The New York Times chocolate chip cookies

I did it. After years of lusting after these cookies I finally went ahead and made them, and let me tell you, they do not disappoint! I’d always put off making these chocolate chip cookies because I wanted to make them exactly as the recipe suggests, but here in NZ, Valrhona fèves are really expensive. I couldn’t justify spending $25 on chocolate that was destined for cookies. But this week all of the stars aligned. My grocery bill was a lot less than usual, and the fèves were on sale. Score!

These are not cookies that you whip up when you’ve got cravings. Nope, these guys need to chill in the fridge for at least 24 hours. That gives the dry ingredients time to soak up the wet ones, and makes for a firmer dough. The salt is not negotiable  – it makes the cookies more flavoursome. And don’t skimp on the chocolate – buy the very best you can afford because it will be worth it.

The NYT first published this recipe in 2009 and it became an instant hit. It is adapted from a recipe from the master of chocolate, Jacques Torres. If you need to impress someone, these are the cookies for you. If you want a decadent treat and can wait 24 hours, these are the cookies for you. If you like a really good chocolate chip cookie, these are the cookies for you!

Ingredients

8½ oz cake flour (see notes)
8½ oz bread flour (see notes)
1¼ teaspoons baking soda
1½ teaspoons baking powder
1½ teaspoons salt
10 oz unsalted butter, cubed and softened
10 oz brown sugar
8 oz sugar
2 large eggs (I used size 7)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1¼ pounds dark chocolate fèves (at least 60% cocoa)
sea salt for sprinkling (I didn’t have any so used ground pink Himalayan rock salt)

Method

Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl and set aside.
Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes.
Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition, and then the vanilla.
Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5-10 seconds. Drop the chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. (This is way too much pressure, they will break, you will be OK.)
Press plastic wrap against the dough and refrigerate for 24-36 hours. (See notes.)
When you are ready to bake, preheat your oven to 180°C and line a couple of baking trays with baking paper. Set aside.

Scoop 3½ ounce mounds of dough (the size of generous golf balls) onto the baking tray. (Mine were a bit smaller so I managed 9 per tray and there was enough room.)
Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18-20 minutes. (I reduced the temperature to 170°C and baked them for 15 minutes.) Transfer the sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, the slide the cookies onto another wire rack to cool a bit more.
Repeat with remaining dough.

Notes

• I used plain old standard flour (all purpose) for both measurements, it worked fine.
• You can refrigerate the dough for up to 72 hours.
• I recommend scooping the dough into balls and then refrigerating them. Trying to scoop dough that had been chilled for 24 hours was like trying to chisel marble. I also ended up breaking the fèves – sacrilege!
• The recipe states it will make 18 5″ cookies. Mine were a tad smaller, not by much though, and I made about 30.)
• Recipe adapted from Jacques Torres via David Leite @ The New York Times.

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