Chocolate Chunk Cookies-Jacques Torres

When I was going back to school last fall I brought these cookies out after a dinner with some of my friends and their mothers. They all were dying as they quickly began devouring one cookie after another. I kid you not! They are truly addicting. Well anyway, this delightful duo

were especially taken by these golden beauties. Deb on the right proceeded to grab our waitress and give her and the chefs in back a few of my cookies. "You have to try these!"

They tried them. They loved them. They gave me an application.
Now, I didn't apply to this little inn, but, it's a funny story still...

This is easily the most famous chocolate chip cookie recipe in the blogosphere (yes, I just used blogosphere for the first time). Jacques Torres is a french pastry chef who is known as the "King of Chocolate." I don't know where exactly or when exactly this recipe started becoming so popular, but I was introduced to it on Crepes of Wrath, (another unreal baker...).

He's my dream man.

In this recipe you use bars of dark chocolate instead of semisweet, and big flakes of coarse sea salt instead of Morton's. Just this makes a huge difference. I suggest using Scharffen Berger's 70% chocolate bars, and you can buy them here.

You also use a mixture of bread and cake flour, this adds a new texture, but isn't necessary. You could use all purpose flour but its just not the same!

Many cookie recipes advise you to refrigerate the dough for an hour or two, or even a few days. 

For this recipe, I find that this step is ESSENTIAL!

I mean, it is not really essential. 

They are going to taste incredible either way, but I have found that in general, cookies taste a whole lot better when the dough is refrigerated. When you don't refrigerate the cookies don't bake up evenly and they often spread out more thin like this:

Not only does refrigerating the dough help the cookies from spreading out to thin, but the butter and eggs absorb the flour and vanilla, making the flavor and texture become much more rich.

And, who wouldn't want that?

Once you scoop out the dough, you will sprinkle it lightly with some sea salt. I usually make pretty large cookies, so I use a big ice cream scoop to get perfect mounds like this little fella

Then you bake them for about 15 minutes and you get the most delicious thing in the world.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Adapted from Jacques Torres/Crepes of Wrath

Yields about 2 dozen

• 2 cups minus 2 tablespoons Cake Flour
• 1 2/3 cups Break Flour (I use King Arthur)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1 1/4 teaspoons Baking Soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Coarse Salt/Sea Salt
• 1 1/4 cup Unsalted Butter, room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups Light Brown Sugar
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons Sugar
• 2 Large Eggs, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
• 12 ounces Bittersweet Chocolate (60-70%), chopped into small chunks (you can also use chips or mixture of chips and chopped chocolate, whatever is easiest).
• Sea Salt to sprinkle on before baking

Whisk together the cake flour, bread flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, blend the butter and sugars until smooth, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and add one egg at a time blending well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Gradually add the flour mixture and blend until just combined. Finally, stir in the chopped chocolate, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 24-72 hours.

When you are ready to bake, leave the dough out till it gets to room temperature. Use an ice cream scoop to make about 2 tablespoon-sized balls. Place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper about 2 inches apart, I can usually fit about 8 on one tray. Sprinkle the unbaked dough balls with a little sea salt. Bake for 15-18 minutes at 350, rotating the pan halfway through. The edges should be golden and the centers should no longer be shiny.

I usually can't wait to let them cool, but you can try!