Chocolate Chip Cookies Perfected

Perfected Chocolate Chip Cookies

Note: this is based on the recipe “best ever chocolate chip cookies” – http://www.dishingthedivine.com/2011/12/06/best-ever-chocolate-chip-cookies/

I found that (amazing) cookie to be too light & rich, and i wanted to devise something heartier — so I’d be satisfied sooner.

Adding in some whole wheat flour and olive oil gave it a nuttier and deeper taste. Pecans made it just perfect.

Dry

• 1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
• 2/3 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp salt

Wet

• 3/8 cup ( 3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk

MixIn

• 6oz dark chocolate, cut into chunks (+ the shavings). [ i've used the following: 1/3 of the "Pound Plus 70% dark chocolate" bar from trader joes, or about 6oz of a block of ghirardelli dark chocolate ]
• 1/2 cup Pecans, smashed or roughly chopped

Yield

• 12-16 Large Cookies

Instructions

1. Mix the flours , salt , baking soda. Set aside.
2. Mix the sugars and butter just until thoroughly mixed. Add the egg, yolk and vanilla and stir until creamy, like a thin paste or caramel. Combine with the dry ingredients ( either can be added to the other ); I find loosely folding the sifted ingredients with a spatula works well to get things fairly evenly distributed. The dough should look dry in parts and wet in others at this point.
3. Add in the chocolate and pecans. Drop the spatula and get your hands in there – break the dough apart and fold it on top of itself a few times to ensure an even distribution. The warmth of your hands and working of the dough will even out the dough very quickly.
4. The cookies need to be shaped and frozen for at least 30minutes. There are two good techniques I’ve used:
   1. drop the dough onto wax paper in 1/4 cup scoops or rounds.
   2. put all the dough onto a sheet of wax paper and roll it into a large log, cut into portions once frozen
5. When you’re ready to bake, place the frozen dough on a baking sheet ( nonstick or parchment lined ), sprinkle with some salt, and bake the cookies for 8 minutes in a 400° oven, then drop the temp to 350° and bake for another 5-10 minutes — until the edges just start to turn golden brown.

Important Notes:

1. Freezing the dough does two things: it helps develop flavors and it keeps the inside of the cookie from cooking too fast. Properly cooked, the outside should be just turning brown and slightly crispy as it cools, while the inside is almost undercooked and a creamy custard.
2. This dough doesn’t really spread much – the shape and size of the dough that goes in the oven is roughly the same shape and size of what comes out. A quarter cup baking measure is a very good mold for this cookie. If you go the frozen log route, you’ll want to make sure that the diameter is roughly the same size as your 1/4 cup measures , and the rounds you cut are fairly thick — around 1″.
3. Starting the oven at 400° and dropping to 350° makes the perfect cookie. If you’re busy, you can bake a slightly less perfect cookie by keeping the oven at 400° and baking for 12-13 minutes.