Six Degrees of Chocolate Chip Cookies from Bake at 350

Six Degrees of Chocolate Chip Cookies - made dough May 14, 2024 from Bake at 350

17 ounces cake flour

17 ounces bread flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

3 teaspoons baking powder

3 teaspoons kosher salt

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (optional)

2 1/2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature

20 ounces light brown sugar

16 ounces granulated sugar

4 eggs

4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 & 1/2 pounds (at least 60%) chocolate chips/discs  

1. In a large bowl, sift together the cake flour, bread flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside. 
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugars together until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the eggs one a a time, scraping down the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla. 
3. In low speed, add in half of the flour, mixing just until incorporated. Repeat with the remaining flour. Stir in the chocolate chips. 
4. Portion dough into 3-ounce portions, cover and chill for 36 hours.
5. After 36 hours, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Evenly space dough balls.
6. Bake for 16-19 minutes, depending on size. Bake until the edges are golden brown and the center are set. Remove from oven and let the cookies rest on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Use a very large mixing bowl or else just make half a recipe for this one. I have a 5-quart Kitchen Aid mixer and even that was too small for this recipe. Which I unfortunately learned halfway through mixing in the dry ingredients.

The dough itself barely fit once it was mixed and before I added the chocolate chips. I ended up dividing the dough between two mixing bowls and adding the chocolate chips (mostly chunks) separately. Which actually turned out pretty well as I added semisweet chocolate chunks (the Pound Plus from Trader Joe's) to one bowl and milk chocolate chips/chunks to the other bowl. I personally prefer milk chocolate but many others prefer semisweet. I was able to do both for this recipe.

I made the dough balls big so the cookies turned out big. They did spread but not too thin. They came out the size you typically find in a bakery. Plus, honestly, I don't see the point of small chocolate chip cookies. I mean, why? 

This is the type of chocolate chip cookie I do recommend using chocolate chunks rather than regular chocolate chips. It's an indulgent cookie so no reason not to go all the way with chocolate chunks instead of chips.

The edges were crisp and perfectly caramelized. The middle is chewy. I was almost surprised at the chewiness before I remembered this has bread flour and that probably contributed to the texture. This is the kind of cookie I would give to any chocolate chip cookie lover, preferably on the same day they would eat it. I'm picky about freshness like that.

I ate the test cookie the same day I baked it so I don't know how these taste the next day. But my experience says the chewiness from a freshly baked cookie *might* turn from chewy to rubbery. I could be wrong but I'd still suggest baking off only enough cookie dough balls that you need for the same day of consumption. Keep the rest of the dough balls in the freezer until you need them.