The basic formula for making chocolate chip cookies is the same as the one that is printed on a common brand of chips. When baking, the quantities of flour, liquid, fats and leavening are all interrelated. My preferences are a little different from those of whoever made up the original recipe so I made appropriate modifications. These cookies are made the way I like them. Your taste may be different, so I have included general instructions on how to make them the way you think they should be.
I tend not to buy brown sugar for most cooking. I find that it gets hard in the box and is difficult to mix with other ingredients. I also suspect that brown sugar has gotten less brown than it used to be. Brown sugar is simply what white sugar was before all the molasses was removed. By mixing white sugar with molasses, I can control the “brownness” by mixing my own.
Chocolate Chip Cookies
½ lb. Unsalted butter (room temperature)
3 ½ oz White sugar (about ½ cup) (see note below, regarding sugar)
2 ½ oz. Dark brown sugar (about 1/3 cup)
5 oz. Light brown sugar (about 2/3 cup)
2 XL Eggs (room temperature)
1 t Vanilla
2 ½ oz. Bread flour (about ½ cup)
8 ¾ oz. All-purpose flour (about 1 ¾ cup)
1 t Baking soda
½ t Table salt, or to-taste
12 oz. Chocolate chips, as dark as possible
About 4 ½ – 5 oz. Shelled walnut pieces, from about 9 oz. unshelled nuts. (Or other nuts)
Note:
If you wish, the sugars can be replaced by 10 oz. of white sugar and about 1 ¼ oz. of molasses. In that case, add the molasses before the eggs. The molasses should be called something like full-flavor, and not light or blackstrap molasses, which are different products, and will affect the interaction with the baking soda. My recipes assume that a cup of sugar and ½ ounce of molasses is the same as a 7 ½ oz, cup of light brown sugar. I would add 1 oz of molasses to a cup of white sugar to make dark brown sugar.
If you want chocolate-chocolate chip cookies, you can add 3 oz (about ¾ cup) of Dutch-processed cocoa, combined well with the flour mixture. It is best to mix the flour, cocoa, salt and soda and then sift them together. You will also need 4 tablespoons of liquid, added at the same time as the vanilla. I think bourbon is a good choice. The batter will be firmer and will spread out less in the oven. The temperature will need to be lowered by 10º. The baking time may increase by a minute. If you want a sharper chocolate flavor, you can replace the Dutch-processed Cocoa by natural cocoa. In that case, increase the baking soda by a scant ¼ teaspoon.
Preheat the oven to 375º, or lower (about 350º) if you are using a convection oven). A convection oven may also take less time. The effect of the convection oven on time and temperature will depend on the strength of the fan.
If you use jumbo eggs, you may want to add one or two tablespoons of flour. If you use large eggs, you need to add about 2 teaspoons of liquid. Also, refrigerate the dough between batches. This recipe makes fairly chewy cookies. If you want them less chewy, you can increase the white sugar and decrease the brown. Also, replacing the bread flour with all-purpose will make them cakier. You can also make them chewier by using more bread flour and more brown sugar. If you replace an egg yolk by about 4 teaspoons of milk, they will be crisper. If you substantially change the amount of brown sugar or molasses, you will also need to adjust the amount of baking soda, and you may need to add baking powder. If you make cookies with no brown sugar and no molasses, you will need 2 teaspoons of baking powder and no soda.
Combine the flours, soda and salt, and then sift. In a separate bowl, mix together the sugars. If there are lumps, force it thru a sifter or use a food processor. Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar for about 3 minutes, until light, scraping down the sides of the bowl a couple of times. If you are using molasses, add it about halfway through the beating. While beating, add the eggs, one at a time and then the vanilla. Scrape down the sides and mix a little more. Beat for 2 or 3 additional minutes. Slowly add the flour mixture, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Add the chips and then the nuts. Make sure the mixture is well combined.
The cookies bake better if the mixture is cool. If possible, refrigerate the dough for a half hour before portioning it onto the cookie sheets. Scoop balls of dough, well-spaced, onto a sheet pan or cookie sheet lined with parchment or a silicon baking sheet. A number 40 (1/40 quart) scoop will yield about 34 – 36 cookies. There will be 2 or 3 more if you are making chocolate-chocolate chip cookies. A full sheet will hold 15; a half-sheet will hold 6 or 8.
They will be done after about 8 or 9 minutes (check after 7). You may need to rotate the pan in the oven after about 2/3 of the time has passed. Let the cookies rest for about 4 or 5 minutes, before transferring to a rack to cool. If you are making chocolate-chocolate chip cookies, it is harder to judge doneness, as the dark color masks the signs of browning. Don’t overbake.