Six Degrees of ... Chocolate Chip Cookies

These cookies. Oh. My. Word. 

Not only are they delectable, but they're SO PRETTY. I had to refrain from taking a picture of every. single. one.

You might know these cookies as the New York Times chocolate chip cookie. Or maybe the Jacques Torres chocolate chip cookie. I came across them years ago via my cousin via Orangette via the New York Times via David Leite via Jacques Torres. I'm pretty sure Jacques got the recipe from Kevin Bacon.

I've made them before and they needed to be made again.

What you need to know is this: 

1. if you are a lover of chocolate chip cookies, you need to make these. 
2. the dough requires a 36 hour resting period.
3. there are 2.5 pounds of chocolate in here!
4. the resulting cookies are chewy, salty, majorly chocolatey, cookie heaven.

The recipe here is for a BIG batch of BIG cookies...around 48 or so depending on how large you make them (you'll see in a minute) and how much cookie dough you consume during the 36 hour resting period. I'm guessing I ate at least 4 cookies worth of dough. 

For my rendition, I added a bit of cinnamon. Not so much that these taste like Snickerdoodles, but just enough to enhance the chocolate flavor. If you didn't know it was in there, you probably wouldn't guess cinnamon, just that the cookies are really special. (I like to add a bit of cinnamon in my pancake batter as well.)

*update 9-2017: when I have time, these are my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe. I don't always add the cinnamon. Either way, they're the perfect cookies.* 

For the chocolate...I used three kinds, all on the dark side of the spectrum, but three high-quality brands to make things more interesting. 

 Once the dough has chilled and rested, you'll measure out the dough for baking. The NYT recipe reads "3.5 ounces or the size of a generous golf ball." Hmm. A generous golf ball seems like one that would roll closer to the hole, but I digress. 3.5 ounces is closer to a baseball in my book and makes for a HUGE cookie. (Not that there's anything wrong with that.)

I tried 2.5 ounces and ended up settling on 3 ounces. Not that big of a difference, but I'd probably stick with 3 next time. 

I can't recommend a kitchen scale strongly enough here. I resisted buying one for years and I'm surprised by how much I use mine now. You'll want it for scooping out the dough and for measuring ingredients. 

This one is thin, light, easy to store, and inexpensive. I love the tare feature which allows you to set a bowl on the scale, then zero out the weight. 

The Six Degrees of Separation/New York Times/Jacques Torres Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe...Bake at 350 version

{makes about 40-48 cookies}

[NOTE: cinnamon may be omitted entirely or replaced with 1 teaspoon almond extract added with the vanilla.]

17 ounces cake flour

17 ounces bread flour

2 & 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3 teaspoons baking powder

3 teaspoons kosher salt

1 & 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (optional)

2 & 1/2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature

20 ounces light brown sugar

16 ounces granulated sugar

4 eggs

4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 & 1/2 pounds (at least 60%) chocolate chips/discs (Guittard, Scharffen Berger, Ghirardelli) 

fleur de sel for sprinkling

Sift together the flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside. 

In a LARGE bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugars together until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the eggs one a a time, scraping down the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla. 

In low speed, add in half of the flour, mixing just until incorporated. Repeat with the remaining flour. Stir in the chocolate chips. 

Cover the dough with plastic wrap and chill for at least 36 hours. (Alternately, scoop the dough into 3-ounce portions, then chill.) 

After 36 hours, preheat oven to 350. Line two cookie sheets with parchment. Scoop the dough onto the cookie sheets anywhere from 2.5 to 3.5 ounces, but stick to one size per sheet for even baking. (I found it easier to loosen the dough with a spoon, then scoop it with a cookie scoop.)

Sprinkle with fleur de sel.

Bake for 16-19 minutes, depending on size. Bake until the edges are golden brown and the center are set. Remove from oven and let the cookies rest on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Are they worth the 36 hour wait time?  YES!!!!!!!!!!! Am I a little sorry that we packed them all up and sent them to school for Jack's teachers during finals week, and I'm writing about them with no cookies in sight? YES!!!!!!!!!!!!