The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies (Experiment)

At the risk of making this appear a dessert-oriented blog, I am adding yet another incarnation of cookies to my archives. That said, I have a valid excuse this time! ... Well, an excuse. Besides, who needs to rationalize the production of cookies?

The inspiration for this experiment (the purpose of which will be explained shortly) stemmed from two major sources: The Kitchn, a delightful blog that I frequent daily, posted an article written about a column in the New York Times that claimed to have the secret to the best chocolate chip cookies ever. Now, aside from providing me a number of links to rattle off in a rapid-fire sequence to confuzzle my sparse readers, these sources pushed me to settle for my own satisfaction just what makes a great chocolate chip cookie. To summarize the experiment, the article in the Times claimed that the secret to making these cookies traverse the distance that separates "good" cookies from "better-than-sex" cookies (quotes added for dramatic effect) is the extra 24 hours of time spent chilling the dough after all the ingredients have been mixed. Upon reading this (and the subsequent rationale, which does indeed attempt to make decent sense), my patented bullshit alarm went off and demanded that I verify this claim for my own satisfaction.

For those too lazy to read the linked articles above, the recipe is rather complicated (at least as far as cookies go) and includes a variety of ingredients taht do not make common appearances in my kitchen (such as both bread and cake flours). Consequently, I made some substitutions. Now to those who have alarm bells going off after that remark, allow me to explain. The original recipe calls for a hefty helping of cake flour with an additional dose of bread flour to balance it out. Since the article doesn't explain the basis for this ratio, I'll fill in my own understanding: cake flour has less protein than other flours (e.g., bread, All-Purpose, etc.) and therefore contains less gluten, which will make for a lighter and "less-chewy" dough. Bread flour, conversely, generally contains what leading food experts refer to as a "crapload" of protein (and gluten), and thus produces the opposite effect. It can thus be assumed that the ratio of cake to bread flour called for in the recipe is carefully calculated to produce the desired texture and consistency in this cookie. However, I'm of the opinion that since the recipe is using both, substituting the All-Purpose ("AP", henceforth) flour that I currently have two 10-pound bags of in my kitchen will still produce a nice medium between the two flours. The difference in protein content should be rather negligible, and if nothing else, it's small enough that I don't want to go out and buy two bags of flour for a single experiment when I have tons of AP stuff at home. That said, those of you who feel this is an inappropriate substitution for this particular recipe can go run your own experiment and prove me wrong. My experiment (not to mention my money), my rules!

But back to the experiment itself. To explain my BS alarm mentioned previously, I don't disagree that resting the dough would produce a difference in the cookies. What I take umbrage at is the fact that if I want to make cookies, I'm not going to put things together and then wait until the following day to get my fix (a sentiment that seems to be reflected in the comments to The Kitchn's post), and I truly doubt that allowing "the flour to take time to absorb the liquid in the dough" (as is explained in the Times' article) will make any noticeable difference in texture, let alone flavor. But of course, that is the entire rationale behind this test. ... Which reminds me that I still haven't explained my experiment. I propose to make two batches of these heart-attacks-in-waiting: one batch will be made exactly as directed by the recipe (aside from the substitution described in the previous paragraph) while the other batch will simply use the same ingredients as the original recipe, thus eliminating the wait period and allowing me to get my cookie on quicker. Two doughs enter, 40-odd cookies leave, and whoever I can persuade to help me gets to be the judge.

"The perfect chocolate chip cookies"
Ingredients:
2 cups minus 2 tablespoons (8 1/2 ounces) cake flour
1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 pounds chocolate chips
Sea salt (for topping)

Procedure:
Since I'm making the same recipe twice, I'm not going to write out two different procedure sections with separate photos for each. Just trust me that the process looked the same both times.

Preheat oven to 350F.

1) Mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and coarse salt in a bowl until well mixed and set aside. It should be noted that this process doesn't only mix the ingredients--it also aerates the dry ingredients, allowing for more "fluffage" of the mix. This results in a lighter cookie texture.

Yes, I used a fork instead of sifting. I hate sifting. I don't own a sifter. Fork it.

2) In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars together until fluffy.


3) Add the eggs, one at a time, allowing the first to fully incorporate before adding the second. Top off with the vanilla. The mixture will become creamier, in a sense.


4) Slowly incorporate the dry mix into the bowl, either by using a mixer on its lowest setting or by adding a little at a time and mixing by hand. It's important to do this slowly so that the dough doesn't develop too much gluten and become overly chewy.


5) Finally, add the chocolate chips and try to distribute them evenly throughout the dough. At this point, the dough will be frustrating and difficult to work with (by my standards, at least), and you'll probably be glad to set it aside to rest.


6) Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 24 hours.

Note: From my experience, I'd recommend flattening the dough into a square before refrigeration. This way, upon removal from the fridge, you can easily slice it into individual cookies. Chilling it in a ball (as I show below) results in a hard block that must be attacked repeatedly in order to break it into chunks.

The labels, I trust, explain themselves.

7) After the dough has chilled, remove from the wrap and divide into balls about the size of an ice-cream scoop (with the chilled dough, the ice cream scoop itself doesn't work, as it's hard as a rock. The unchilled dough, however, scoops perfectly).

Note my highly sexy silicone baking mat. Ugly appearance, fantastic functionality.

8) Place 6 cookies on a greased baking sheet and sprinkle them with a little sea salt on top. Bake at 350F for 19-20 minutes. Note that the cookies will expand, so leave enough room for this. Remove them when they are slightly golden on top and just browning at the edges.


9) Allow them to rest on the baking sheet for a few minutes, then move the cookies to a cooling rack to finish firming up. Place in the transport vehicle of your choice (mine shown below, violating company trademarks in the process) and consume as necessary. Makes somewhere around 20-25 cookies, depending on how exact you are.

Tell me that without the labels, you could tell which was which. I dare you.

Results:
As I mentioned before, I didn't expect any noteworthy differences in the flavor of the cookies, but did expect some differences in appearance. Since the refrigerated dough's butter had a chance to re-solidify after mixing, I expected the chilled cookies to be puffier, as they would have less time to spread in the oven. Much to my surprise, both batches came out looking virtually identical. Furthermore, they tasted the same! Texture, flavor, appearance, all identical! It would appear that my BS detector had indeed properly identified yet another pointless waste of time in the culinary world, but of course, I couldn't let myself be the only test subject. After soliciting opinions from roommate and coworkers alike, I received the following opinions:

• Can't tell the difference
• Unchilled is "buttery-er"
• Chilled is "saltier"
• You're lying; these are the same cookies
• Is this a social experiment to see who will attempt to find differences that aren't there?
• Are you sure you're not lying?
• You're a liar!

... So aside from continuing to develop my reputation as someone who cannot be trusted, it would appear that the overwhelming opinion sides with me, in this case. Now I realize that since I modified the recipe to a small extent, the whole process might be considered invalid. That said, it's valid enough for my tastes, as I simply wanted to find out if being lazy with my cookie process was really hurting my cookie flavor. Other blogs have done a much more in-depth analysis (from what I've seen, at least), but I figured this would be a fun way to prove my baking instincts correct as well as to fatten the wallets of my coworkers' doctors. As I'm currently working my way through my fifth cookie today, I can safely say that I can literally feel my arteries hardening up as I type.