Alright sooo…. these cookies are not healthy, or made from fruit, or modified to be whole-grain … but what they are … is damn good.
This recipe took the internet by storm a few months ago.
It was then that I made my first attempt–improvising with my usual whole-wheat, date sugar variation…. but they were a fail. A hard fail.
I so badly wanted to experience those undulating ripples that I decided to try again. But this time, I followed the Vanilla Bean blog’s recipe down to the absolute T–to the gram really.
If you don’t use a scale to weigh ingredients when baking, I would highly recommend it. In addition to providing quality assurance, the precision makes the whole experience feel more scientific. Which I love.
These cookies are a bit ridiculous in scale and an indulgence to consume, but it was worth the tummy ache. The crisp edges literally shatter in your mouth, like little shards of buttery glass, while the center maintains that chewiness we all love in a good chocolate chip cookie. The chopped chocolate is really important–it wouldn’t have worked with chips.
These are divine and a real piece of edible art to behold. They will definitely WOW.
Pan-Banging Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients:
- 2 cups (284 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ pound (2 sticks; 227 g) salted butter, room temperature
- 1½ cups (297 g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (50 g) packed brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons water
- 6 ounces (170 g) bittersweet chocolate, chopped
Method:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 3 baking sheets with aluminum foil, dull side up.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, beat the butter on medium until creamy. Add the sugars and beat on medium until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.
While the butter and sugar are working, whisk the flour and baking soda together in a separate bowl.
Next, add the egg, vanilla, and water to the butter and sugar and mix on low to combine. Add the flour mixture and mix on low until combined. Add the chocolate and mix on low into the batter.
Form the dough into 3½-ounce (100g) balls (a heaping 1/3 cup each). (Note: I highly recommend using a scale to weigh the dough.) Place 4 balls of dough equidistant from each other on a prepared pan and transfer to the freezer for 15 minutes before baking. After you put the first baking sheet in the oven, put the second one in the freezer.
Place the chilled baking sheet in the oven and bake 10 minutes, until the cookies are puffed slightly in the center. Lift the side of the baking sheet up about 4 inches and gently let it drop down against the oven rack, so the edges of the cookies set and the inside falls back down (this will feel wrong, but trust me). After the cookies puff up again in 2 minutes, repeat lifting and dropping the pan. Repeat a few more times to create ridges around the edge of the cookie. Bake 16 to 18 minutes total, until the cookies have spread out and the edges are golden brown but the centers are much lighter and not fully cooked.
Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack; let cool completely before removing the cookies from the pan.
Note: do not skip any steps or improve if you want these to turn out.
These cookies will keep for several days … in theory.
