Science of the perfect chocolate-chip cookie

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I also defy you to read this without developing a craving for chocolate chip cookies.

The picture was enough. This is a wonderful thing! Thank you for the excellent change in pace. Not that we don’t need to discuss all the other things, but a chocolatey unicorn now and then is a good diversion.

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I like crunchy chocolate chip cookies, without any discernable salt flavor, so these are fail cookies to me.

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Cookie texture and flavour are definitely personal. I looked at that picture and thought the cookies themselves looked pretty good, but someone has sprinkled crack on them. I suppose that would make the cookies perfect for Rob Ford. Thankfully the article does give details of how different methods will affect the final cookie, so you can choose those methods that result in your preferred cookie.

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I think it’s the most important feature of the article - go cook your way!

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Given how everything else seems to keep going to hell in a hand basket. This is a welcome change of pace. Thanks for finding and posting this wonderful thing.

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No. Chewy cookies are ass. This man is wrong.

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I like some salt in my cookies, but not sprinkled on top like that.

I’ve found that if you prefer texture over uniformity, kosher salt doesn’t dissolve as easily, and makes for a blissful experience when you taste those little pockets of butter and chocolate and salt blended but separate, not as one single flavor.

But then again, I like eating salt & vinegar potato chips along with marshmallows…and a little margarita with my salt and lime, if you please.

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Tell us how you really feel, Boundegar. :wink:

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the salt’s just on top.
but crunchy over soft CCC’s??? that is some strange shit right there…

I see where this thread is going. It might as well have been a post about cyclists vs. motorists.

I like the crispy on the outside chewy in the middle cookies. @Boundegar you are wrong.

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The salt you see on top is for garnish, but there is also a lot of salt in his actual recipe. He states:
“COOKIE FACT #17: COOKIES NEED MORE SALT THAN YOU THINK” <~~ I don’t like that.

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Try it first.
I love this recipe, I’m going to try it this weekend. Maybe make the dough tonight, let it rest and report back.
BTW, I also love this guy because he puts weight first over measurement for flour, sugar, etc…
This is the key to successful and consistent baking. Anyone that likes to bake at all should buy a digital scale, pronto.
Also - chewy is better, end of story. :smile:

"chewy is better, end of story. "

Nope.

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All this breakdown and he basically comes around and ends up with the Cook’s Illustrated recipe that he mentions. I mean, this is what America’s Test Kitchen/Cook’s Illustrated does - that make a bajillion of them and find what works.

Besides this is pretty much my go to recipe for cookies, except I sub out some of the flour for coarse ground oatmeal. Fuck, I want some cookies (bonus if you make them and just keep the dough in the fridge for a week or so - it’s fresh baked every time.)

Actually the chocolate chip cookie I have yet to find a decent recipe for is more or less a shortbread version, dry crumbly with a ton of chips and what not. (A long since closed local coffee house had the best cookies - they were like a gourmet chips-a-hoy.)

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You had me at “…Barely crisp around the edges with a buttery, toffee-like crunch that transitions into a chewy, ■■■■■ center that bends like caramel, rich with butter and big pockets of melted chocolate… with crackly, craggy tops and the complex aroma of butterscotch…that elusive perfect balance between sweet and salty”

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I’ve been looking for a shortbread-y chocolate chip recipe for a long time! I still haven’t found one that’s remotely satisfying.

Great! We can share a cookie buffet without rancor then. I won’t have to hoard because I know you won’t be stealing the type I love.

…drooling…

I have never been able to make a good chocolate chip cookie.

These are probably some of my favorite cookies: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/soft-chocolate-mint-cookies/detail.aspx

These are also good: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/oatmeal-crispies/detail.aspx (I do not bother to flatten them.)