The Chewy

For nearly a decade, I have been in search for the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe. This hasn’t been a Field of Dreams type of effort but more of a karaoke kind of effort: I try it because it sounds fun, get disappointed at the lackluster results, and then try it again when I’ve forget about the disappointment. But this might have changed since I’ve tried Alton Brown’s “The Chewy” recipe. The recipe might not be perfect but it’s closer than any other recipe I’ve tried.

To confess my weakness, I have made this recipe twice in the past week because I lack will power. But my failed weight loss is your gain in that I may have stumbled upon a possible improvement to Alton’s near-perfect recipe. Though his recipe calls for bread flour, on my second batch I inadvertently used cake flour. Since I’m no food expert, I have no idea if there are any actual differences between the two flours. However, by using cake flour instead of bread flour, the cookies seem to be chewier and less cakey, which puts the chocolate more on the center stage.


Ingredients

* 2 sticks unsalted butter
* 2 1/4 cups bread flour (or cake flour)
* 1 teaspoon kosher salt
* 1 teaspoon fresh baking soda
* 1/4 cup sugar
* 1 1/4 cups brown sugar
* 1 egg
* 1 egg yolk
* 2 tablespoons milk
* 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (I used Guittard extra dark)

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottom medium saucepan over low heat. Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda and set aside.

Pour the melted butter in the mixer's work bowl. Add the sugar and brown sugar. Cream the butter and sugars on medium speed. Add the egg, yolk, 2 tablespoons milk and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Chill the dough for an hour. Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

Using a tablespoon-sized measuring spoon, scoop onto parchment-lined baking sheets, 6 cookies per sheet. Bake for 14 minutes or until golden brown, checking the cookies after 5 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet for even browning. Cool completely and store in an airtight container or do like me and eat 6 right away.