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Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

September 2, 2007 | Chuck
Ice Cream Cookie Sandwich

As I mentioned in the last post, we had ice cream cookie sandwiches for dessert last Sunday. The cookies for the sandwich are thick and chewy chocolate chunk cookies. The cookies on their own are absolutely delicious with a glass of milk or coffee. Our friends have enjoyed the chocolate chunk cookies many times, so we decided to add a new twist and treat them to ice cream too.

The thick and chewy chocolate chip cookies recipe can be found in Cook's Illustrated's The New Best Recipe cookbook. We really like this recipe because it produces cookies that have a great chewy texture. Another reason why we like the recipe is the butter is melted as opposed to softened, so there's no pre-planning required to make the cookies.

When Hungry Bear and I make the cookies, we don't use chocolate chips, but instead create chunks by chopping bars of bittersweet Scharffen Berger chocolate. Additionally, to create a jagged surface, we break the dough ball in half, rotate the jagged halves 90 degrees and jam them back together. When you click through the slideshow, you'll see a round dough ball and one that was split in half and put back together. A round dough ball will create a cookie with a smooth surface, whereas, a jagged dough ball will produce a cookie with a nice textured appearance. This is one of the tips that you'll find at Cook's Illustrated.

Back to the ice cream sandwiches, they were great and completely over the top. The sandwich is just an excuse to eat two chocolate chunk cookies with some ice cream. I don't think we'll make ice cream cookie sandwiches again any time soon. It was just too gluttonous. But I completely enjoyed my chocolate chunk ice cream cookie sandwich last Sunday!

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

Makes about 18 large cookies

These oversize cookies are chewy and thick, like many of the chocolate chip cookies sold in gourmet shops and cookie stores. They rely on melted butter and an extra egg yolk to keep their texture soft. These cookies are best served warm from the oven but will retain their texture even when cooled. To ensure the proper texture, cool the cookies on the baking sheet. Oversize baking sheets allow you to get all the dough into the oven at one time. If you're using smaller baking sheets, put fewer cookies on each sheet and back them in batches.

Ingredients:
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (10 5/8 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled until just warm
1 cup packed (7 ounces) light or dark brown sugar
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
1 large egg, plus 1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 - 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips or bittersweet chunks

Directions:
1) Adjust the oven racks to the upper- and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or spray them with nonstick cooking spray.

2) Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside.

3) Either by hand or with an electric mixer, mix the butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Beat in the egg, yolk, and vanilla until combined. Add the dry ingredients and beat at a low speed just until combined. Stir in the chips to taste.

4) Roll a scant 1/4 cup of the dough into a ball. Hold the dough ball with the fingertips of both hands and pull into 2 equal halves. Rotate the halves 90 degrees and, with jagged surfaces facing up, join the halves together at the base, again forming a single ball, being careful not to smooth the dough's uneven surface. Place the formed dough balls on the prepared baking sheets, jagged surface up, spacing them 2 1/2 inches apart.

5) Bake until the cookies are light golden brown, the outer edges start to harden, and the centers are still soft and puffy, 15 to 18 minutes, rotating the baking sheets from to back and top to bottom halfway through the baking time. Cool the cookies on the sheets. Remove the cooled cookies from the baking sheets with a wide metal spatula.

Chocolate Chip Cookies with Coconut and Toasted Almonds
Follow the recipe for Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies, adding 1 1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut and 1 cup toasted sliced almonds along with the chips.

Black and White Chocolate Chip Cookies with Pecans
Follow the recipe for Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies, substituting 1/2 cup white chocolate chips for 1/2 cup of the semisweet chips. Add 1 cup chopped pecans with the chips.

[Recipe via Cook's Illustrated - The New Best Recipe cookbook]

[tags]chocolate, chip, cookies, chunk, scharffen berger, sandwich, dessert[/tags]

4 Comments on “Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies”


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  1. Amber said:

    I am just wondering how shaping them into balls and then ripping them apart, rotating and smooshing back together works better than just “dropping” them. The photos of the jagged cookie balls look just like my cookies do when I drop them. Does this really produce a superior cookie?


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  3. Beth said:

    I also wondered about the rotating 90 degrees and decided it wasn’t worth the effort and would not affect taste or appearance. As I am cookie-scoopless at the moment, I used my ice cream scoop and was able to get 23 cookies from this batch. I used Ghirardelli 60% cocoa chips and they are amazing…crispy edge, soft center (a must for my husband). Amazing…and great that you don’t have to wait for butter to soften!

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