Chocolate Chip Cookies - NY T adap of JT

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July 9, 2008 NY Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/09/dining/09chip.html?ref=recipes


Adapted from Jacques Torres

Shirley O. Corriher, author of “CookWise": Let rest in fridge-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. Like the Warm Rule, hydration — from overnight, in Mr. Poussot’s case, to up to a few days for Mr. Torres — was a tactic shared by nearly every baker interviewed.

The second insight Mr. Rubin offered had to do with size. His cookies are six-inch affairs because he believes that their larger size allows for three distinct textures. “First there’s the crunchy outside inch or so,” he said. A nibble revealed a crackle to the bite and a distinct flavor of butter and caramel. “Then there’s the center, which is soft.” A bull’s-eye the size of a half-dollar yielded easily.

“But the real magic,” he added, “is the one-and-a-half-inch ring between them where the two textures and all the flavors mix.”

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  • 18

Ingredients

  • 2 cups minus 2 tablespoons
  • (8 1/2 ounces) cake flour
  • 1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons 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 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs (weight of 1 large egg w/o shell = 50 grams)
  • 2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract
  • 1 1/4 pounds bittersweet chocolate disks or fèves, at least 60 percent cacao content (see note)
  • Sea salt.
  • Note: Disks are sold at Jacques Torres Chocolate; Valrhona fèves, oval-shaped chocolate pieces, are at Whole Foods.

Preparation

Step 1

Time: 45 minutes (for (1) 6-cookie batch), plus at least 24 hours chilling



1. Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.

2. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes.
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Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
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Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds.
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Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them.
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Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours (36 is better)
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Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.

3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.

4. 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 poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie.
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Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes.
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Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more.
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Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day.
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Eat warm, with a big napkin.

Yield: 1 1/2 dozen 5-inch cookies.

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