When wonderful Yvonne Deggelman told me she had the definitive chocolate chip cookie recipe, I begged her to write our first guest post! I was a bit embarrassed (but charmed) by what she contributed. Here it is….
“As many of you know, cooking for Hilary is a pleasure. Have you ever known anyone who approaches food with such appreciation and gusto? I’ll never forget, in college, how she would cradle a cheeseburger and so lovingly enjoy it!
We had the pleasure of cooking for Casey, Hilary & Brittany recently when they were in the Bay Area on the eve of her Father’s memorial service. (Another remarkable man in Hilary’s life I might add.) Mike grilled some ribs. (Hil– I won’t elaborate on the pile of bones on your plate.) For dessert, I made the following recipe – New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt.
Our daughter Anne alerted me to this recipe. If you click here, you can read how the Times went on a quest, speaking to bakers throughout the city to get ideas on what techniques and ingredients really make a chocolate chip cookie stand out. And these really do stand out!
A few things about this recipe – it calls for 2 kinds of flour that you may not always have on hand, and that you must let the dough rest in the refrigerator for 24 to 36 hours before baking. Don’t let this discourage you. It’s worth it.
This recipe also calls for a greater amount of chocolate chips than other recipes. The first time I made them, I wanted to follow the suggestions on the recipe so I went down to Whole Foods and spent about $20 on the highest quality chips. The second time I used regular Nestle chips and we actually liked them better. Maybe it’s our untrained palates!
I’ve made them in the large size suggested and also in a more normal size – either way, they are great.
In closing, let me say thank you to Hilary for years of fun food talk and recipe sharing. You have, of course, enriched my life on many levels. And thank you to both Hilary and Brittany for this website – my new favorite “cookbook”.
2 cups minus 2 Tbs (8 1/2 ounces) cake flour
1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. 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 Tbs. (8 ounces) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp. natural vanilla extract
1 1/4 pounds bittersweet chocolate disks or feves, at least 60 percent cacao content (see note)
Sea salt
Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.
Using a mixer fitted with a 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 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.
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.
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 sticking 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.
Yield: 18 5-inch cookies
Note from Hilary: Valrhona feves, oval shaped chocolate pieces are at Whole Foods. Cook’s Illustrated did a chocolate chip tasting recently and the winner was the disk shaped chips, 60 per cent cacao from Ghirardelli Chocolate which I used. I have just eaten this cookie still warm from the oven and it really is lovely…toffee flavored, crisp and chocolaty with the sea salt somehow intensifying the chocolate. I will try freezing this dough also and let you know how that works. Really good!
My favorite cookie tester, Wyatt (almost 2).
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi there,
I was looking for a chocolate chip recipe and I noticed yours. I did look at the NY Times article and noticed that there is a discrepancy in the recipes. In your version posted, you left off the 1 1/2 tsp baking powder. Did you mean to leave that off? Did you skip the baking powder?
Also, she mentioned that she used regular chips and liked them. Did she use bittersweet or just regular semi-sweet toll house chips. I often use Hersheys chips. THANK YOU very much!! Patty
Thank you Patty! I so appreciate you catching my error in omiting the baking powder from the recipe…I have added it back in and hope it didn’t cause some odd results. I believe Yvonne used the regular semi-sweet chips. I do think the larger disc shaped ones referred to by the New York chef are terrific (can be found in the grocery store). They create layers of chocolate that truly melt in your mouth.
What an inspiring collection of recipies. Each one I’ve tried has been a success. It is always interesting to know the source or circumstances that produced these delicious recipes. Please keep them coming.
Thank you so much for these encouraging words! And we will keep them coming….there is a never ending need for comfort food! Love Hilary
As the designated cookie provider for my annual ladies hiking outing for over 9 years, I have had a few triumphs but none like this year’s! The group has voted this recipe the one I can stick with from here on!
(I used Chuao 71% discs.)
Thanks again to Hilary, Yvonne and the NYTimes!
Deb
PS I froze these for transportation purposes with great results.
As these cookies are a bit of a labor of love, it’s great to hear it was worth the effort! And also good to know they can freeze and travel well… thanks Deb!