New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies

I'm not going to lie.  I never had any interest in making the highly praised, often talked about in the food/baking world NY Times Chocolate Chip Cookies.  However, a few weeks ago my best friend brought them to a Trivia Night we were attending, and I was immediately hooked.  I have dessert-willpower, so I only ate 2 cookies, but boy were those two cookies fantastic.  I immediately sought after an excuse to make these cookies.

I had literally been reading about how fantastic these cookies were for years, but to me I figured chocolate chip is chocolate chip.  To be fair though, I never once actually looked at the recipe.  I cannot thank my friend enough, because I have the perfect go-to chocolate chip cookie now!

The recipe calls for chilling the dough for at least 24 hours before baking.  As the dough sets and chills, it becomes drier and more crumbly. This helps the cookies to develop their flavor, as well as bake up evenly. I have never had a chocolate chip cookie bake up this perfectly.  Seriously!  Oh, and on top of all of the awesomeness of a great chocolate chip cookie, they're HUGE, and topped with sea salt.  Yes!  Sea Salt!!  Who doesn't love the salty-sweet combo?

Don't believe me that these are the best chocolate chip cookies I've ever made?  Bake some up yourself!

NY Times Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients:

• 8 1/2 ounces cake flour (2 cups minus 2 tablespoons)
• 8 1/2 ounces bread flour (1 2/3 cups)
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
• 2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
• 10 ounces light brown sugar (1 1/4 cup)
• 8 ounces granulated sugar (1 cup plus 2 tablespoons)
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 pounds good quality chocolate chunks or chips
• Sea Salt

Directions

• Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl.  Set aside.
• Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars until very light, about 5 minutes.  Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Stir in the vanilla.  Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds,  Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them.  Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate 24 to 36 hours.  Dough may be used in batches and refrigerated up to 72 hours.
• When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, or a nonstick baking mat.  Set aside.
• Scoop 6 3 1/2 ounce mounds of dough onto baking sheet.  Make sure to have some chocolate pieces pointing up - it'll make a more attractive cookie!  Sprinkle lighly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more.  Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated to use the next day!

* I made half of my cookies smaller (2 ounces - baked for 15-18 minutes), and half without sea salt.  Even without the sea salt these cookies were amazing!

Source: Jacques Torres, via New York Times