Jacques Torres Chocolate Chip Cookies
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These Jacques Torres Chocolate Chip Cookies have become my new favorite recipe that yields crispy and chewy cookies with chocolate in every bite.
If baking is a labor of love, then chocolate chip cookies are the ultimate payoff. There is a reason why classic chocolate chip cookies are perhaps the most popular cookie in the world. And they are my favorite too simply because they are so good and bring nostalgia to my childhood.
When I set out to find the best chocolate chip cookie recipe, I really meant it! Finding the perfect chocolate chip cookie is like finding true love. When I first started on my journey to chocolate chip cookie greatness, I was optimistic. I thought, how hard could it be? There are not that many ingredients in chocolate chip cookies and I know how to bake them. I started with some classic recipes with very highly rated recipes. They were delicious but I wanted the best, the ultimate, the perfect chocolate chip cookies that I could make and eat all the time.
After some testing and gaining several pounds, I can finally end my search of finding the perfect chocolate chip cookies with the New York Times chocolate chip cookie recipe adapted from Jacques Torres. Let me just say right off the bat that this recipe right here is the best chocolate chip cookie recipe in the world for me.
What Defines a Great Chocolate Chip Cookies?
After all, there are dozens and dozens of chocolate chip cookie recipes online. The fact though is that, what makes a particular chocolate chip cookie the best for one person, is not the same for another. Chocolate chip cookies sound simple but opinions differ widely about how the perfect chocolate chip cookie should taste. Everyone has their own preferences. Even in my home, I love the chewy and crisp chocolate chip cookies, while my family prefers more of the dry and crumbly. My friends love the soft and chewy ones.
The internet is swimming with recipes claiming to be the best, often promising results that would be super-chewy, crispy, extra-chocolaty, or even health-conscious. While it is easy to think all chocolate chip cookie recipes are basically the same because they all use the same ingredients, it is simply not true. Method plays a huge part. After googling and searching and researching and testing, I have figured out the science behind each ingredient and baking methods, but saying it seems much easier than doing it.
Although I have figured them out, I made them, but I was still disappointed that it was not the one. So, my mom told me, why bother with figuring them out. Do not bother with tinkering the recipe, just find the best one. That is how I stumbled this recipe. I searched internet viral chocolate chip cookies in Google and this is what came out. If I can single out one recipe as victorious, so far this Jacques Torres Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe is my favorite.
How to Make Jacques Torres’ Chocolate Chip Cookies
The recipe starts out like most other cookie recipes. Cream the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until pale and fluffy. Then, add eggs and vanilla extract. In a large bowl, sift together the cake flour, bread flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix until a dough forms. Then, fold in the chocolate discs
But in my case, I used Callebaut dark chocolate callets
because I could hardly find any in Indonesia.
After you make the dough, we need to rest the cookie dough in the fridge for 24-36 hours to give the dough enough time to ripen and develop a more complex flavor. After the resting period, then scoop the dough into 1/4 cup balls and sprinkle with flaky sea salt, and bakes them.
What Makes This Recipe Works?
What I love about this recipe is it makes an all throughout crispy and chewy cookies with a rich caramel note that gets more complex after the resting period in the fridge. I also love the fact that they still taste as good the next day and do not get soggy. In addition, the flaky sea salt on top of the cookies is a nice touch. The combination of salty salt and sweet cookie dough helps balance the sweetness and makes the chocolate flavor shines out.
This recipe is absolutely, without a doubt, the best chocolate chip cookies that I have ever made. They are big, crispy, chewy, and packed with chocolate. So if you are looking for a few chocolate chip cookie recipes to try, you should bookmark this one and give it a try. It is a keeper and I hope you will love it as much as I do. So, what makes this recipe different than other recipes?
1. Two types of flour
Simply put, flour gives the cookie structure. The Jacques Torres chocolate chip cookie recipe calls for 2 types of flour. It uses a combination of bread flour and cake flour. The difference in these is the protein content which is related to the amount of gluten that is formed. To create a dense, chew bread, you use bread flour. Meanwhile, cake flour which has a lower protein creates less gluten which gives the baked goods an airy, soft, and delicate texture.
While people debate that you can substitute cake flour and bread flour with all-purpose flour relying on the mix of high protein and low protein creates the same protein content in all-purpose flour. But let me tell you that these cookies will not be the same if you use all-purpose flour. I really recommend sticking to the original recipe if you try making this recipe for the first time.
2. Chill the dough
The flavor in the chilled cookies was noticeably richer because as the dough chills, it dries out slightly concentrating the flavor, and giving you crispier, chewier edges. Also chilling the dough gives the gluten in the dough a chance to relax, again, adding to the crispier texture of the edges. And he color deepens as well, so you have a beautiful deep colored cookie, as opposed to a pale one.
The different chilling times also alter the taste, texture, and color of these cookies. The 24-hour cookies taste delicious, but I prefer the 48 and 72-hour cookies because they are much more flavorful and chewier. The chilling plays a crucial part here so do not skip it.
Make Smaller Cookies With This Recipe
As you can see, I made two sizes of this recipe. The original recipe calls for 3.5 ounces/100 gr cookie dough. It is about 1/4 cup in volume and makes about 4.5-inches/11 cm cookies. If you prefer smaller cookies like me, you scoop them into 1.75 ounces/50 gr cookie dough in a single baking sheet for 13 minutes or until golden brown.
Below is the photo of the smaller cookies (1.75 ounces/50 gr) and the original size cookies (3.5 ounces/100 gr) for comparison.
My search for the best chocolate chip cookies ends here. Pair one with a glass of cold milk for the best combo.
More Soft Cookies Recipes
While you are here, check out also these soft cookie recipes!
- Biscoff Stuffed Cookies
- Alton Brown’s The Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Almond White Chocolate Matcha Cookies
- Soft Peanut Butter Cookies
- Soft and Chewy Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups (240 gr) cake flour
- 2 cups (240 gr) bread flour
- 1 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/4 cup (282 gr) unsalted butter
- 1 3/8 cups (280 gr) light brown sugar
- 1 1/8 cups (227 gr) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 20 oz (570 gr) bittersweet chocolate disc 60% cacao
- Sea salt
Instructions
- In a large bowl, sift together the flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- Using a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until pale and fluffy.
- Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla.
- Add dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Mix until just combined. Drop the chocolate pieces in and mix until well combined.
- Press plastic wrap against the dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350F/180°C. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats.
- Scoop 6 3.5 ounces (100 gr) mounds of dough onto the baking sheet. Make sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up to make a more attractive cookie. Sprinkle with sea salt and bake until golden brown for 18-20 minutes.
- Cool on the pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Then, transfer the cookies to a rack to cool completely.
