delightfully delicious chocolate chip cookies

First, to Laney, I apologize for caving on our agreement & posting a recipe. I did my best to make a compromise & post it on a Friday which generally has the lowest viewership, so... you're welcome.

Also, this is by far the best chocolate chip recipe I have ever made. So, you're welcome twice, readers. I stumbled upon it while perusing this wonderful cooking blog, A Tender Crumb. Now for my disclaimer: {DISCLAIMER} this recipe calls for a whole heck of a lot of fattening ingredients, but it redeems itself by making 8 1/2 dozen cookies. So when your eyes bug out & your arteries prematurely stress after glancing at the ingredients list, quickly draw your attention back up here and read that disclaimer again.

Jacque Torres' Secret Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

|| My Helpful Hints ||

+ tastes the best when using 60% cacao bittersweet chocolate or higher (we obviously prefer Ghiradelli)

+ to make chopping chocolate bars easier (& your wrist hurt less), stick them in the microwave for 15-20 seconds

+ if you're having trouble finding pastry or bread flour that isn't whole wheat, that's what we've been using & it tastes great. Plus it's healthier for you, and with the components of this recipe, you need all the help you can get

+ we've found that this recipe is a lot bigger than our Kitchen-aid stand mixer, so we use a big ole mixing bowl & a hand mixer

+ because this recipe is so large, I tend to measure out everything before I start mixing, combining the first group (sugars) in a small bowl and the second group (flours, salt, baking powder, baking soda) in a large bowl. That way the only thing I have to do individually is crack eggs & measure the vanilla extract

+ for the best results, chill the dough 8-48 hours before baking. It really makes a difference on the texture of the cookie {as noted by our flat cookies above which proves we were too impatient to wait to eat them the next day}

+ the original recipe calls for baking the dough at 350 F for 15 minutes, but we've found that cooking them at 325 F for 12 minutes gives you a softer cookie {you know, if you prefer that kind of thing}

+ this cookie dough freezes really well. So if you don't have a hankering for eating 102 cookies at once or even in the near future, don't worry you can just pull it out in a few weeks or more. We tend to bake some, refrigerate some, & freeze some just for good measure :) we're cookie dough stock holders as evidenced by this post {by the way, still no shame}

|| Ingredients ||

1 lb. unsalted butter

1 3/4 c. granulated sugar

2 1/4 c. packed light brown sugar

4 eggs

3 c. + 2 T. pastry flour

3 c. bread flour

1 T. salt

2 t. baking powder

2 t. baking soda

1 T. vanilla extract

2 lb. chocolate {we go closer to 22 ounces, which breaks down to 1 (10-oz) chip bag & 3 (4-oz) bars OR 2 (10-oz) chip bags & 1 (4-oz) bar. The former tastes better, but the latter costs less. I would still throw in some cut up bars because frankly they taste better than chips (plus, they make you feel way more professional)}

|| Directions ||

1. Chop bars into chunks. Preheat oven to 350 F.

2. Cream together butter and both sugars.

3. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

4. Reduce speed to low & add both flours, salt, baking powder, baking soda, & vanilla; mix well until combined.

5. Fold in chocolate.

6. Using a 4-oz scoop for larger cookies or a 1-oz scoop for smaller cookies, scoop cookie dough onto prepared baking sheets, about 2" apart.

7. Bake until lightly browned, but still soft, about 20 minutes for larger cookies & 15 minutes for smaller cookies.

8. Cool slightly on baking sheets before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes 26 5" cookies (have not tried those out yet), or 8 1/2 dozen 1 1/4" cookies