Americans buy about 100 million bags of chocolate chips every year, which means that the famous Toll House cookie recipe could very well be the most-baked cookie in the country.
RICK NELSON / Minneapolis Star Tribune | Posted: Tuesday, May 1, 2007 7:00 pm
Americans purchase about 100 million bags of chocolate chips every year, which means that the famous Toll House cookie recipe, a fixture on Nestle’s chocolate chip package for decades, could very well be the most-baked cookie in the country.
As recipes go, it pretty much defines “easy to make,” but take one false step and this baking basic can trip up even an accomplished cookie baker. With better baking as our goal, we asked a half-dozen cookie professionals for how-to tips they would add to the back of the bright yellow Nestle wrapper. And then we test-drove some chocolate chip cookie recipes that move beyond the Toll House boilerplate.
Here’s what the pros suggested:
Butter is best. “Use the best butter you can buy,” said Steve Horton, co-owner of Rustica in Minneapolis. “The fat content is important. Use a high-fat, high-quality butter.”
Sixty-five to 70 degrees. “Butter should be at room temperature, you don’t want it any warmer than that,” said Annamarie Rigelman, baker at Lucia’s Restaurant and Lucia’s Bakery & Take Home in Minneapolis. “I’ve seen people use a thermometer to get it exactly right, but if you take a stick out and leave it on the counter for a half-hour, it should be OK.” Bring the eggs to room temp, too.
Flour power. “Pastry flour makes a very good cookie, a very tender cookie,” said Gary Robertson, head baker at the Wedge Co-op in Minneapolis. “It’s hard to find, although we sell it in a bin here at the Wedge. You need to experiment a bit, because different flours will yield different outcomes, but I highly recommend it.” Another suggestion: Make a 50-50 blend of all-purpose and pastry flours.
The more the merrier. “Sure, there’s overkill in everything,” said Rigelman with a laugh. “But it doesn’t hurt to have lots and lots of chips and chunks in a chocolate chip cookie.”
The spatula is your friend. “You want to make sure you are scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl while you’re mixing,” said Horton. “If you have a standing mixer, you might have to take the bowl off the stand so you can get your spatula completely under the paddle attachment.” Unevenly mixed dough can yield cookies that are little more than big chunks of sugar or butter. “What you’ll end up with are pancakes,” said Horton.
Beat it. “The secret to a good cookie is really whipping the butter and sugar,” said Robertson. “They have to be creamed a good three to five minutes.”
Just don’t overmix. “If you do, you’ll get dry, tough cookies,” said Horton. “When it comes time to add the dry ingredients, you want to mix them until they are just incorporated, to the point where the dough has an even consistency. And then you stop. You don’t want to develop glutens.” Another suggestion: If you feel you’ve overmixed, cover and refrigerate the dough overnight, which will allow the glutens to relax.
Chill out. “If the dough is cold as it’s going into the oven, it spreads less,” said Rigelman. “When I’m baking at home, I’ll put the dough in the refrigerator for at least a half-hour before I bake. It keeps cookies from getting too thin.”
Keep it shiny. “Aluminum baking sheets are a must,” said Dennis Tank, co-owner of Tank Goodness in Minneapolis. “Everyone should go out and replace all their old bakeware with aluminum stuff, right now. I’ve had good luck with both solid and air-cushioned aluminum baking sheets. The old-style dark pans make a crappy cookie; they almost always burn the bottoms of cookies.”
Buy an oven thermometer. “You always have to worry about the oven,” said Rigelman. “I read somewhere that up to half of all home ovens are off by 50 degrees or more.”
Turn, turn, turn. “Halfway through baking, rotate the baking sheet front to back,” said Horton. “You never know if your oven has a hot spot. Even professional ovens don’t bake evenly.”
Lower the heat. “Turn your oven down 25 to 50 degrees from the temperature called for in the recipe, and then bake a little longer,” said Tank. “I’m a big fan of the lower, slower bake.”
Keep it short. “I really like soft cookies, so it’s better to bake one minute too short than 30 seconds too long,” said Alice Jones, co-owner of Blondies Cafe in St. Paul, Minn. “Cookies continue to bake outside the oven, so when everyone else says they’re not quite done, that’s when I take them out of the oven. If you’ve overbaked, get them off the baking sheet as quickly as humanly possible.”
Bake when the mood strikes. “Is there anything better than a warm chocolate chip cookie?” said Jeff Veigel, co-owner of Isles Bun & Coffee Co. in Minneapolis. “By and large I think cookies are at their best when they’re warm from the oven, that’s when they have the most impact. So make dough, patty it up, stick them in the freezer and, when you want a fresh cookie, turn on the oven. If you use parchment paper, you don’t even have to wash the baking sheet when you’re done.”
———
THICK AND CHEWY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
Makes about 18 cookies.
Note: Because they rely upon melted butter — and a few odd preparation quirks to assure their goal of an uneven surface — these cookies defy conventional cookie-baking wisdom, but they more than live up to their name. From Cooks Illustrated magazine.
2 1/8 cups flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 cup brown sugar (light or dark, or a mixture of both)
½ cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 to 2 cups chocolate chips or chunks (semisweet or bittersweet)
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt and baking soda, and reserve.
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until thoroughly blended. Mix in egg, egg yolk and vanilla. Add flour mixture, mixing until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
Form scant ¼ cup dough into a ball. Holding ball using fingertips of both hands, pull ball into two equal halves. Rotate halves 90 degrees and, with jagged surfaces exposed, join halves together at their base, again forming a single cookie, being careful not to smooth the dough’s uneven surface.
Place formed dough onto prepared baking sheets, about 9 balls per sheet (smaller cookies can be used, but fewer cookies can be baked at a time and baking time may need to be adjusted). Bake until cookies are light golden brown and outer edges start to harden yet centers are still soft and puffy, 15 to 18 minutes. Remove from oven and cool cookies on baking sheets.
———
CLASSIC CRUNCHY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
Makes about 4 dozen cookies.
Note: “This is the quintessential crunchy (as opposed to chewy) chocolate chip cookie,” write the authors of the “King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion” (The Countryman Press, $29.95). They’re right.
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
½ cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¾ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cider vinegar or white vinegar
1 egg
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cup flour
3 cups (18 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter, shortening, brown sugar, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, salt and vinegar. Beat in egg until well combined. Reduce speed to low and add baking soda and flour, and mix until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto prepared baking sheets. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, until golden brown. Remove cookies from oven, cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
———
GLORIA’S BEACON HILL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
Makes about 2 dozen cookies.
Note: This meringue cookie varies from the traditional Beacon Hill recipe with the addition of chocolate morsels. To toast walnuts, spread in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake 5 to 10 minutes at 350 degrees (shaking pan once or twice during baking), until they begin to give off an aroma. From “A Baker’s Field Guide to Chocolate Chip Cookies” by Dede Wilson (Harvard Common Press, $16.95).
6 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 egg whites
½ c. sugar
½ tsp. vanilla extract
1/3 cup miniature semisweet chocolate morsels
—1/3 cup walnut halves, toasted and finely chopped
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
In top of a double boiler over gently simmering water, melt chopped chocolate, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat and cool slightly.
In a large, grease-free bowl, using an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment on medium-high speed, beat egg whites until small peaks form. Increase speed to high and gradually add sugar until stiff (but not dry) peaks form. Beat in vanilla, then fold in melted chocolate until combined. Fold in chocolate morsels and walnuts.
Drop dough by generous rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake until cracked in appearance and dry on top, about 10 minutes; cookies should be able to be lifted off baking sheet, and insides should be very moist. Remove from oven, cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes, then transfer parchment paper (or silicone mat) and cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
———
NEIMAN MARCUS CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
Makes about 2 dozen cookies.
Note: From “The Neiman Marcus Cookbook” (Clarkson Potter, $45). And no, we didn’t pay for the recipe. The myth around its availability is one of many urban legends.
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup light brown sugar
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1¾ cups flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
1½ cups chocolate chips
1½ teaspoons instant espresso powder
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
In a large bowl using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar for about 30 seconds, until mixture is fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla extract for 30 seconds longer, until well combined.
In a large bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Reduce speed to low, add flour mixture to butter-sugar mixture and mix for about 15 seconds. Using a rubber spatula, stir in chocolate chips and espresso powder.
Using a 1-ounce scoop (or a 2-tablespoon measure), drop dough onto prepared baking sheet in dollops about 3 inches apart. Gently press down on dough with back of a spoon to spread dough into 2-inch circles.
Bake about 20 minutes or until cookies are nicely browned around edges (bake a little longer for crispier cookies). Remove from oven, cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes, then transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
———
MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
Makes about 8 dozen cookies.
Note: “Ready to take a break from ‘this old Toll House’? write the authors of “The Frango Cookbook” (Book Kitchen, $14.95), a new cookbook dedicated to all things Frango, the chocolate candy tradition made famous by Marshall Field’s and continued by Macy’s. “Instead of using the usual chips and walnuts, these chewy cookies are studded with chunks of Frango Mint Chocolates and pecans.” To toast pecans, spread in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for 5 to 10 minutes at 350 degrees (shaking pan once or twice during baking), until they begin to give off an aroma.
2¼ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup shortening, at room temperature
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
5 Frango Mint Chocolates, very finely chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
25 Frango Mint Chocolates (about ½ pound), coarsely chopped
¾ cup coarsely chopped toasted pecans
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda and salt and reserve. In a large bowl using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter and shortening for 1 minute. Add brown sugar and granulated sugar and beat for 1 minute. Beat in eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Add finely chopped Frango Mint chocolates and vanilla extract and mix well. Using a rubber spatula, stir in flour mixture until just blended. Stir in coarsely chopped Frango Mint chocolates and pecans.
Drop dough by rounded teaspoons onto prepared baking sheets, spacing dough 1 inch apart. Bake about 10 minutes, until cookies are firm at edges and soft in center. Remove from oven, cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes, then transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
———
MY BEST CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
Makes about 4 dozen cookies.
Note: “For most of my baking life, I depended on chocolate chips and morsels, mini and standard size, for my cookies,” writes author Dorie Greenspan. “It never occurred to me that I could use anything else. Now, however, packaged chips have become my fallback chocolate; I prefer fine-quality bar or block chocolate, which I chop as needed.” From “Baking: From My Home to Yours” (Houghton Mifflin, $40).
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 eggs
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chips (or 2 cups chocolate chips)
1 cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt and baking soda and reserve. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter on medium speed for about 1 minute, until smooth. Add granulated sugar and brown sugar and beat for another 2 minutes or so, until well blended. Beat in vanilla extract. Add eggs, one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in 3 portions, mixing only until after each portion is incorporated. On low speed, or by hand using a rubber spatula, mix in chocolate and nuts. Spoon dough by slightly rounded tablespoonfuls onto prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between spoonfuls. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until cookies are brown at edges and golden in center. Remove from oven, cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes then transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
———
DOUBLE-CHOCOLATE BROWNIE COOKIES
Makes about 30 cookies.
Note: The dough can be shaped into balls and refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen up to three weeks; freeze on baking sheets until firm, then transfer to a resealable plastic bag. From “Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook” (Clarkson Potter, $40).
9 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped into ¼-inch chunks and divided
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup sifted flour
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup (about 3 ounces) chopped walnuts, optional
Line several baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. In a double boiler over gently simmering water, melt 5 ounces semisweet chocolate, unsweetened chocolate and butter. Stir until smooth and set aside to cool, about 5 minutes. In a large bowl using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat melted chocolate-butter mixture and sugar until well combined, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla extract. Reduce speed to low and add flour and salt and mix until just incorporated. Stir in remaining 4 ounces semisweet chocolate (and walnuts, if using). Cover dough and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Shape 2 tablespoons of dough at a time into 1 ½-inch balls and place about 1½ inches apart on prepared baking until edges are set and centers are still a bit soft, 9 to 11 minutes. Remove from oven, cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes then transfer parchment paper (or silicone mat) and cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
———
CHOCOLATE CHUNK MACADAMIA COCONUT COOKIES
Makes 3 to 4 dozen cookies.
Note: Melt chocolate in a double boiler over gently simmering heat, stirring occasionally until completely smooth. Remove from heat and let cool 5 to 10 minutes. From “The Buttercup Bakeshop Cookbook” by Jennifer Appel (Simon & Schuster, $26).
2½ cups flour
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups (2 2/3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
2 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted
2 tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1½-2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup coarsely chopped unsalted macadamia nuts
1 cup sweetened, shredded coconut
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. In a large bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt and reserve. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, mixing well after each addition. Add melted chocolate, milk and vanilla extact and mix well. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture and mix until just incorporated. Using a rubber spatula, stir in chocolate chips, macadamia nuts and coconut. Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto prepared baking sheets. Bake 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven, cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes then transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
———
COCOA-SPICE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
Makes about 3 dozen cookies.
Note: “These slightly exotic cocoa-spice cookies incorporate the basic flavor combination that gave 19th-century spiced-chocolate jumbles their appeal, yet are entirely modern,” writes author Nancy Baggett in “The All-American Cookie Book” (Houghton Mifflin, $35).
2 cups flour
¼ cup sifted unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon ground ginger
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup (1 stick plus 2 2/3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, slightly softened
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
¼ cup light molasses
1 large egg
½ teaspoon finely grated orange zest
½ cup. (3 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips, chopped
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. In a large bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and salt and reserve. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat together butter, sugar and molasses until well-blended and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg and orange zest and beat until well-blended and smooth. Reduce speed to low and add half of flour mixture and mix until evenly incorporated; add remaining flour mixture and chopped chocolate and mix until evenly incorporated. Cover and refrigerate dough for 10 minutes, or until it firms up just slightly. Lightly grease your hands and shape dough into 1¼-inch balls. Place dough on baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart. Using your hands, pat down dough into ½-inch thick rounds. Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, in upper third of oven for 7 to 9 minutes, or until barely firm when touched. Remove from oven, cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes then transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
———
BRING ON THE DOUGH
Sure, they’re convenient. But do commercially prepared, bake-your-own cookie doughs stand up to homemade? Rarely. Better to make your own, freeze it and then bake at your leisure. To do so, drop rounded tablespoons of dough on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and freeze; when solid, store in a tightly sealed bag. No need to defrost, just bake an extra minute or two. Here’s a comparison of commercially available frozen and refrigerated dough:
n Trader Joe’s
The clear winner. The flavors of brown sugar, butter and vanilla shine through; bittersweet rather than semisweet chocolate gives them a tangy bite. The price is right, too.
Cost: $3.49, 16 ounces
n Wholly Wholesome
Plus: Tons of chocolate. Minus: Whole-wheat flour, which makes for an earnest rather than joyful experience.
Cost: $3.99, 11.25 ounces
n Uppercrust
Buttery bite-size cookies that bake up crisp and thin. So why kill a good idea with sweet-tooth-deadening whole-wheat and rye flours?
Cost: $5.99, 14 ounces
n Keys
Handy tub container means cookies in any size. Margarine makes ’em soft and chewy, but the flavor says “store bought.”
Cost: $6.99, 32 ounces
n Nestle and Pillsbury
Toll House morsels give the former a familiar leg up, but both have super-sugary dough with a fake aftertaste.
Cost: $3.29, 18 ounces