Cookies.

I’ve never been a fan of baking cookies.

Why?

Because I think they’re a pain in the ass to make. Yes, this is the girl who will spend countless hours baking other things, but cookies always seem to take more time than I want them to. Scooping individual servings of dough, repeatedly onto sheets, bake, repeat. I like mixing and dumping all the batter or dough into a single pan and baking it in one go.

Things have changed.

Last week I bought a (what I thought was) fancy ice cream scoop for sorbet that I made (yes, I got an ice cream maker, and have been using it – stay tuned for recipes). Well, I dislike(d) this scoop a lot. It doesn’t scoop well, it his a funny ‘squeezer’ that apparently is supposed to get the sorbet out of the scoop. What I found was that it just made my hand hurt, and the sorbet stuck in it.

So I hated on the scoop all week.

Until I realized I could use it for cookie dough. Why have I never taken countless recipes and bloggers advice to use a scoop to dole out cookie dough onto the sheets? Am I THAT stupid.

Jacques Torres’s ‘Not so Secret’ Chocolate Chip Cookies

Using a once ounce scoop you’ll get about 4 dozen cookies.

Adapted from The NY Times

Print
Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

  • 1/2 pound unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup plus 6 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon pastry flour (I used whole wheat because that’s what I had)
  • 1 1/2 cups bread flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 pound good quality dark chocolate (if you can get Jacques Torres’ chocolate, I’ll be totally jealous), chopped coarsely

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats; set aside. I wouldn’t grease them…it might make the cookies spread out too much
  2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars. Sift together dry ingredients. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each. Reduce speed to low and add vanilla, then add both flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and chocolate; mix until well combined.
  3. Apparently the texture of the cookies improves if you leave the dough in the fridge overnight…give it a go if you have the time.
  4. Using a 4-ounce scoop for larger cookies or a 1-ounce scoop for smaller cookies, (I used my new ice cream scoop, now dubbed cookie scoop) scoop cookie dough onto prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake until lightly browned, but still soft, about 20 minutes for larger cookies and about 15 minutes for smaller cookies. Keep an eye on them.
  5. Cool slightly on baking sheets before moving them to a wire rack to cool completely.