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cookies and handshakes

* There is a cookie giveaway hidden in this post. FYI. FREE COOKIES.*

ny times chocolate chip cookie

There is a lot going on in this post, so I'm going to try to make this as concise as possible, starting with this unnecessarily long sentence.


Hi! It's been a while. You might (or might not) notice there's been some changes made around here. I've spent the better part of a month recreating this blog from the inside-out, and I'm so excited to share with you what I feel to be a truer expression of myself. I've come to realize deeply that while I love cooking, I also love a lot of other things, and I love writing, and I love writing about a lot of other things. And as much as I wanted to go for a stripped down, no-frills smittenkitchen-type vibe over here, writing solely about recipes proved to be too heavy a filter for me. The truth is, I feel most invigorated, most awake, most like myself when I'm creating something and I wanted to have a space that would both encourage and challenge me to do that as often as possible - without the 10+ hour commitment that comes with one recipe. Is there really an audience out there who'd want to read about chocolate chip cookies, red lipstick, serious observations and useful kitchen tools all at once? I honestly have no idea. But it sounds like a lot of fun to me either way, and it's refreshing to be excited for that reason alone.

A HUGE thank you to my talented friend, Sarah Chong - the new logo and the cute little buttons that I can't stop passing my mouse over are all her handiwork. All she had a few weeks ago were a handful of sad looking sketches by yours truly, and she did so much more with them than I could have ever done myself. Check out her blog, Chronicles of Kardia for more of her artwork - you can thank me later.

Now I've been hyping up this cookie recipe a lot, so I hope you'll forgive me when I say it's totally not my own. It made its first debut in the NY Times six summers ago, when this guy named David Leite set out on a cookie pilgrimage and came back with the chocolate chip cookie recipe to end all cookie arguments forever and ever. This dude did all the homework so you and I wouldn't have to, consulting artisans and experts about the combination of flours to the chilling of the dough to the right kind of chocolate (spoiler: not chocolate chips). This is great news, because if you're anything like me, you know that the chocolate chip cookie  is the cheese pizza of desserts - there aren't really bad cookies, just a whole lot of mediocre ones. And mediocre just doesn't cut it anymore. Not when you can have this:



I will say that this cookie is not for the faint-hearted. It's not for people who can get by with mass-produced, grainy disks of undercooked dough and believe it's "good enough." This is a serious chocolate chip cookie for serious chocolate chip cookie eaters, only. It demands full attention to detail. But with each perfectly constructed, deeply caramelized bite...it more than pays for itself. I promise.

Now because I'm running out of time(haha! ha!) (and I'm really, really bad at being concise, really just horrible at it), I'm just going to point you to the main things you need to know here:

1. Bread flour + cake flour > all-purpose flour
Bread flour is higher in gluten - the protein in wheat that gives structure and elasticity to bread - which is usually a no-no for pastries, but works wonderfully here. A great chocolate chip cookie isn't tender like a cake; it's almost aggressively chewy, and the gluten helps achieve that here. It also gives this wonderfully satisfying, crackly exterior that sounds like good French bread when you rap your finger against it. The cake flour is finer and helps balance things out so you're not eating chocolate chip bread for dessert. Trust me, I've tried and for some reason just using all-purpose flour is not the same.

2. Use room temperature ingredients. The butter should be easily indented when you press your finger against it, but not melted. This will help the butter and sugar cream more easily and get really light and fluffy - and more air pockets mean more space for the eggs to seamlessly join the party. That said, having an electronic hand or stand mixer will really help you out here.

3. DON'T use chocolate chips. Use chocolate discs or feves, which are good for two reasons: 1) their higher quality allows them to melt more easily, which for us means the chocolate still feels "melted" at room temperature. That, my friends, is nothing short of magical. And 2) Their flat, wide shape makes for layers of chocolate-dough-chocolate-dough goodness (see above), so that you're never in want of more of either. Also, nothing short of magic. You can find chocolate feves in Whole Foods, specialty food stores or online for reasonable prices...yes, it's a little more trouble, but if you're gonna make this cookie you're gonna do it right the whole way through.

4. Wait. For at least 24 hours, to be exact. Something magical happens when you rest a dough, any dough, be it pasta or bread or pastry. It allows the wet ingredients (eggs and butter) to fully, evenly incorporate into the dry (everything else), and in the case of the cookie, the sugars take on a drastically deep, caramel note after 24+ hours. Try baking one cookie the day you make the dough, and compare it to the one you make 24-72 hours later. For me, the Day 1 cookie wasn't bad but it was overwhelmingly sweet. By Day 2 the flavor got so much deeper, darker, and toffee-like that the sweetness was toned down and perfect. You'll know what I mean.



Can you tell I'm running out of steam? I've been writing as fast as I can for the last hour because I told myself I would have this post up by 9pm today and I basically have 4 minutes. It's not gonna happen so I might as well keep talking. Because I was gonna make this concise, remember?

So yesterday, my fourth day of taste-testing, I took this gloriously perfect cookie outside because the lighting was diffused and beautiful. I was so focused on the the job that I didn't realize it must have looked a little weird to walk out of the building with nothing more than a phone and a tantalizing, half-eaten cookie wrapped in a paper towel. I passed by two girls and when one of them said, "That cookie looks go-o-o-o-od," I acted on impulse and asked them if they had 20 minutes to sit and wait around for a cookie. Because they're sane, they said yes, duh, of course. That's how I met Kali and Tehila, and this happened twenty minutes after we met each other:



You weren't there, but if you were, you would be as sure of their approval as I am.

It was only after cookies were consumed that we talked about where we're from and what we do, and handshakes and introductions took place right before we parted ways. It was all so odd and backwards in a beautiful sort of way, and the three of us left in profound agreement that a warm cookie should be the new handshake. It just works.

That said....

Since you made it this far, I'd like to extend that handshake to you. Drop a hello in the comments, tell me your favorite cookie memory (doesn't have to be chocolate chip), and at the end of next Monday one random commenter will get ten 72-hour chocolate chip cookies mailed to their door. Just as a thank you. And a hello. I promise I'm not trying to buy you. I've just seriously jeopardized my cookie intake for a while and still have at least a pound of preportioned dough in my freezer. And I want you to believe me that this dough is worth your time. And besides, even if I was trying to buy your friendship...doesn't a cookie sound like a fair trade?



DAVID LEITE'S COOKIE RECIPE HERE
DAVID LEITE'S COOKIE ARTICLE HERE (pretty fascinating if you haven't read already!)

Thanks for staying with me. Here's a little song I made five summers ago when I was on a chocolate chip cookie kick, just for you. (Well actually, it's just for Cookie.)
It's so homemade, your ears will hurt, but it's one my favorite things I've ever made. If you imagine the computer ringing to be a swarm of bees, it's sort of (?) less annoying.

Here's "Ode to Cookie":

24 comments:

  1. Ahaha Michelle my mouth is watering... I love chocolate chip cookies. That looks amajingggg

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  2. Great blog post, Michelle! To answer your question, yes, there are people out there who enjoy reading about the art and science behind making the best chocolate chip cookie ever. I thought you might find this article interesting too (if there is some merit to it):

    http://time.com/3179770/the-science-behind-baking-the-most-delicious-cookie-ever/

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    1. Thanks! I just saw that the other week - baking is so scientific :) Do you have a favorite cookie memory?

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    2. My fondest cookie memory is related to not a single moment but a particular cookie itself. As far back as I can remember, my brother-in-law has been bringing these heavenly soft cookies with pink frosting to my house every Christmas. This was an annual tradition to the days when he was dating my sister and would visit my family's Christmas dinner. His mom had a special recipe that she made through trial and error and, I am assured, other scientific methods. According to my brother-in-law, the softness of the cookies as well as the color were nailed down and no variation would do; the color of the frosting had to be pink because any other color was proven to taste different and just plain wrong. Now that my brother-in-law and my sister are married, our families spend Christmas together joined as one and it all started with one amazing little cookie.

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  3. this is the most epic blog post evar.

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  4. I don't need you to send me cookies (since I'll force you to bake some for me when I visit...) but I just wanted to say that I LOVE your blog's fresh new look and am so excited to read what's next. xx

    p.s. I can't believe you gave a cookie to some strangers... and that they accepted it. You are changing the world. :P

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    1. HAHA I didn't even think about that. They didn't even know my name and I was just like heeey, you guys want to wait for me to bake another cookie for you to eat?

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  5. Wait Michelle........you're the freaking best!!!!!!!!!!!!!! your song!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  6. Maybe you should use wax paper so the butter doesn't soak through the napkin next time. There's something about eating a chocolate chip cookie off of a single serve wax paper that reminds me of my childhood. Ever morning as I was dropped off at school, I'd scramble to find a quarter in the car's ashtray so I could buy a cookie at lunch. The worst feeling was being handed a cookie in a clean piece of wax paper. The best feeling was seeing a bit of chocolate smothered on the wax paper as the cafeteria lady (and yes, it was always a lady) handed you the cookie because you knew it had to be a fresh batch.

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  7. Love everything about this - the content, the look, the recipe, the cookie! I'm eagerly looking forward to your next post already. Also, If I pay S&H can I still have a cookie even if I'm not a winner? Lolll

    p.s. my favorite cookie memory is the first time you had me try a cowboy cookie from Urban Plates. It was also the first time I ever fell in love with a cookie. And I'm not even much of a sweets/baked goods person! Love makes people do crazy things.

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  8. And ooh Brian's memory is a good one. I want a fresh cookie right now.

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    1. It's definitely a good one! I like yours, too :) I still have dreams about those cookies...

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  9. Michelle...that cookie looks amazing! Also, nice job on the website re-vamp! Everything looks awesome. I hope you choose me to consume your delectable treats. It is after all an exam week for me right now ;).

    My favorite cookie memory is probably one that is buried deep in my subconscious. It is the first time I ever sank my teeth into a freshly-baked, chewy chocolate chip cookie as a young lad. My life changed forever. Cookies are probably the main contributor to my obesity as a child. I ate good cookies, bad cookies, and cookie crisp cereal. In fact, this comment is making me so hot for a cookie -- I have half the mind to run to Safeway to grab some.

    - Dan

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    1. I LOLed when I read "lad." Oh man...Cookie Crisp was at the list of the forbidden cereals for me, which was what made it so much better! And hearing you say Safeway almost makes me want to send one of these to you. Remember those super trashy pink icing cookies?

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  10. Dear Michelle,

    Thanks for another amazing post!!

    One of my favorite cookies experiences was when my roommate helped me bake delicious ginger snap cookies for my Christmas cookie competition. Unfortunately.. I didn't win, but I hope I win this giveaway!!!

    Sincerely,
    Caroline

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  11. I was passed out on my living room floor till i woke up to the smell of freshly baked coconut almond choco chip cookies. my roommate fed them to me like how the greek gods were fed grapes. they were G L O R I O U S but... plot twist: there was no milk.

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  12. Hi Michelle! I'm in love with your blog--makes me wanna start my own food blog :) I suppose some people would argue that macarons are too sophisticated to be called "cookies" and that they don't contain the ingredients in a traditional cookie, but I love making macarons for friends' birthdays and watching everyone take that first bite and open their eyes widely in delight. I still have a long way to go to perfect the macaron (those darn hollow shells will be the death of me), but I take great pride in what I do.

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    1. That's awesome! Keep going at it :) As for the hollow shells, this is a great blog post about them: http://bravetart.com/blog/HollowPursuits

      Her blog in general was what helped me conquer my fear of failure when I was obsessed with making macarons! Hope you keep doing what you're doing :)

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  13. Elaine! Hope you're well, too :) Let me know how you like them!

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  14. Michelle!

    I spent a good five minutes typing out a response, and then it was deleted! (naturally) So I'll keep this short: I love your blog. This post made me happy.

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  15. Hola! Kristina introduced me to your blog and also encouraged me to share my favorite cookie story. Let's go back to my freshman year of college... I have always been in love with chocolate chip cookies. So when I heard about Mrs. Munchies, a late night cookie delivery service, I was so happy. For $20 I could have a dozen freshly baked chocolate chip cookies delivered to my dorm room. It was worth it. I ordered them and eagerly waited. 3 hours later, they were nowhere to be found. Furious and hurt (mostly hurt), I emailed Mrs. Munchies that her delivery service was a scam and that she took advantage my innocent love for chocolate chip cookies. 30 min after I sent it, a guy shows up at my door with my box of cookies apologizing for the delay. Woops, I just sent Mrs. Munchies a very dramatic and somewhat unnecessary hate mail. But I soon forgot about it as I devoured my cookies. The next day, Mrs. Munchies responded to my email sincerely apologizing and explaining for the delay. To show she was sorry, she offered to send me a free box of cookies. I responded right back, "Can you send them now?" She said, "Of course!" Hoorah! A dozen freshly baked, warm, chewy chocolate chip cookies were once again here at my door (this time in 45 min) with an ice cold carton of milk! I skipped down the hall and offered my floormates free cookies and we all ate, danced, and our tummies lived happily ever after. There are more stories about my love affair with Mrs. Munchies, but this one is the first and the best.

    Love your blog! :)

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