There’s a restaurant in Atlanta that has the most incredible chocolate chip cookies. They’re at Victory Sandwich Bar, a go to spot for great sandwiches and slushie cocktails come summer. I’m not usually a big chocolate chip cookie fan. I’d choose a brownie over a cookie any day. But after devouring more cookies at Victory than I care to ever admit, I decided to search for a recipe to try at home. The Jacques Torres chocolate chip cookie recipe kept coming up. A pastry chef friend of mine even suggested it. Why? Because it uses both cake flour and bread flour. The combination makes for a soft and chewier cookie versus a crispy one with all-purpose flour.
Here’s the thing though about these cookies. You really do need to refrigerate them. They just taste better. But you know what? They also taste just fine if you bake them immediately. So don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. If you want to bake one right now, go for it. But if you can, refrigerate them for 36 hours, 24 at least. The flavors get more caramelized over time and the liquids end up hydrating the flours better over time as well. Resulting in a moist, chewy and amazingly delicious cookie.
I wish I could take credit for dreaming up this recipe, but I can’t. I’m no food blogger, and I never claim to be one. So I’m solely sharing this incredible recipe that I found here. Must give credit where credit is due. And thank you, Jaques Torres, for these incredible cookies.
Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
A few tips before starting this recipe. One, I weighed everything. It makes for more accurate measurement with the flour and sugar. I have this super affordable scale that I use at home. And make sure everything is at room temperature. Also, bread flour and cake flour are usually not easy to find in the store. They shove them on the bottom shelf or top shelf, but I promise it’s likely there. Cake flour is usually in a box, and not a paper bag like regular flour.
Ingredients
- 2 cups minus 2 tablespoons cake flour (8 1/2 ounces)
- 1 ⅔ cups bread flour (8 1/2 ounces)
- 1 ¼ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups unsalted butter (2 1/2 sticks)
- 1 ¼ cups light brown sugar (10 ounces)
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar (8 ounces)
- Chocolate chips – I did about 1 ¼ pound of chocolate chips – You can do whatever you like but I personally did a mix of 60% bittersweet chocolate chip and semi-sweet
- Sea salt
Method
Step One
Sift flours, baking soda, powder and salt and set aside
Step Two
In a mixer with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Mix in chocolate, do not overmix!
Step Three
On a lined baking sheet (I love my Silpats but here are a less expensive silicone baking mat) scoop out generous gold ball sized balls onto the sheet. I personally used my 1/3 cup scooper for this. Then refrigerate for 36 hours (24 at least!). Or just bake one-off, who cares. It’s easier to scoop the dough out ahead of time, but if you don’t have fridge space, you can just cover the batter with plastic wrap and then scoop before baking.
Step Four
Before you do anything, sprinkle a little sea salt or kosher salt on each cookie and thank me later.
Pre-heat the oven to 375 and bake cookies for 14-18 minutes. Keep an eye on them. They shouldn’t get too brown, and will continue to cook another minute or so on the hot pan. Better to undercook than overcook (unless you enjoy a dark burnt cookie).