievable. Like some other commenters, I also use Ghirardelli chips. I think the flours make a difference, as much as I hate to disagree with Orangette Molly, but not so much as to stop you from baking them if that’s all you have in the house! I made them once in someone else’s convection oven and that also improved them quite a bit – baked 25 degrees lower.
I have made several batches of those cookies since the article was published. They truly are incredible and worlds better than an ordinary chocolate chip cookie, certainly worth the trouble. I used the Ghiradelli Bittersweet Chips as Whole Foods was out of Feves and they were still great. My cookies look a bit different from yours. I wonder why..
http://www.izzyeats.com/2008/07/it-chocolate-chip-cookie-500-calorie.html
…I first read this recipe as “Let’s Consummate Chocolate Chip Cookies.” Freudian Slip? Whatever, they look wicked. Baking them tonight in frenzied celebration.
Cute story. I think doing your part by baking them was a noble thing to do.
Hey all — I made a list of a bunch of brands that sell feves or chocolate baking discs at the end of the recipe, including a few places that sell them. Adding to that, KingArthurFlour.com sells a number of brands of chocolate discs, including Callebaut, Guittard, Belcolade.
Bread flour — I also bought mine from the King Arthur brand. They sell it (sometimes, I grabbed the last bag on 24th street–sorry!) at Whole Foods, and I even occasionally see it at some Gristedes (fairly average grocery store in the city). Or you can buy it from KingArthurFlour.com.
And also! Thanks to those that pointed out the HUGE spelling error in the title.That said, I was rushing for a good cause: many people descending on our apartment for an election party! Couldn’t bother with things like, uh, editing.
holy cow… these look amazing. i’m just not sure if i could let the dough sit for that long without eating half of it.
great cookies! I don t blame you for keeping this cookies for yourself :)
I love the giant chocolate disks. I simply must explore the world of chocolate and order up some of the more amazing stuff. I made a new chocolate chip recipe last night… I had recently acquired a jar of dried lavender and found an interesting recipe for Lavender Chocolate Chip Cookies. Well, interesting is all it was. After the first batch was baked, I tasted… spat… and tossed the rest of the dough. Lavender simply does NOT belong in a chocolate chip cookie!
Oooh I made these when the article came out – though I did use regular chocolate chips not feves…. yours are prettier.
I would totally make these tonight but my oven is broken. : ( Hopefully it will get fixed soon so I can start baking again!
What kind of chocolate did you use in this recipe? I’m sure you’ve already answered this question a million times, sorry. They look delicious!
I agree that the chocolate chip cookie experience almost transcends any recipe out there. While it is mostly about chocolate and crispy edges, more of it speaks to the soul; it’s like coming home and realizing how much you’ve missed being there, or more importantly, having a set of arms reach out to you when you arrive. That’s what it’s about.
This recipe, and those photos are killer! Love it!
OMG girl!!!!! OMG!!!!!
just a little question: instead of all purpose and bread flour can i use cake and whole weath flour? and can i replace the white sugar for something, let´s say, healthier? i can´t wait to try these, the hard part will be the not eating the whole thing raw!!!
love your website!
Has anyone made these who has also made the Cooks Ill. “thick and chewy” chocolate chip cookies? I thought those would be as close as I’d get to perfection, and I’ve been tempted lately to try Leite’s recipe, but it’s hard to veer from CI in fear of wasting my time and ingredients. So just wondering if anyone had compared them. I DO prefer my cookies soft and chewy, so if this is simply a different type, let me know. Thanks!
Aha ha ahhaahha… You’re funny.
3 words: TO DIE FOR! You made my day!
Howdy! Just wanted to participate in the conversations about salt and chocolate. Susan: we are kindred spirits. I never understand why people treat chocolate in recipes as exempt from the “too much of a good thing is possible” rule. Why bother making complex batters or purchasing delicate but fine quality vanilla only to produce a final product that is 75% chocolate? And I can not say enough about the joy I felt upon discovering the effect of adding salt to sweet recipes. Now I have moved on to testing which size and kind of flakes have the best effect on which foods. I am curious to hear what other people like. And to tie the threads together, I wonder if anyone has considered setting aside a bit of the recipe’s salt and somehow trying to get it incorporated into the chocolate. I like the idea of a slightly salted chip experience. But who knows…
efc
Where do I find the chocolate discs?
I’ve made these several times to rave reviews. The only difference I make is I use a Pound Plus bittersweet bar from Trader Joes that I’ve chunked up. The first batch I made was brought into work and someone told me that these are the chocolate chip cookies to measure all others by. The salt is a must.
Annalisa, I’m a huge fan of the CI Thick and Chewy recipe but I did try these when the NYTimes published the recipe. I wasn’t wowed. I found them too much on the thin and cakey side and, I thought, waaaay too chocolatey. I’m sticking with CI, although I’m now using the ice cream scoop I bought for this recipe so they’re a bit bigger and I do sprinkle a little sea salt on some of them. I’ve always found that resting the dough in the fridge makes them that much yummier but I’m making a more conscious effort to plan ahead and give them some time to rest. Go CI!
There are lists of brands and places that sell these chocolates at the end of the recipe, and additional sources listed in my earlier comment, #76.
First off, that first photo is divine and I cannot, CANNOT, stop drooling.
Second, the only problem for me is this: there would be absolutely NO dough left by the next day, as either my husband or I (or, more likely, both), would be dipping our fingers into the dough all day and all night, as there is nothing in the world better than chocolate chip cookie dough!
Five more places to buy the feves, specifically, online: ChocolateSource.com, Lepicerie.com, ChefsShop.com, ChocolatebySparrow.com and Surfasonline.com.
OMG! I want one NOW!
Deb, do you think they can be made smaller without sacrificing texture, etc?
I made these when I first saw the recipe in the NYT but I used regular old semi-sweet chips because I did not have time to go looking for the discs.
DIVINE cookies. I have no use for other recipes, this is the ultimate. The light sprinkling of salt really sends it over the edge into awesomeness. And I highly recommend you let the dough sit at least overnight, it really does make a difference.
Okay, you twisted my arm. That chocolate looks divine. And I’ve never heard of letting the dough rest. My dough rarely makes it to the pan in time to cook much less rest. My recipes-to-make list is getting super long.
Thanks Deb for the chocolate wholesale links! These are all good sites to know. I will be checking soon for my holiday chocolate supply soon! woohoo!!
This is so funy. I am working on a cookie project (20 cookies) and my current cookie is a NT times cookie, but the recipe is from Jacques Torres. Looks the same in a way.
I’ve been taking photographs all morning……… I’m so tired by now. Maybe I’ll eat one for some quick energy. I’m sure they won’t look as amazing as yours.
You have this blue-ish tone in the photos, very cool, and the food has warms tones… nice. Even more so after I “saw” your kitchen.
I got to invest in a btter camera, though…
I saw the recipe awhile back and had it filed away to make. I made it several weeks ago (blogged about it) and it is now our house chocolate chip cookie. My husband along with one of my daughter’s friends said it is the best they have ever had.
It is very difficult waiting for the dough to chill, once you know how darn good they are you want to make them right away.
I was listening to Splendid Table on NPR a few weeks ago when David Leite was interviewed about this recipe. I wanted to make it after hearing him describe this cookie. For some reason I forgot about it, but was quickly reminded of it after reading your post. Off to buy some chocolate disks!
yum. wow. i can’t seem to manage more than 3-letter words but i’ll try… these photos and this recipe make the foodie baker stuck inside my poor & overworked law student body weep with envy.
Deb – ever since you posted the recipe for the Blue Ribbon Chocolate Chip Cookies (http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/01/chocolate-chip-cookies/), they’ve been my go-to, no-cookie-comes-close recipe. So I have to know -are these cookies even better?
i made this recipe a few months ago and mistakenly read that each batch only made 18 cookies (and missed the part about them being 5″ around). it resulted in a massive amount of dough and the subsequent catching on fire of my cheap mixer (the quadrupled….yes, quadrupled….amount of butter and sugar killed it). even after that set back, i wouldn’t hesitate to make them again…in normal proportions. they are truly divine!
Deb — Please don’t make me choose! One day, I’ll do a taste test between the three chocolate chip cookie recipes on this site. (I have no chocolate chip cookie loyalty. For shame.) Yes, three… there’s a very old one and popular one for a Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies. In fact, for those of you concerned that these might be too chocolaty (and they are, that is, incredibly, abundantly chocolaty), that might be a better way to go. You can use the 36-hour aging and the salt-sprinkling technique on either of the other two recipes.
Lately I have been into the trend of large chunks of chocolate…and I should have known Whole Foods would be a local answer…I miss living across the street from one.
i have to laugh….every time i look at this …Leite’s Consummate…i think “let’s consummate”, which ironically is how i feel about these cookies
i am like… in heaven. just looking at these pictures, mind you.
did i already comment on this post??? i think i did. but looking at these again made compelled me to comment again! please come to my house and bake these for me.
So I am scrolling down your post, and there at the bottom is a weight loss add that says, “How I lost 1 pound a day!” LOL!!!! I had to laugh for real. Also, this post is kinda scary because right now, sitting on my counter, is my mise en place for these exact cookies! Crazy huh? I am going to fool with the recipe a bit this time, I have made them before and just cannot resist tweaking sometimes.
Thank you for mentioning us as a source for ingredients. We at King Arthur Flour have tested these cookies and they are outrageously delicious. Joan, King Arthur Flour/baker
So, I tried these cookies at half size–instead of 3.5 ounce balls, more like 1.75 each? I liked the size (about four inches across) a bit better, and they still work, for any of you looking to resize them.
are these for real? seriously? i have never been so bummed to be without baking supplies in my whole life (new house, new kitchen, no cookies, yada yada).
I just made these today! For your information – 2 dozen cookies equals a 5lb gain…
This sounds like a dumb question, but what’s the difference between cake flour and bread flour? I’m assuming cake flour is self-rising and bread flour isn’t. Is that correct?
Cake flour is very finely milled and has very little gluten, making it great for cakes. It sometimes comes in self-rising varieties, but that it not the standard. Bread flour is made from a harder wheat and is very high in gluten, making great for breads and other yeasted things.
Those cookies are the greatest things I’ve ever seen in my life.
Hi Deb!!! How do these cookies compare to Jacques Torres’s chocolate chip recipe?
Upon close inspection, the two recipes are quite similar! But I didn’t use the discs… do they make a significant difference in taste?
Hey there — Leite adapted this from the Torres recipe, so they are quite similar!
Just looking at these cookies make me so happy! I wish I had smell-o-vision!
kind of off topic, but someone told me she saw Jacques Torres on The Girls Next Door (that show with Hugh Hefner’s “girlfriends”) making chocolate molds of their genitals??… she may be mistaken but if not, um, wtf?
anyways, these cookies look incredible!
Wow. I want to so bad run downstairs and make these right now. They look amazingly good. I think they’re going on my holiday cookie list.
These look lovely but there’s simply no way a bowl of chocolate chip cookie dough could hang around my house for a whole day. I live with two teenage boys who simply would not be able to stand it.l
Did anyone else have trouble sifting coarse salt? I had to crush mine before it would go through the sieve.
For anyone outside the US who can’t get King Arthur flour, I used “Tre Grazie” brand grano duro flour (the one in the yellow bag) — “ideale per pasta e pane,” the package says. From the dough that I sampled before it went into the refrigerator, it is equally ideal for these cookies!
Oh Yummy! I am going to have to try these!
there are no words.
deb, which whole foods do you go to? i’m hunting for those chocolate disks to bring home to my sister, who adores your site.
I saw them at both the 59th Street one (where I bought them, but not enough! grr) and then the 24th Street one. But Lisa from Homesick Texan says she saw TWO people buying them at the 24th Street one the day after I posted this, so no promises that they’re still there. ;)
Made ’em. Love ’em. Yum.
p.s. it’s really a wonder that I’ve never had salmonella
I like that these cookies are adaptable. I’ve made two batches in about as many days, and they’re simply wonderful. I used a standard bag of Ghirardelli 60% cacao bittersweet chips, plus a bag of Ghirardelli semi-sweet chips. I only had dark brown sugar and all-purpose flour on hand, but the cookies still turned out perfect at exactly 18 minutes in the oven.
This recipe is certainly a keeper.
Deb,
I made the dough tonight and have read quite a few things about the refrigeration time, all of it pointing to the fact that at least 36 hours produced the best cookie. Considering I have to work and poorly planned this – it looks like I am going to be cooking them at the 48 hour mark. I was just wondering how long you refrigerated for and what you suggest.
I just made these.
OH. MY. GOD.
It’s like God is smiling.
PS I used unbleached all purpose flour bc i did not have easy access to cake flour, dark brown sugar, ghirardelli semisweet chips (slightly less than the recipe called for) and added 1 tsp cinnamon. I just made the dough tonight and then baked just 3 cookies for us to try. Phenomenal, can’t wait to take the ‘rested’ versions to our bible study next week.
I made these and all I can say is: wow. They are amazing. I used unbleached all purpose flour but decided to stick with the valrhona chocolate and maldon sea salt. I’m in cookie heaven…sigh. :)
This recipe is fabulous! I just used regular dark chocolate chips (the discs were only sold at my local in 100g packets, so I would have needed 6 packs = too expensive). The only thing I would add is let the dough come to room temp for about 20 mins just to make it easier to scoop – it was rock hard just out of the fridge! The cookies baked from the warmer dough also spread a little more.
Well worth the 36-hour wait — these cookies are fab-u-lous!
I used the bread and cake flour (except I used pastry flour) and I weighed the ingredients. My Whole Foods didn’t have the chocolate the recipe called for but it did have the Ghirardelli large chips. I have to agree – this recipe is great. Love the sea salt on top! I’ve had two today already and I’m baking the rest tonight. My only comment – the dough gets really hard when its cold. I’d take it out of the refrigerator 5 to 10 minutes before scooping and baking.
I made these over the weekend and brought them in to work today and I’ve never seen anything snapped up so fast! They really are wonderful. I love the sprinkle of salt! Yes, the dough gets so hard. It broke my scoop! I ended up making balls by hand.
Jeanette, I had the same experience with the coarse salt remaining in the sifter. I just dumped it in to the other sifted ingredients and whisked it to combine.
I must confess, I went as far as going to two Whole Foods stores to find the feves (I was on a mission!), and when I found them, and realized it would take $19 worth to make the cookies, I left the store without them. I substituted 5 bars of Ghirardelli bittersweet 60% cacao, broken into approximately quarter-sized pieces. Talk about penny wise and pound foolish–the chocolate bars and cost of gas probably equaled $19 anyway! And factor in the extra time it took to break up the chocolate…
My one stroke of sanity: I scooped the dough into individual balls before refrigerating knowing cold dough would be impossible to scoop, and worrying that it might soften too much if I misjudged how long to let it stand at room temperature before scooping.
Now that I know how fabulous the cookies are, I will sheepishly return to the 2nd WF that carries the feves, and buy $40 worth for the next 2 batches.
I want to eat the chocolate disks all by themselves!! Alluring photos! Never have I been so manipulated into changing my dinner fixin’ plans than with this site!
So, this is a little late, but I dreamed about these cookies all summer long. I was on an aircraft carrier and the internet collection was slower than dirt. But one magical day, I read the Times and saw this article <–[this statement, unfortunately, shows you which section I gravitate towards. Not Week In Review or World, that’s ridiculous! And heavy.] I saved the picture and looked at it every.day. When I finally made the cookies (in California, not on the ship), I was a happy, happy person.
I have baked off half of a batch of these delicious cookies and, while resting my scooping arm, would like to ask others… are your cooled cookies quite crispy, or did they maintain their chewy/crispy ideal? I made mine slightly smaller than suggested and baked for 12 minutes. Color good, taste perfect out of oven. Could my dough be too dry, portions too small?
At first I thought the title said “Let’s consummate.” I think that’s exactly what these cookies would make me want to do with their baker.
I made these cookies yesterday, and they are PHENOMENAL! They are indubitably the best cookies I’ve ever had. You do not need be pretentious to make these cookies. That means you don’t need to sift the dry ingredients; you don’t need both cake and bread flour. You also don’t need to buy Valhrona fèves, chocolate disks or sea salt. I used unbleached, all-purpose flour and bread flour (I had the latter b/c I love making homemade pizza) and did NOT sift the dry ingredients. Also, I used regular, Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips, but I’m certain that any type of chips would work, even the generic kind *GASP!*. I also used a bit of kosher salt on the top, but I prefer the cookies without the extra salt on top since the dough already has enough. The cookies were AWESOME! I also ate a small amount of cookies after about 5 hours of refrigeration, and they were SUPERB. I had a few more the next day after fewer than 24 hours of refrigeration. I have to admit the second batch of cookies tasted better than the first; however, both were great. What I don’t understand is why the recipe states that this dough makes 1 1/2 dozen cookies. I have already baked a dozen cookies over 2 days, and it looks like I have a dozen or two more left of dough. I even made the cookies the required size using my ice cream scooper. I think it is a good idea to make balls of dough before refrigerating as another commenter stated. Since I failed to do that, I plan to roll the remaining dough in a log in wax paper then place the log in a freezer bag for future use. THANKS, DEB!
I made these, and dang they’re good! I made the dough on Monday night, and only had time to let it rest for about 22 hours before making my first batch. First, let me say that I used all of the called-for ingredients, except I had to use some ghiradelli bittersweet chips and some hershey’s semi-sweet chips. that’s a lotta chocolate chips, so i feel like i tasted less dough and more chocolate. Not that that’s a bad thing, but I feel like I am missing out on the part of the cookie that’s supposed to be revolutionary. So the next batch I make (tonight, so about 46 hours from dough creation) I may pick out a few chips from some of the dough balls and see if I can tell. (I already made all the dough balls.)
Just made these, and they’re incredible! There is however something wrong, so very very wrong, with the stated yield. I made 1.5 times the recipe, which should have given me a little over 2 dozen cookies… but I’m looking at 4 dozen cooling on my counter, with enough dough for 3 dozen more chilling in the fridge. Mine may be averageing more like 4 inches across, but even so, something is WACK with this estimate.
Not that too many cookies is such a tragedy, but people may not quite realize what they’re getting into here.
Just made the dough and baked off 4 of them while the rest chilled for tomorrow. These cookies are good! Thanks to you, i’ve thrown away my weightwatcher’s plan and have been eating good food in wild abandonment!
My mom bequeathed me half a bag of nestle’s chocolate chips. I was trying to use them up in this cookie… too bad i have more. I also have some feves i ordered a few weeks ago for truffles and ganaches. i’d imagine these will be even more delicious with “real” chocolate. nonetheless, i love the texture and the dough of this cookie. i like the toffeeish crunchy borders and soft center, sugary crust… mmm… i’m save the extra cookies for lunch tomorrow. i’m def. using the good chocolate next time.
i assume you guys didn’t chill the dough when you scooped them out no? mine were not as flat as yours, more fluffy… me like/ like me
These are some of the best cookies, ever. They are gooey and wonderful. I’m a salt addict and all of my friends ooh’d and aah’d over them. They’re a gourmet/modern take on chocolate chip cookies.
I found the paves at Sur La Table for about $12 a box. Thank you for turning me on to these, I keep several boxes in the cabinet now. A little chopping and they’re regular chocolate chips.
Where did you find the chocolate disks or fèves?
I noticed this was asked before but there do not seem to be posted replies.
Maybe you could share the brand with me.
I have looked at many baking stores for anything like this, especially with the negative space to allow it not be a solid chunk.
Sincerely, Katylin
I made a list of various places to find chocolate baking pieces at the end of the recipe (an asterik-ed note) in comment 76 and with an additional list of online sources to buy feves in comment 94. I bought mine at Whole Foods.
absolutely spectacular. beyond description — and this is just after tasting the cookie baked without refrigeration. i CANNOT wait to taste them after a day or two in the fridge. just a plug for all those people wondering whether to splurge for the chocolate disks — do it. i bought some at my whole foods and when they melt in the cookie it creates a layer effect of chewy cookie dough and gooey chocolate that is just ridiculous. i believe most chocolate chips are designed to hold their shape when baked, whereas these disks seem to be designed to melt. trust me, you will not be disappointed….
HELP!
I’ve searched numerous sites with this recipe and none address my question…..do you bake the cookies cold, straight from the fridge or bring the dough to room temperature first? I have a batch chilling right now……
You can bake them cold.
Thanks for clarifying. I baked these cookies this morning and they were amazing…….life changing, almost……need more cookies………
I baked these today after the dough rested in the frig at least the suggested 36 hours. the cookies are tasty.
I found E. Guittard wafers at a William-Sonoma store. it was a one pound box; that’s all i used for chocolate. i forgot the recipe suggested bittersweet, so i bought semisweet.
i’m in the living room now. they’re out there, in the kitchen. hopefully i can resist eating anymore tonight. (i’ve already had a few)
Letting the dough rest is definitely the key to good chocolate chip cookies.
These sound really cakey. The flour to butter ratio seems like they’d lead to a big cakey cookie. Not my favorite.
The photos don’t look that way though.
I’m surprised you are calling them cakey — they are anything but. Did you make the cookies?
No. I said the the flour to butter ratio seems like they’d lead to a cakey cookie. More than three cups of flour to only 2 1/2 sticks of butter.
I’m just curious as to what cacao % did you use? I love dark chocolate and wondering if 72% is too dark.
I am lactose intolerent so I adapted this recipie to be vegan and it is still great! Also, the couverture chocolate can be bought at world market for cheaper, i think. that’s where i got mine.
I have to say, though this is very, very late, that I finally made these today and then calculated their nutritional content.
If you make 16 as the recipe suggests, they are a whopping 412 calories each (I used Valharona 62% fave pieces). Here’s the complete nutritional breakdown for the batch and then /1 cookie (of 16) for anyone who is curious:
CALORIES: 6585 /412
TOTAL FAT: 370 /23
SATURATED: 225 /14
POLYUNSATURATED: 11 /.7
MONOSATURATED: 59 /3.7
CHOLESTEROL: 1037 /65
SODIUM: 171 /10.7
POTASSIUM: 584 /36.5
TOTAL CARBS: 779 /48.7
DIETARY FIBER: 37 /2.3
SUGARS: 357 /22.3
PROTEIN: 85 /5.3
VITAMIN A: 151 /9.5
CALCIUM: 18 /1.1
IRON: 168 /10.5
But nobody actually was under the impression that giant chocolate chip cookies were low calorie, right?
dear lord, i hope not
but even still, i was a bit shocked–it’s a meal
and so from now on, i will treat it with such respect
Are there other really good recipes that call for these chocolate disks? Say, brownies? I would really appreciate some guidance, as I have a few boxes of the milk chocolate ones now.
You can use them any time you need baking chocolate; many pastry chefs do, as they melt quickly and evenly.
i have made these too many times to count as i do believe they are indeed THE best chocolate chip cookies on the planet. i have never splurged for the valrhona chocolate discs and was using some other brand until i discovered Euphoria chocolate buttons which are SO GOOD (euphoriachocolate.com) and you can buy in bulk. This is the kind of recipe that needs to get passed down so i am holding onto it!
I love to bake! I love eating what I bake (most of the time more than what others bake). However, my world changed just yesterday. While I was on vacation, my co-workers found SmittenKitchen website and these cookies. They were baked and brought into the office yesterday. I broke off half a cookie, ate it and nearly oohed and aahed the whole time. Yes, I ate the other half! Before leaving for the end of the day, I took one “to go” and repeated my pleasure. EXCELLENT!!
We dont get cake flour or bread flour where i live :-(
Are there any additions I can make to my all purpose flour in order to make these cookies? They look YUMMY! Love your website!
You can make your own cake flour — it’s easy!
Hey Deb? This is probably a stupid question, but in step #2, where it says to cream the butter and sugars for about 5 minutes, what speed on my KitchenAid do I use? Thanks. ^_^
These cookies look amazing! But I baked them up this morning, and they came out tall and slightly puffy – not at all like in your photos. Do you have any suggestions?
Thanks :=)
i just gasped audibly.
These are gorgeous!!! tHE TEXturem, the chocolate, everything. Im gonna make these tomorrow!!!
MLA, I cant beleive you’d call these cookies “cakey”. there is not too much flour (for the butter ratio.) i made these this morning and they turned out pefect and puffy and chewy and beautiful. If there were any less flour in the recipe, the cookies would’ve turned out flat and spread too much, kind of like the way that your cookies look! Sorry, but its the truth
Myra, it could be that you live in a lower altitude, therefore you need to decrease your flour (just by like 2 T though.) If thats not the case, make sure you measured the cake flour correctly (2 C minus 2 T) and the bread flour correctly (1 2/3 C) and leveled the flour off w/ a knife off the measuring cups. Also you could try using large or Xlarge eggs next time you make these if your batter came out too stiff the 1st time
I have something very important to say!
Do not eat the aged cookie dough! Do not test the cookie dough! I am surprised no one has commented or warned on this, but it’s very important.
I have had salmonella from raw cookie dough. If you eat immediately the salmonella will have not developed, but after resting in the fridge, you could have a hefty amount of poison in your cookie dough. Of course baked is fine. But don’t give in to taste the dough when scooping.
Phew. Just trying to save you all from waking up at two or three am to the unpleasantness of your stomach contents headed out the way they went in.
Moving on..
I made these cookies and am not sold on the idea of them being the most perfect cookies in the world. I just read all 175 comments and it seems I am certainly a minority.
I was so excited about “”the real magic,” he added, “is the one-and-a-half-inch ring between them where the two textures and all the flavors mix.”” as Mr Rubin talks about in the NYT article.
But I haven’t been blown away. I am interested in tweaking the cookies and trying again- perhaps purchasing the cake and bread flours- because the cookies were good. They were interesting. A bit different than my regular homemade cookies.
Here’s what I did:
-Used all purpose flour (weighed, not measured) for both types of flour
-used sea salt IN the cookies as coarse salt
-Dug into my stash of individual wrapped lindt chocolates, using both ecuador(75%) and madagascar (65%) with the emphasis on the madagascar, breaking each chocolate in half
-I did not sprinkle salt on top of the cookies.
I tried the dough. It was awful. I tried it again, and got a crystal of salt. Ew. I was just trying the dough and avoiding the chocolate, because the chocolate is so good anyway, and I already know that.
So I baked two cookies. As they were baking they seemed to have the aroma of bleach. I think I slightly overbaked them- just slightly. I ate one. It was mediocre. Aside from being much more chocolatey than my regular cookies, nothing amazing. Big and chocolatey, I should hope so, when I’m putting lindt in cookies instead of chocolate chips!
Then I put the bowl in the fridge to let the flour absorb the egg.
When I went to scoop some cookies for breakfast this morning (to go along with my fruit loops) they were so freakin hard to scoop. Like almost impossible. So I only did five cookies (small cookies) and I ate them all today. I thought I might share, but I didn’t.
So- I ate five, they must be pretty good right? Well, I think it was the chocolate content that kept me eating. They were just too salty. The texture was interesting, but needed development of some kind. The chocolate got in the way of my exploring the texture.
I am of course going to make the rest of the cookies at some point. (I froze the dough. I am afraid to keep it in my fridge too long. I hate food poisoning.)
I am thinking about experimenting with pasteurized eggs. I am also wondering if freezing the dough is going to affect the cookies. I find that after reading the article and trying these cookies I am left with questions about how to perfect cookies, rather than being satisfied that it has been accomplished.
Some substitutions are just not meant to be made!
Perfect. And totally runs circles around Cook’s “perfect chocolate chip cookies,” which I can never get to turn out right. The overnight rest is definitely worth it.
WOW these are GOOD!
Seriously – thought Alton Brown’s CHEWY was the tops… but
THIS recipe has even trumped that! Don’t stray and make substitutions…
this is a pretty perfect, unique recipe!
There are FABULOUS. Totally worth the 24-hour sit time (I got impatient). I love how the bigger chips (don’t have feves here, sadly) melt horizontally and turn the entire cookie into layers of chocolate and batter. The salt on top is brilliant.
I made mine 3oz, a touch smaller than the NYT suggests. They were perfectly baked at 18:30.
My heart did a few leaps for joy when I saw the chocolate rings. I thought they were Dad’s Goodie Rings (do you have those in the States?) If there is anything that I love on a level playing field with Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups … It’s Goodie Rings. Soft and chewy oatmeal peanut butter cookie ring drowned in chocolate. MMMMMMMMMM You’ve got me pondering how I can go about incorporating these amazing cookies into some baked goods!! Hopefully I forget about it soon and I can return to normal life.
I don’t usually bake much, but I absolutely had to try this recipe – I love the combination of salt and sweet in so many things, and what I hear about the toffee flavour…well, I’m looking forward to it.
My dough is currently in the fridge phase, so it might be a little late to be asking this but…I’m a little confused about the salt.
It says coarse salt, which I bought, but doesn’t actually go through the sieve so I couldn’t really sift it with the other dry ingredients. I just threw it in and am hoping for the best.
Also the sea salt – is that supposed to be coarse as well? There are both coarse and fine at the store…I’m sure they’ll turn out tasty whichever way, but it’d be nice to know!
Thanks!
I don’t usually bake much, but I absolutely had to try this recipe – I love the combination of salt and sweet in so many things, and what I hear about the toffee flavour…well, I’m looking forward to it.
My dough is currently in the fridge phase, so it’s a little late to be asking this, but for next time…I’m a little confused about the salt.
It says coarse salt, which I bought, but doesn’t actually go through the sieve so I couldn’t really sift it with the other dry ingredients. I just threw it in and am hoping for the best.
Also the sea salt – is that supposed to be coarse as well? There are both coarse and fine at the store…I’m sure they’ll turn out tasty whichever way, but it’d be nice to know!
Thanks!
I tried this recipe several times and for me a 2 oz portion works best. In case anyone is interested I compared this cookie against 9 other popular CC cookies on this page: //www.thegrinninggourmet.com/?page_id=178. Thanks for the post.
I’ve made these cookies numerous times, and they always come out great. However, last night when I was making the dough…I was about to put in the fridge and realized I forgot to add the baking soda. I added it last and tried to incorporate it in the dough. Has anyone ever done this before – added the baking soda last? How did the cookies turn out? I am nervous because I am baking them tomorrow night for a Christmas party…and I don’t want to disappoint.
As long as it got mixed in well, it shouldn’t be a problem.
These are the only chocolate chip cookies I make anymore. Friends helped me make the batter (to give to my out-of-town wedding guests) and were very skeptical of how fussy the recipe is (2 odd flours, sifting, salt, resting), but became true believers afterward. I can’t eat other’s chocolate chip cookies anymore.
I have 2 batches resting now. I don’t bother trying to sift the coarse salt with the flours. I either use half the quantity with regular table salt or throw in coarse salt after sifting. I also like a mix of half milk & half dark chocolate disks.
my first comment on this, my new most favorite website ever. im not the first to say so, but man, am I a big fan.
it took me forever to get around to making these cookies, but i am so glad i did – i’ve always wanted to try gaining three pounds in three days.
i sub-d pastry flour for cake flour and all-purpose for bread flour since that’s all i had, and everything came out PERFECTLY anyway. brilliant. thanks for including this recipe, even if one of the few non-smitten kitchen originals i’m interested in these days ;)
Amazing…the one chocolate chip cookie recipe I’ve found that works in a dry, dry climate. These were a massive hit over Christmas, and I am making more for my chocolate chip cookie loving boyfriend come Valentine’s Day.
Has anyone tried to reduce the amount of chocolate here? I am asking this because good chocolate in Indonesia is expensive :( around 3$ for 100g…and this recipe needs more than 500g. Will the taste change if I reduce the chocolate? Thanks
Hi, I ant to try this one but would the results be good with all purpose flour only? And if yes then how much to substitute for both the flours?? Plz. share.
You can use it in the same volumes.
I’ve baked a lot of cookies but never for as long as this recipe suggest of 18 to 20 minutes. I can only bake this cc recipe for 15 mins. max., otherwise the cookies become overcooked. Has anyone else experienced this?
I’ve been baking these for over a year now and what I’ve learned is: 14 min is the max of cooking time in my (stupid) oven. Scraping vanilla bean into butter mixture makes it even better. Only use 1/2 tsp salt in recipe (due to salt on dough before cooking) – cook one pan when you make it, one pan the next day, and then the rest after the max 30+ hours (helps you get through the process!). Cake flour is a must and if you have to substitute all-purpose for the bread that’s fine. I find the discs to be too big and prefer the dark chocolate chips. These are YUMMY!
They turned out great – thanks Deb!!
http://bit.ly/n3XpJS
Just made these with AP flour and they look completely different from yours, Deb. Yours look absolutely perfect, my favorite kind of cookie – nice and flat and golden. Mine are much thicker, more cakey, with a lot of crispiness but sadly no chewiness. Do you think the flour is to blame? I also reduced the amount of chocolate by half – might that be be problem? I am sad that I have a lot of mediocre cookies on my hands. I guess I’d better just toss them so that we don’t waste the calories on them! Would love anyone’s input or advice about where I went wrong.
Hi Deb- THANK YOU for sharing this recipe! Should the 1.25 cups of brown sugar be “packed”?
Katie — Yup!
Wow, these are amazing. I just baked up a few after 24 hours rest – and feel compelled to let everyone know that these are the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever made/eaten. For those of you who like me don’t have access to the fancy chocolates normal run of the mill semi-sweet chocolate chips work fine. I definitely think the flours make a difference though so I wouldn’t change that. I didn’t have 1.25 lbs chocolate chips – so I used a little less that 3/4 of the amount. I eyeballed the cookie to chocolate chip ratio according to my taste and added cocoa nibs. It was truly perfection if I do say so myself.
Thank you Deb for all of your fantastic recipes and for ensuring that I will always be employed so long as I keep bringing in baked goods inspired by you.
I have made these several times and they always turn out perfect. A total crowd-pleaser, and by far the best cookies I have ever made. Fantastic recipe, worth all the precision and time required!!
Question….after chilling the dough, do you bake immediately out of the fridge when the dough is super-firm, or do you let it sit for a bit to soften?
You can bake the cookies while the dough is still super-firm.
Deb, I’m making these again, this time for people who have lost a loved one. Just wanted to let you know how much I love your site and how often I use recipes that you posted two, three, four years ago. Thanks for being you!
I have this dough chilling in the fridge right now. I think it’s neglected here not that the chocolate pieces are hard to find, but how EXPENSIVE they are! I went to Whole Foods just to find them (I normally can’t afford to shop there), and about choked when I finally found the Valrohna discs dolled out in little .25lb containers for $25.99 a lb. There was no way I was going to buy $30 worth of chocolate pieces for cookies, no matter how good they claimed to be. I winced and bought $10 worth, using the Ghiradelli slightly larger chips (indeed in the brown bag) for the rest. Apparently most people who read your blog have no problem buying such expensive chocolate, but I could not :). I made one of your truffle recipes once and did splurge on Scharffenberger chocolate for those, but couldn’t do it for cookies. I’m sure they’ll be fabulous despite the lack.
Leslie — That’s crazy. I don’t remember what I paid but it was less. See if you can find baking discs, they’re flat and round. I buy them from Guittard brand all of the time, where they’re $8 to $10 per pound, which I think is an excellent price for pretty good baking chocolate.
I also did not use a mixer and made these by hand with a wooden spoon. This is how my mom made cookies growing up (even after she got a Kitchen-Aide), and it was somehow instilled in me that it’s sacrilidge and lazy to make cookies with a mixer…I wonder if using a mixer makes a difference in cookies?
My 11 year old discovered these cookies on your site ages ago and has been baking them ever since…a household favorite. Even though I write a blog myself, my food is sometimes a little too healthy for my kids’ taste, especially when it comes to baking. They come straight to Smitten Kitchen to do their searches for baked recipes. I don’t blame them!
I baked these this morning and they are divine! The chocolate used in the original recipe is too pricy for my blood so I used good quality chocolate chips instead. They were so good and are perfectly chewy. The person I was making them for preferred a crisper cookie so baked baked them a wee bit longer and he thought they were great too. Thank you for posting this. The wait time is difficult because I tasted the dough right from the mixer and loved the stuff so much. But I (le gasp) showed some restraint and waited. And was rewarded with fabtacular cookies!
I was thinking of using this recipe for a cookie dough ice cream recipe so I just wanted to have your opinion in if I took out the egg and leavenings do you think this could work? I would also replace the chocolate with smaller chips and maybe add some milk or cream for the absence of eggs.
I want to transform this recipe into a peanut butter chocolate cookie recipe. Not sure how to go about adjusting the recipe. Initial thoughts were to adjust the flour and the fat contents. Any thoughts?
Made these 2 nites ago. The amount of chocolate in the recipe is completely over the top. The quality and quantity of chocolate suggested is very expensive and does little to improve the taste due to the sweetness from the sugars which tends to overpower the chocolate and should be decreased or as one person suggested using dark as opposed to light brown sugar. The resting time is excessive. Overall, a good cookie recipe but I am still on my quest to find a better recipe. If you are attempting this recipe then make half and read all the comments. The best comments are from individuals that have actually made the cookies and can share their results.
Thanks!
@Leslie, check out http://www.kingarthurflour.com for things like chocolate. They tend to be about $10 a pound, and have all sorts of fun baking goodies.
These are amazing. They are almost too good. Too good because you will randomly start thinking about them, craving them. Too good because you will rationalize eating them for breakfast. Too good because you will be too full of cookies to really enjoy any other meals as well. But I’m making them for the third time in a month because, well, they are just that good :)
Oh my, The second half – recipe batch of these is now cooling on the counter. That’s the second time I’ve made half of this recipe in a week! I think my housemate is falling in love with me, courtesy of these cookies.
I haven’t got cake flour, and I’ve only got very strong bread flour (14% protein). In addition to these changes, I’ve used dark brown sugar, only used chocolate chips, not feves, and as the first batch were ever so slightly greasy, this time I cut a little bit of butter, so instead of 5 oz (1.25 sticks to you), I used 4.5 oz. The cookies on the rack look to have spread less, so are thicker. It’s taking all of my willpower to not eat any before I share them with my fellow mountain bikers tomorrow morning…
The first time I made them, the dough only got to rest for 16 hours, this portion that’s tempting me now had about an hour’s rest, but I’ve reserved some of this dough to let it rest for the full 24 hours+ so as to see how much difference it makes. Both times, I only scooped 2 oz balls of dough, much more sensibly sized. Oh, and I used an electric whisk (hand mixer) up until stirring in the chocolate.
Both batches were definitely done before 15 minutes baking! I’ve taken to turning the sheet at 10 minutes, and checking on them after another 2.
Thanks so much for sharing this, and all of the other amazingly tempting looking recipes here!
I have this dough chilling in the fridge right now. I had both cake flour and bread flour (I’m overstocked), and am using a mix of chocolate chunks, feves from Valhrona and a bit of Ghiradelli chips to top off the cookies by weight. I will be baking Tuesday night after about 36 hours of rest. Yum!
I couldn’t get mine to look so beautifully flat like yours Deb! They were thick and chewy, which tasted wonderfully, but I yearn for the thin, gooey cookies of long gone high school cafeterias of yore. Sigh.
I did finally manage to get them nice and thin and soft, but I had to bring it up to room temp, use smaller 2-2.5 oz balls, flatten them, and then bake them for 15-18 minutes at 300F.
Delicious!
Hi Deb! Thanks for this great recipe! Just wondering- if I wanted to add nuts to this recipe (or any other chocolate chip cookie recipe for that matter), hazelnuts in particular, how much would you suggest adding? If I wanted the hazelnut flavor to permeate throughout without compromising the texture of the cookies, would 1/2 cup or 1 cup work? Thank you!!
I think you could start with 3/4 cup coarsely chopped. Enjoy!
Thank you, Deb!!!
I just tried these cookies and they were fabulous. I did not invest in chocolate feves or discs due to the cost, but I was wondering if you have tried the recipe using a chopped chocolate bar? I was thinking of using one of the pound plus bars from trader joe’s. Thank you!
Marybeth — I have not, but I do prefer hand-chopped chocolate for cookies due to the mixed piece size. Make sure some chunks stay larger. The feves are pretty big!
Finally had the chance to make these and I’m so happy. This is the cookie-texture, appearance, complex flavor-I’ve been trying to make for years! Thank you!!
Made a half batch of these tonight. They turned out beautifully BUT I overbaked them by probably a minute or two. To anyone wondering, I would say err on the side of underbaking with these since they sit on the pan for another 10 minutes after removing from the oven, giving them a chance to bake more and firm up. The flavor is delicious though!
These are a huge hit every time I make them. My godson’s 4-year-old daughter said eating them was “a delicious experience.”
Hi Deb! I’ve been a fan of your site for a few years now but have never posted until now. I credit a lot of my baked goods and go-to-crowd-pleasing dishes to your site. I have been eyeing this recipe for a few years now but never really got around to making it because I wanted to get the exact ingredients (the first time I make a recipe, I love following it to a T =). I recently moved from SF to NYC in January (perfect time to move, right? :-p ) and was perusing your site a few days ago and stumbled upon this recipe. I couldn’t resist much longer. So yesterday I gathered all the ingredients and made the dough tonight. I tasted a bit of it before placing the bowl in the refrigerator and I can tell it’s a promising cookie.
2 quick questions:
1) Commenters have mentioned that they weren’t able to get the baked cookie as thin as in your picture. Besides making sure the chocolate disks were horizontal, did you flatten the cookies before placing them in oven? Or did you simply leave them in ball form?
2) Also, is the salt you sprinkle on the cookies before baking coarse or fine sea salt?
And finally, thank you Deb for your site. Your posts and pictures bring me immense joy. =)
1 1/4 pounds bittersweet chocolate disks or fèves
Do you have a source for these chocolate disks? An online source?
Marie — I do not, but they’re sold online from a lot of stores. I also use Guittard’s far less expensive chocolate “wafers” here, which are like flat round discs. They should be pretty easy to order online.
Hi again, Deb–I couldn’t find an answer in the comments above…do you know why the recipe calls for a combination of cake flour and bread flour instead of just using all purpose flour? My understanding is cake flour is low-gluten and bread flour is higher, so wouldn’t they just cancel each other out? Sorry if I missed the answer above.
Tim — I have wondered this for years. I mean, the flours ARE different (cake flour isn’t just low-gluten flour, but has cornstarch mixed in so it’s silkier, etc.) but it definitely stands to reason that both ends of the gluten spectrum might negate each other. Have you seen my current favorite chocolate chip cookie? I posted it recently, over here.
Deb – I have had this recipe saved for 7 years (!!!) and after your pics here started haunting my dreams again, I was finally able to take a shot at them this weekend. While the dough was chilling, I even went and made a second batch using my old recipe just to see how they’d compare. The results? OMG…My cookies are garbage cookies compared to these! lol They are absolutely perfect! Crispy yet chewy… Salty and sweet…Mmmm! Now I can’t wait to make another batch, but knowing I’m going to have to wait over a day for gratification is a bit of a bummer. ;-) What I am wondering is if it’s okay to freeze the dough after scooping, and if so, should I still leave the dough in the fridge for a couple days before freezing? I am thinking the answer is yes, but I don’t want to waste a batch by freezing them to find out that the quality drops off significantly, ya know? Thanks so much!
Lauren — Freezing should be just fine — I do it with other cookies, and I’m sure you do too — but I haven’t tested the pro/cons of it with this specific one and would feel terrible if you were unhappy with the results. Maybe just freeze a few off at first to see?
Hi Deb! I just made these because I got my hands on some Valhrona chocolate discs and they are fabulous! I preferred to let them bake a few minutes less to keep them chewy, though that is possibly the fault of my oven. They’re wonderful. I love the hint of salt. I used fleur de sel and would highly recommend it here!
How many cups is 8.5 ounces of cake flour? Is it the same as the bread flour
okay, i am a little skeptical because to date i have found ATK’s chocolate chip cookie recipe to be the best…really amazing toffee flavor by browning the butter instead of creaming. https://www.americastestkitchen.com/recipes/4737-perfect-chocolate-chip-cookies but hey, who am i to turn down a new cookie recipe with giant pieces of chocolate in it? i will have to do a taste test. i hope i don’t like it. because when we want cookies, we want them now, not a day and a half from now. (and when i say “we”, i mean me, but i think “we” sounds better.)
I got my chocolate discs from Valrhona Chocolate, and they made for a delicious cookie. Thank you for the recipe. I might add that the dough needs to sit a bit after one takes it from the refrigerator. The cookies were superior in flavor and texture, and I loved the big bites of chocolate. This recipe is a keeper. Thanks for sharing!
I’ve made a lot of chocolate chip cookies in the last 40 years (I started baking as a teeny person) but these are the best ones yet. Even my very picky, somewhat snooty 18 year old loved them and asked for more. I used Guittard chocolate disks from Whole Foods because they were the only ones I could get my hands on quickly and I let the dough rest the obligatory 24 hours. I will definitely make these again but I need to get some bulk chocolate. The bag I bought only had 12 oz so I made 1/2 recipe and that just won’t do! Thanks for bringing this recipe to my attention. It took me far too long to take the plunge.
I saw these and had to make them. They looked amazing. I was unexpectedly disappointed. I thought the crumbly dough was difficult to work with. And the cookies tasted ok, but they didn’t really spread at all and (I can’t believe I’m going to say this) there was actually too much chocolate. Back to the drawing board for me.
I wish your revisited recipe had included some milk. I had to add some because the dough was not coming together. I am not sure where I went wrong with this recipe. I followed the instructions pretty clisely. It looks excellent.
Making this for thanksgiving!
Complete and accurate information. I have learned a lot