Thank you to the many-many-many of you who took the time to talk me through my heartache. I can’t even begin to tell you how special your insight and comments are. Really. I read every single word and I am endlessly touched by your openness and honesty. You’ve all touched my heart and it has worked wonders to help me through a bit of a rough patch. I can’t thank you enough.
In the past two days I’ve been back in the kitchen (in something other than pajamas) where I belong.
Today I bring you the Chocolate Chip Cookie Debate. My question to you is simple. What makes a better chocolate chip cookie: melted butter or softened and creamed butter? Does it make a difference?
I think I make old school chocolate chip cookies. You know what I’m talking about. Cream the butter with the sugar, add eggs and vanilla extract and then the dry ingredients. Dollop onto a cookie sheet, throw them in the oven and sometimes you end up with completely flat and crisp cookies. One remedy to the flat cookie conundrum is to chill the dough before you bake off cookies. That really helps. But melted butter?
Let’s discuss.
Update: Look what’s in the NY Times today! A whole article about the perfect chocolate chip cookie. There is much to discuss! Judging from all your comments so far, this might be a week long series. We’ll get to the bottom of this and find the perfect cookie. I promise. And… it’s a good thing I stocked up on chocolate! Thanks Alanna and Kevin for the link!
Part one of the Chocolate Chip Cookie Debate is a testing of the melted butter chocolate chip cookie. The recipe is from Alton Brown. In addition to the melted butter, this recipe calls for bread flour (more gluten strength and protein) instead of all-purpose flour, and a much larger proportion of brown sugar to white sugar, milk and an egg yolk.
Madness? Perhaps. But the result is a solid, yet somehow light and moist chocolate chip cookie. It’s packed with sweet brown sugar flavor, and really a delight!
This cookie was far from the flattened, crispy, somewhat disappointing chocolate chip cookies I made when I was just kid standing on my tip toes to reach the counter. This recipe creates a tall, proud and perfectly soft and chewy chocolate chip cookie.
How do you feel about melted butter and bread flour in chocolate chip cookies? How do you think the creamed butter and all-purpose flour will hold up? This is serious friends. Dead serious.
Chocolate Chip Cookies
recipe from Alton Brown
2 sticks unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
Heat oven to 375 degrees F.
Melt the butter in a heavy-bottom medium saucepan over low heat. Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda and set aside.
Pour the melted butter in the mixer’s work bowl. Add the sugar and brown sugar. Cream the butter and sugars on medium speed. Add the egg, yolk, 2 tablespoons milk and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
Chill the dough, then scoop onto parchment-lined baking sheets, 6 cookies per sheet. Bake for 14 minutes or until golden brown, checking the cookies after 5 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet for even browning. Cool completely and store in an airtight container.
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First, love your blog. Bookmarking it right now.
Second, love this debate. I’ve had this debate internally (haha) for awhile now. That may be my next mission, after finding the perfect birthday cupcake for a gang of two year olds! Maybe I’ll find that here. :-)
I personally am a lover of the thick and chewy, not thin & crispy or puffy & cakey, cookie. I’ve tested out a bunch of recipes, but for some reason hadn’t come across Alton’s “Chewy”. It’s definitely the next cookie on my list.
To melt or not to melt, this is one of baking’s finest questions. It all depends on my mood. Do I want crisp or cakey, am I feeling lazy or inspired to be in the kitchen all day? They are both great, but when I am feeling like being in my PJs all day I go for the creamed butter.
BTW I’ve been married for almost 17 years and I still haven’t figured this love thing out. Butter is much easier!
Thanks for your comments everyone!
I really enjoyed the melted butter recipe, but have decided that it all depends on my mood. The melted butter is no better or worse than the creamed butter method. Just depends on whether you want a tall, chewy cookie, or a butter, flat cookie. It’s a cookie either way, right?
Thanks for the pudding suggestion too. I’ve never had pudding in cookies. I think I fear that the pudding taste will overwhelm the cookie. No?
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. The debate tumbles on!
My favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe is from a combination of Cooks Illustrated and Allrecipes sources, and it uses melted butter and all-purpose flour. It would seem to me that bread flour would make a cookie tougher than desired–too much strength, maybe?
-Chris
http://smellslikedessert.blogspot.com/
Actually, the best recipe I have found (creamed butter) involved the inclusion of oatmeal (made into flour with a blender or food-processor) substituted for half the flour (experiment though because I think I found a better ratio- I just can’t recall). Also, I always drop the pan on the top of the over door before placing the cookies to cool (it seems to kill the cakeyness)–I like mine very chewey. One point though I can not stress enough. The actual baking process, in my opinion, is 70% of the game. In a hurry I use store bought dough and get fabulous cookies (I feel guilty pawning them off since guests always rave about my secret recipe). The store bought dough cookies still taste great because I do not over-cook, use either parchment or an insulated baking sheet, and my oven temp in dead on (and I drop the cookie sheet as above). Everyone seems to overcook and get these thin, burnt edge, hockey-puck cakey in the center things (worse than vending machine cookies!).
I finally baked Alton Brown’s Choc Chip Cookies with the melted butter and I am blown away! In this case, a cookie is NOT just a cookie. This cookie bridges the gap between my husband and I: he likes crunchy, I like chewy. For the longest time I thought that we would never be able to enjoy a cookie together. But now, thanks to Alton Brown and Joy the Baker, we can set aside our cookie differences and enjoy one…together…crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside…choc chip cookie goodness. Thanks!
Hey Joy! These cookies turned out AMAZING!!! I did tweak the recipe, though, to make them a little more healthy. I know, it’s practically a sin to try to make desserts “healthy,” but they still tasted great to me.
Instead of bread flour, I used whole wheat flour, and instead of regfular chocolate chips, I crushed up an entire gigantic Hershey’s dark chocolate bar. Also, I added some oats for heart health and texture. I personally thought they tasted great. Try it if you’re bored one day. :D
My mom made the Alton cookies from your blog over Labor Day. They were AMAZING. I am waiting for my own batch of dough to chill right now :)
I know this sounds odd, but I love my cookies with a bit of Chinese 5 Spice thrown in + a teeny extra bit of salt. Scrumptious just out of the oven, but even better after a day! MMMMmmmmmmmm. Thanks for all your great posts, Joy! Makes my day every time! :)
I’m a big fan of chocolate in every bite of my cookie and found that chopping up either chocolate bars or chips lends itself to a fantastic variation. I tend to use bittersweet or a combo of various percentages so the sweetness isn’t too overpowering.
I loved these cookies. I put in buttermilk instead of milk. This gave it a nice and creamy texture.
Creamed has always seemed to work better for a fluffy yet crispy cookie. Also, I double the vanilla. Try adding a tablespoon of orange zest and white chocolate chips- they were raved about!
I found your blog today~
spend the whole afternoon reading and enjoying every post. How I came to find you, I google…”what makes the best chocolate chip cookie”…after I clicked on you in “google” I stayed at your blog site all afternoon…I’m “chilling” the dough as I type~ I’ll bake my cookies tomorrow. Funny thing~ I just baked a batch of chocolate chip cookies this morning. I wasn’t happy with them, I thought, there has to be a better CCC!! I just know this is the one!! Can’t wait till tomorrow!
I’m going to post the results on my blog~ would love for you to visit.
Love my visit at your place today…
Great blog!
Tina~ Cherry Hill Cottage…
I’m visiting for the first time, I came to you from Tina, at Cherry Hill Cottage. I’m also searching for the perfect CC cookie. I can’t wait to try this. Am having company all week and so it will be a good opportunity to have more people to eat them than just me and my husband. One ingredient that I like added (and was previously mentioned) is oatmeal. I’ve never ground it up though, just added as is.
Helllloooo:) I must say that ur blog is SUPER ULTRA COOL!!! It makes me go all GUGUGAGA and I just simply love the way you take your pictures hahaz… I was actually contemplating the idea of baking these chewy chocolate cookies on V-Day. I was wondering if you could tell me how long do i need to chill my cookie dough cause it’s not really stated in the recipe above. Thanks! (p.s. i kinda need it in a hurry cos V-Day is just 4 days away:) )
Everyone loved these cookies =o) They are so chocolatey and soft..yum!! Thanks for sharing!!
I’m thinking (which is always dangerous) that if you don’t melt the butter you don’t have to put this in the fridge for so long… just a manic thought. However if you do; I would go on & brown the butter as browned butter adds a nice touch when making cookies. Just a thought mind you… I mean what the heck do I know…. forget I ever said it. You asked for feedback, right????
This recipe is fantastic, I didn’t have any bread flour on hand I just substituted the bread flour with regular flour, and the cookies still turned out great! Thanks for this wonderful recipe, and for the many other recipes on your site. Definitely inspired me to get back in the kitchen and make some fabulous desserts. Joy you are one of the greatest Bakers ever, good luck in all that you do!
I am having a dessert buffet graduation party(evening) for approx.150 people. Any great ideas to share?
I just found this – I personally eschew butter in my chocolate chip cookies. And I always have since I first learned to make them as a teenager. I have always just used butter flavor Crisco instead and find I get a much better result – the cookies stay soft and don’t flatten out too much or get too crisp. I always cook them a bit less than the recipe calls for as well.
I did make these this morning. they are delicious. mine spread out which made for a thinner cookie. but they still seemed nicely crisp on the outside and softer on the inside. i do like this recipe.
thanks for sharing it.
You make my world a happier place to be, along with my dog and chocolate chip cookies. For that I must thank you… well, at least for the you and the cookie part.
Here’s another happiness inducing recipe you might want to try. I was so skeptical of the melted butter thing before I tried these…now I’m for melted butter all the way – and even (gasp!) all brown – no white sugar!
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Best-Big-Fat-Chewy-Chocolate-Chip-Cookie/Detail.aspx
I made these tonight, and I am TOTALLY puzzled. Mine are flat, dark, and crispy. Not at all what I was expecting! The dough was VERY soft and sticky if that gives anyone any clues. I weighed the ingredients and used 4.25 oz flour = 1 cup (per King Arthur Flour). Would appreciate any advice as I have been having my own choc chip cookie debate (with myself, of course) and have come up nearly empty handed. I was so excited about this one! Thanks!
Joy- Can a Microwave the butter? or does it have to be slow stove top meltage… I’m impatient when it comes to cookies…
Ok so i tried this recipe and I am in love it was the best cookie i have ever made at home, I am still trying to find a recipe that taste like a cookie this restaurant makes here in Jacksonville Fl, called The Cool Moose Cafe, this came very close, my mom tried their cookie and she can tell you everything someone puts in their recipes….its a skill i could only dream of having…she said it taste like they puree’d the chocolate in the batter, I did this on a dreamsicle cookie recipe I made up , with white chocolate chips and it was sooooo good. Have you ever tried that??
Made these upon other people’s suggestion that I should decrease the butter a little. Ugh. I so wish I didn’t believe what other people said. It would’ve been just perfect with 2sticks of butter! urghhhh. Oh well. Better luck next time! but i’m really glad the cookie really turned out chewy. I used around 1 1/2 tbsp per cookie, and mine were done in 10mins!
Found your website through honeyandjam.com
My husband and I love this chocolate chip recipe! Thanks so much!
I posted the recipe on my blog.
http://lindseyis.blogspot.com/2009/12/more-chocolate-chip-cookies.html
i am trying this one the next time i want cccs :)
I have always been cursed with the flat chocolate chip cookie, so i was so excited to try this recipe. I followed all the directions, I promise- but they are flat! they look nothing like the picture. I chilled overnight, melted the butter, used bread flour. They taste great, but are definitely flat. Any ideas what went wrong?? thanks!
Merrill-
Follow the recipe and instructions except try adding an extra 1/2 to 1 cup of Pillsbury self-rising flour to the recipe. Then, also test your oven at a lower temp, maybe 25 degrees lower. These tips have helped me.
These cookies are still in the oven and I am already so excited. 1) I got to use my new cookie scoop, I love how it makes them perfectly uniform and perfectly round (cookie scoops are a good thing). I love how the dough looks more like batter but then sets in the fridge, this reminds me of brownie batter. I hope they taste as good as I’m hoping they do!
hi there,
i was wondering how long this cookies can remind chewy? cause sometimes i bake alot and i’ll finish eating within the next few days and i’ve tried ccc recipes where it was really chewy and yummy initially but got dry and kinda crispy after a few days.
PHOEBE
Yuk to melted butter! It changes the consistency of the batter. However, I’ve learned that everyone likes their chocolate chip cookies a different way, which is funny actually. For me, I don’t like them thin. So, I use self-rising flour and I also use an extra cup of it.
Also, I don’t cream the flour and sugar. I mix the dry ingredients, then add the wet ones, and then I mix it all together with my hands. I add MILK chocolate chips at the end. My next step is to refridgerate the dough overnite, which adds to the flavor and also eliminates the spread effect. Finally, I’ve learned to bake my cookes at 325, rather then 350 because of the quirks of my oven.
Thanks for writing about my favorite topic and for the NYT link!
Hi Joy :)
I was wondering if you would mind helping me! I am trying to make chewy cookies…and everything i do they come out like cake! I have tried melting butter or just creaming the butter in with the sugar…every time they come out the same. Frustrating. Any ideas what i could do?
Love your blog. You are my inspiration that’s for sure :D
So, I made these last weekend because my husband and I don’t quite see eye-to-eye on cookies. They are my husband’s new favorite!!! He has asked me to stop making my old recipe (which is still my favorite) and only make these.
Joy!! These cookies were simply amazing. I have eaten way too many of them, and consumed much of the dough before it was baked. Too good. :D
The dough is chilling as I write! If the cookies turn out as delicious as the dough tastes, then these have potential to be the best chocolate chip cookies yet!
these were absolutely amazing. my search for the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe is over. thanks joy! (and alton (: )
I am so so excited to try this recipe!! I found one other recipe that results in soft, tall, chewy cookies… it wants you to cream the butter – no melting in that one – kinda similar in other ways, but the trick is adding a small packet of vanilla instant pudding mix… but I feel like adding the packet of pudding is cheating :)
This is my new favorite site! Thanks so much for this recipe!!
You were right. These are The.Best.Cookies.Ever! Busy baking ‘em right now, and the first batch is heavenly. Frozen cookie dough is also seriously seriously good. Or is that evil? No, I’m pretty sure it’s goooooooooooooooood.
This is such a good cookie! When I made mine, I only baked them for 10 minutes, so they were a little chewier, and they were amazing! Thanks for the recipe!
OMGah! I only discovered your blog 5 days ago and I have completed 3 of your recipes! I am in LOVE! Thank you for sharing your baking endeavors, along with amazing and helpful pictures. I am forever grateful… I have been trying for 5 years to make my husband the ULTIMATE Chocolate Chip Cookie… and he LOVES them. So THANK YOU JOY!
I ALWAYS use this cookie recipe. its amazing and it never fails. People have told me that its the best cookie they have ever had!
SO I HAAAAD to comment on this. I’ve always wanted to make CC cookies from scratch and I have to say that these cookies are: BOMB! I had a lick of the batter before it chilled and it lead to about 1/4 cup gone. I had to stop myself or I wouldn’t have any batter left to bake. These are amazing. I can’t wait to feed them to the boyfriend tomorrow – I’ll get lots-a-lovin from this recipe!
The Alton Brown recipe is my “go-to” recipe for chocolate chip cookies, ALWAYS. Another thing that affects cookies is the type of pan you bake them on. Am I opening another can of worms here? Ha!
I tried the Alton Brown recipe today, and did enjoy the flavor & texture of the cookie. I used a mix of light & dark brown sugar, and was wondering which you usually use for this recipe? My cookies flattened out a bit more than yours did, but I only refrigerated the dough for about 4 hours.
do u think its possible to halve this recipe ?
caz i have sucha small family and i dont wanna waste the ingredients ..
if i halve this recipe….
should i use only one egg?
or half of an egg and half of a yolk?
i got confused.
pls help
Hey Joy, try using cornflakes. They make real crispy but not too dry chocolate chip cookies.
Hi, how much is two sticks of unsalted butter in grams or ounces please :)
I just want to tell you that I am newbie to blogs and truly liked this web page. More than likely I’m want to bookmark your site . You certainly come with remarkable posts. Kudos for revealing your web page.
Hey Joy!
Are you packing that brown sugar, firm pack? light pack? no pack?
These are the questions that haunt me at night ;-)
Thanks a ton!
-K
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