The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever!

I've tried dozens of other chocolate chip cookie recipes before, but nothing compares to the Jacques Torres recipe that was featured in the New York Times a few years ago. This recipe is easy and the cookies always come out perfectly. I've made these cookies on numerous occasions and my friends and family can't get enough of them. And even if they could, I have no problem eating 4 or 5 cookies on my own!

(Adapted from Jacques Torres; makes 1 1/2 dozen cookies)

Ingredients:
2 cups minus 2 tbsp cake flour
1 2/3 cups bread flour
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp coarse salt
2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 tbsp granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 lb bittersweet chocolate chips
Sea salt

Directions:
- Cream butter and sugars until very light; add eggs one at a time and vanilla until well mixed.
- Add the dry ingredients and mix until combined; add chocolate chips until combined.
- Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place "generous golf balls" of dough.
- Sprinkle lightly with sea salt.
- Bake until golden brown (18-20 minutes).

Unlike most cookie recipes, this one uses a blend of cake flour and bread flour.

The original recipe calls for feves or oval-shaped chocolate pieces. I used regular chocolate chips from Nestle Toll House.

This is the hardest part of the recipe. I know you're tempted to bake the cookies right away but the dough has to sit in the fridge overnight.

This is a crucial part and the part I often forget: sprinkling sea salt on top of the cookies.

Finally the cookies are ready! Don't you just love the smell of freshly baked cookies?

Blondies

I've always preferred blondies over brownies. I guess I'm not as into chocolate as most people. Since I had an early dinner today (around 5pm) and was still hungry, I decided to make some blondies. They are very easy to make and use ingredients that are probably in your pantry already. I tweaked the recipe by America's Test Kitchen by skipping nuts and adding more chocolate chips. The blondies turned out good but not amazing. In my opinion, Zingerman's makes the best blondies and I'm still trying to find a recipe that replicates their magical taste. Do you guys have any ideas?

(Adapted from America's Test Kitchen; makes 36 tiny bars)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
12 tbsp butter, melted and cooled
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup chocolate chips
3/4 cup white chocolate chips

Directions:
- Preheat the oven at 350 degrees F.
- Line a 13 by 9-inch pan with foil and spray with Pam.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.
- In another bowl, whisk the sugar and butter; add the eggs and vanilla until mixed.
- Fold the dry ingredients into the egg mixture until combined; fold in the chocolate chips.
- Bake for 22 to 25 minutes.

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

I was craving something sweet after dinner, so I decided to bake some cookies. I recently bought "The Complete America's Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook" on the recommendation of a friend, so I decided to try one of the recipes in the book. This recipe is very similar to many of the popular cookie recipes except for two things: it uses melted butter (as opposed to room temperature butter) to achieve a chewy texture and an additional egg yolk to prevent the cookies from becoming tough. I didn't want to make too many cookies, so I halved all the ingredients.


Ingredients:
1 cup + 1 tbsp flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
6 tbsp butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg yolk
1/2 egg white
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup chocolate chips

Directions:
- Heat the oven to 325 degrees F and line a baking sheet with a parchment paper.
- Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
- Beat the butter and sugars until smooth; add the eggs and vanilla until incorporated.
- Mix the dry ingredients and wet ingredients until combined; add the chocolate until incorporated.
- Divide the dough into 9 portions and place them on the baking sheet.
- Bake for 15 to 18 minutes.