Cookie Testing
As you may have seen on Instagram this weekend, I set out on a quest to test a few chocolate chip cookie recipes. I’ve been making my current favorite for years now, but I wanted to test some new methods out. That’s the beauty of baking and cooking, we are constantly learning new techniques and making adjustments to our old favorites.
I made my usual cookie that we give our guests here when they arrive, a recipe that uses less eggs and less baking soda, and a recipe that uses bread flour and two types of chocolate. I will share the recipes for each cookie and what I liked/disliked about each one.
If you like to get in the kitchen and play around testing recipes, this is a fun and delicious way to start!
Cookie number 1
Recipe:
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 whole egg, at room temperature
- 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 8 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars together until fluffy.
With the mixer on low, add the eggs and vanilla and mix until smooth.
Whisk the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl then slowly add it to the wet ingredients until just combined.
Fold in the chocolate chips.
Scoop the cookies onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper, cover with plastic and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes, but overnight is better.
Preheat oven to 350F, place 6 cookies equal distance apart on a parchment lined sheet pan and bake for 8 minutes, then remove from oven and bang on the counter to remove air, return to the oven and bake another couple minutes until the edges are golden but the center still looks very underdone. Remove and bang on the counter again. Let them cool on the sheetpan for 5 minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool completely.
My thoughts:
These were not my favorite, don’t get me wrong, they are fine, but the original recipe called for baking them 15-17 minutes…that was way too long in my opinion. If you like a really crisp cookie, then these are for you! But I like to under-bake cookies, just a personal preference. I think the lack of two whole eggs is just okay. I felt like it resulted in a bit of a dry texture.
Cookie number 2
I tested this recipe
My thoughts:
The results were just okay at first. But the next day, the cookies was 100% better. It just needed to sit overnight to let the flavors meld. I would describe this as a vacation cookie, a nice treat with an iced coffee on a sunny day at the beach! This cookie is huge! Not something I would eat too many of. Not ideal for baking a batch to have around the house, but great for a once in a while treat.
I like the use of two types of chocolate, it adds a nice depth of flavor. The bread flour creates a cake like texture and the cookies bake until they are just golden on the outside, so the inside remains really soft.
Cookie number 3
This is the recipe I’ve been making for a long time and it really holds up. It starts with melted butter instead of room temperature.
Recipe:
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, melted and warm
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips (I use half regular chips and half mini chips)
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda and set aside.
Place the melted butter and both sugars in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix together until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time and mix until combined. Mix in the vanilla followed by the dry ingredients. Fold in the chocolate chips, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350F and line a sheet pan with parchment. Remove the dough from the fridge and let it sit out on the counter for a while to soften up.
For larger cookies, scoop heaping double tablespoons of batter onto the sheets–use rounded tablespoons if you want to make smaller cookies, spacing the cookies at least 2 inches apart bake for 9-11 minutes, until the edges are slightly golden and the center looks raw.
Remove from the oven and cool completely on the sheet pan.
These will be lacy and slightly crisp on the edges with a soft, chewy center.
My thoughts:
These are still my favorite right now, they are nothing fancy, but they just work. Our guests seem to like them, so for now, I’m sticking with it!
