The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie: David Leite Goes on a Quest

David Leite, he of the wonderful Leite's Culinaria, set himself a quest fit for a knight: he wanted to find the perfect, the ultimate, the best, the most satisfying chocolate chip cookie -- and he found it! 

In today's New York Times you can read about David's adventures and his conversations with New York City bakers about everything from the ingredients (I got in my 2-cents worth championing salt), the size of the cookie, the size of the chips and the length of time the dough should rest before being shaped (days, says one baker), to the optimal munching temperature (warm wins).  It's a terrific read -- no surprise, since David is such a very, very good writer -- and it's a great study into the enduring classic. 

There's a also a recipe, a compilation of all that David learned.  I'm betting it's going to be the most-baked cookie of the week. 

(PS -- these are chocolate chip cookies from Baking From My Home to Yours)

Comments

[ellen]

I have to add in my two cents that I baked my first batch of these NYT CC cookies today after 46 hours of chilling. They are great! I happen to love a chewy cookie and they are exactly that - plus a little crunch on the outside edges, just like they say in the article. Of course, I forgot to look back at the recipe before baking and didn't add the extra salt on top but I have more dough to bake off tonight and will remember to do so then. The combination of bread & cake flour is not a problem if you have both in the house and the flour mixture seemed lighter and softer than regular AP flour - perhaps that is what adds to the light texture of the cookie. Many thumbs up from me and my testers.

[bambina]

I'd love to try this recipe. I never thought of chilling the dough for that long before. Dorie, can I ask what the bread flour adds to the cookie? Thanks.

[Kathe Kramer]

The very day this article appeared, I was sure I had just made the perfect chocolate chip cookie! The photo in the New York Times (so huge!!) was pretty dazzling, but that whole bread/cake flour thing just sounds like a pain. I will match mine up to David's anytime. Mine look lots better too! (pictured here: http://somelikeitpink.blogspot.com/ where I have blogged away a FEW of my secrets) Really I think it just takes doing something a million times to get it perfect...I have been baking chocolate chip cookies for 45 years, thats a lot of cookies!

[dorie]

Anne, thanks for your sweet words. I got a little carried away with the brownie chapter in Baking -- I think there are 17 brownie recipes -- but it was so much fun that I just couldn't stop. I'm so glad you're making a bunch of the recipes.

Caitlin, you didn't do anything wrong at all. The cookies aren't cakey - they're actually pretty crispy, unless it's really humid, as it was the day I made the cookies in the picture. The humidity softened them and they got a little chewy and, you know what? We all thought they were pretty good.

Erin, I agree -- simple can be complicated and so hard to achieve. Usually with simple recipes there's no place for anything not-just-so to hide. When something is simple, I think the ingredients have to be perfect. And, speaking of perfect, I'm delighted that you're enjoying the Perfect Party Cake. Like you, I, too, love the buttercream.

Rachel, you may have hit on the secret to a successful diet: be busy!:) When you're not so busy and not dieting, I hope you like the cookies -- let me know.

John, thanks for the greetings and right back at you from cooler climes. 112 degrees! Phew! I hope you can find a cool, comfy corner to enjoy some salty cc cookies.

Cooking Zuni, you're right, my cookies are crunchy, at least they are when you don't make them on a very humid day and leave them out, as I mentioned to Caitlin.

Chocolatechic, I hope that if you make the cookies you'll let me know how you like them.

Sarah, the recipe on the back of the Nestle's chip bag is really, really good -- if it weren't, I don't think it would have captured our imaginations the way it has nor would it have set us off experimenting with tweaks and changes the way it has. Funny, while I know that most of the world likes warm cookies (including my husband) and while I'll never turn down a warm cookie, like you, I prefer to eat my cc cookies at room temperature. I think that the cool-down process is really a part of the baking process -- it's the time when the cookie gathers itself and really finishes baking.

Rona, I always love to hear from you -- thanks so much!

S for Kitchen Confit, you've got plenty of company in the warm camp! I hope you'll like my cookie -- let me know.

Carolyn, thank you so much -- I hope you'll make lots and lots and lots of recipes from Baking and enjoy all of them as much as you enjoyed the berry tart.

Maria, I know what a good baker you are, so I'll be anxious to hear your opinion.

Brilynn, I love how emphatic you are!:) Of course, some people think that the perfect chocolate chip cookie is the one they just had, are having or will have in a minute. Another :)

Jessica, many, many thanks. The Korova Cookies, now best known as World Peace Cookies (the name they have in Baking From My Home to Yours), are in my pantheon of great cookies -- I'm glad you love them, too.

Susan, of course the dough-resting trick will work with my chocolate chip cookies. (In fact, I think I might have mentioned that you can put the dough in the fridge.) Hydration will, as The Times story notes, give the cookies more flavor, but chilling will also make it easier for you to scoop out even amounts of cookies and, with even amounts, the cookies bake more evenly.

Shandy, I'm really touched by your comments, thank you! Just keep baking and baking and baking. Whether you make the career change or not -- and I'm rooting for you that you will -- you'll always have the pleasure of making something delicious with your own hands and having something wonderful to share with others, and that's no small thing.

Carol, I understand that cookie fear -- I think it's related to what Erin said about simple things being complicated. And I'm glad you agree with me about salt in sweets. Whether you add just a pinch or enough to really make a statement, it always lifts the flavor, particularly if you're baking something buttery, chocolaty or caramel.

Clay, if you make the cookies, I hope you'll check in with your opinion.

[Clay]

wow.... I'll definitely have to try those...

[Carol Peterman]

For all the successful baking I do, I am always nervous when making chocolate chip cookies because they never turn out as gloriously as I imagine they should. I am looking forward to applying some of the techniques mentioned in the NYT article, thanks for bringing it to my attention. I also applaud your pitch for salt. I put a pinch in everything sweet.

That was a mighty fine blueberry pie recipe we made last week with the Tuesdays with Dorie group!

[Shandy]

Dorie, you are amazing! I absolutely LOVE your jalapeno, scallions, and sharp cheddar cheese cornbread printed in your "Baking From My Home to Yours" cookbook. Delicious and a new staple recipe!

The cookies listed in your blog are already printed out and getting ready for a trip to Whole Foods for the chocolate. I am a commercial electrician who is dying to become a chef but reading and trying new ideas is as close as I am going to get for a while. You are truly an inspiration! =D

[Susan]

I read this article yesterday (drooling all the while, and I don't even like chocolate all that much.) I must tell you that to date, my all-time favorite CC cookie is yours - especially the espresso variation. In fact, my family has so fallen for it that I'm not allowed to bake any other kind of chocolate chip cookie! I am curious to try the dough-resting trick, though - could that work with your recipe and any/all of its variations?

[Jessica "Su Good Sweets"]

Hi Dorie, I made your Korova cookies yesterday as a birthday present. I'm sure you've heard tons of raves, and here's another. So simple, elegant, and delicious. I ate all the leftovers that wouldn't fit in the cookie tin. Just wanted to say thanks, and I love your writing voice. It's so friendly.

[brilynn]

It's an impossible quest, like searching for the holy grail! The perfect chocolate cookie will never be found...

[Maria]

Thanks for sharing this article. I enjoyed reading it and I can't wait to test out the recipe.My mouth is waterig for cookies now! Thanks for the tips!

[Carolyn]

Hi Dorie~
I just wanted to tell you how much I am enjoying your cookbook Baking:From My Home to Yours. I just got it last week and am really enjoying all the recipes I have made. My favorite so far is the berry tart. I made it for a Fourth of July party and EVERYONE raved about it.
Thanks for writing such a great book!

Carolyn

[S for Kitchen Confit]

In my mind there is nothing better than a warm chocolate chip cookie - it's the ultimate comfort food. I fall in the camp of loving a thin chocolate chip cookie so your recipe looks terrific.

[Rona]

Oh, how I love CC cookies! I also read the NY Times article and can't wait to try the "new recipe". It's interesting to me that so many slight variants like resting dough time, type of chocolate etc. can affect the final outcome of an already great cookie recipe. Chocolate chip cookies, à la Nestle but w/ Callebut or Valrhona chocolate, straight out of the oven, are one of my favs but I must try all these nifty tips including yours of adding a sprinkle of sea salt. Glad to see your 2 cents since you are my baking guru.

[Sarah]

I always thought the recipe on the bag of Nestle Chips was the perfect cookie. I make it with butter and dark brown sugar and I always add chopped pecans. I prefer to eat mine cooled because I like the chocolate to have some bite. The melted chips don't appeal to me. I don't really like a hot cookie as opposed to my cookie monster husband who burns his fingers picking them off the hot cookie sheets. :)

[chocolatechic]

Looks absolutely wonderful.

[Cooking Zuni]

These cookies look PERFECT to me. I have the book so I shall try them. They look thin, which, I hope, means they are crunchy.

[John Curtas]

As I live and breath, I'm reading the article and thinking to myself: when will someone mention the importance of that tang of salt that makes CCcookies sooooo good - suddenly there was Dorie, expounding on just that! Greetings from Las Vegas, where it's 112 degrees today!

John Curtas
www.eatinglv.com

[Rachael]

Congrats on the salt bit!

This is killing me. I'm at work now, to busy to bake for at least a week, and I'm trying to stick to a diet at the moment. Where is the justice?!?!

[Erin]

It's funny how the seemingly simple recipes can be so complicated. Everyone is on the search for the perfect chocolate chip cookie, and I've found this is true with sugar cookies as well. I haven't made your version yet, but I'm hoping we'll get to try them for Tuesdays with Dorie soon. They look delicious!

By the way- I was making a buttercream frosting for a cake last night and I could not for the life of me get the mixture to thicken. I gave up and decided to go with your version from the Perfect Party Cake because it turned out so well last time I made it for Daring Bakers. It's the perfect buttercream! Your instructions make it so easy to prepare. My husband also loves that cake and says it's his favorite. I'm making it again soon for his birthday!

[Caitlin]

Ah ha! I thought I did something wrong when I made your espresso chocolate chip cookies, but mine look almost exactly the same as yours! I had thought that they would be a bit cakier. They were fabulous 5 minutes out of the oven or the freezer though.

[Anne]

Great post and fun article too! I can't wait to try it (and the World Peace Cookies, too) and I think you're right they will be the most baked cookie of the week.

By the way, I made your Brownie Buttons last night and they were to DIE for! I've tried two other brownie recipes out of baking and these are the best I've ever had!

Thanks again Dorie!