Okay, I know I said before that I was only going to do 12 different CCC recipes. But, I saw this recipe on Anna's blog, Cookie Madness, and was intrigued by the fact that it specifically calls for the use of a stand mixer. And, wouldn't you know, I just happened to be at my parents' house and my mom has a stand mixer. The opportunity was just too good to pass up, especially since Anna raved about how good they were (I promise that these are the LAST ones).
So, there I was mixing up one more batch of chocolate chip cookie dough. There are many things that set this recipe apart from all others. One is that it calls for cold butter straight from the fridge. In addition, the butter is creamed first and then it's whipped with the sugars for several minutes, reaching a buttercream-like consistency. Finally, the egg and vanilla are mixed together and added in small spoonfuls to the batter over a 4-5 minute spread. This results in a very fluffy cookie dough unlike any other I've ever seen. You then chill the dough for at least 6 hours or overnight.
I never realized before this that chocolate chip cookie making could be such a science. I continue to be amazed at the fact that you can take the very same ingredients but alter the amounts or the techniques used in combining them and you get completely different results in terms of taste, texture, and color.
These cookies baked up perfectly thick and chewy with nicely crisp edges and a crunchy outer shell. They don't spread a lot in the oven, so you do have to flatten them down a little either before or during the baking time. The resulting cookies are a beautiful dark brown color and were oh so tasty. Since the butterscotch flavor is not overpowering, you can definitely eat several of these cookies at one time (and believe me, you're going to want to). I am so glad that I wasn't too cookie-d out to try one more recipe because this one is most certainly a keeper in my book. My whole family loved them!
I can see that picking a winner is going to be super hard. But, pick a winner I must. Stay tuned because next week Monday all will be revealed.
NYT Cookie Update: Jeanie, from The Tasty Cheapskate, did her own baking research on these cookies (go HERE to see how it turned out) and told me when the NYT cookies are made with all-purpose flour instead of the cake flour, they don't taste anywhere near as good as they should. That's definitely a lesson for me. I guess that I really will have to give these cookies a second chance and, when I do, you can bet that I'm using cake flour as directed.
Ultimate Stand Mixer Chocolate Chip Cookies (adapted from Cookie Madness)
2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. unsalted butter, cold, cut into pieces (I used salted butter and omitted the salt)
1 c. very firmly packed light brown sugar
3/4 c. granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
3 c. chocolate chips (I used 2 cups)
Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
Beat cold butter until creamy in bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add both sugars and continue beating at medium speed for 4-5 min.
Meanwhile, mix the eggs and vanilla together in a small bowl and slowly, one tablespoon at a time, add the egg mixture to the cream mixture while the mixer is in motion. This should take another 4-5 min.
With mixer on lowest speed, or by hand, add dry ingredients. When incorporated, add chocolate chips and stir to mix.
Shape dough into golf ball sized balls and arrange on a cookie sheet right next to each other. Cover dough balls and chill overnight or for 6 hours. Remove and let warm to room temperature (30 min.). Arrange cookie balls on ungreased cookie sheets spacing about 3 inches apart. Flatten a little to resemble a hockey puck, about 3/4" high. (I just chilled my cookie dough in a covered container, then formed the balls, flattened them a little, and baked them).
Bake at 400F (I baked mine at 375F), 8-10 min. (mine took 12 min.). Edges should be golden brown. Let sit at room temperature 5 min. before taking off baking pan.
Makes about 32 cookies
Notes:
- I did a half batch of these cookies and so I added a tablespoon of the egg-vanilla mixture at 1-minute intervals. If you make the whole batch, you could probably add a tablespoon of the mixture at 30-second intervals.
- Chilling for 6 hours is all that is necessary. I chilled some of my dough for 24 hours, then baked the cookies and there was no noticeable difference in flavor.
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CCC Round-Up
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