The Secret to Making Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

Apr 20, 2011 by Lindsey

I have been posting WAY too many sweets on this blog lately. I apologize, kind of.  I promise that  I do cook real, healthy food and will be posting more dinner recipes again shortly. This sweet little tidbit was just TOO good not to share.

I read an article recently in one of my favorite cooking blogs, The Kitchn, about the secret to making perfect chocolate chip cookies, which they found in the New York Times. After all, if it was up to just the ingredients, every cookie would be equal (sugar, flour, eggs, etc.). The secret to the perfect cookie lies in the baker’s technique.

Well, great, I thought. I have the baking technique of an elephant on rollerskates. Looks like my cookie-baking days are over. But after reading further, it turns out that they key to perfect chocolate chip cookies is letting the dough rest for 36 hours. Anyone can do that! So, that night I whipped up  this easy batch of dough from Nestle Tollhouse Kitchens and let it sit under plastic wrap for 36 hours in the fridge.

Apparently, the 36 hours is significant so that the ingredients in the dough can get to know each other better. Ruth Wakefield of Tollhouse cookie explains that, “A long hydration time is important because eggs, unlike, say, water, are gelatinous and slow-moving, she said. Making matters worse, the butter coats the flour, acting, she said, “like border patrol guards,” preventing the liquid from getting through to the dry ingredients. The extra time in the fridge dispatches that problem.”  Neat! Does Alton Brown know about this for Good Eats?

Speaking of 36 hours, I feel like it’s worth mentioning that Jason looked at me funny when, on Sunday night while mixing dough, I said “Wednesday we’ll have some great cookies!”  He let me live in my fantasy world of time all the way until last night (Tuesday) when he reminded me that 36 hours does not equal three days. So, 48 hours after making the dough, I whipped these up, feeling rather “blonde” about the whole mathematical error. He knows I’m bad at statistics, gah!

How did they turn out? After 18 minutes at 350 degrees, I testify that these are the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever made. They are perfectly round, crispy on the outer edge of the cookies, but chewy and soft in the middle. The flavors are all there of a great cookie, but its the texture that makes these extra-yum. I think Mrs. Ruth Wakefield of Tollhouse Cookies found the holy grail of cookie making! Next time you feel like some old fashioned chocolate chip cookies, try this trick and tell me what you think!

Are there any other tips that I’m missing?

Overcooked