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.
mb
just made these… so delicious! i’m sold on melted butter.
Coco
I’m not from the US, so chocolate chip cookies are not an institution for me. Today I baked them for the first time and oh my god OH MY GOD they’re so sooo goood!!! my house smells delicious!! I’m going to cqll some friends so they eat some of them, otherwise I’ll end up feeling slightly guilty! thank you so much for the recipe, they’re awesome
Mary Jo
I just made these. I always have the problem of mine comming out like flat pancakes.
Could it be I only left them in the fridge for 30 minutes?
No matter which recipe, they always come out flat. I use real butter.
Thank you
Kathy Sherman
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
Palmer Iheme
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Vickie
Hi, how much is two sticks of unsalted butter in grams or ounces please :)
chee
Hey Joy, try using cornflakes. They make real crispy but not too dry chocolate chip cookies.
phoebe
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
stacy
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.
Emily
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!
Lorianne
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!
pricila hernandez
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!
Jess
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!
Erin O.
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!
Marisa
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.
Claire
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!!
Olivia
these were absolutely amazing. my search for the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe is over. thanks joy! (and alton (: )
Mindie
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!
Rosie
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
Katy
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.
Kara
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
Jenifer
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!
Phoebe
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
Nicolle
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!
merrill
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!
Jenifer
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.
dani
i am trying this one the next time i want cccs :)
Lindsey
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
meg
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!
Candace Ridenhour
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??
Jessanna
Joy- Can a Microwave the butter? or does it have to be slow stove top meltage… I’m impatient when it comes to cookies…
jami
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!
Patty
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
Stiffler
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.
Laurel Nelson
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.
peggy daley
I am having a dessert buffet graduation party(evening) for approx.150 people. Any great ideas to share?
Sheena
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!
Butterball
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????
Lissa
Everyone loved these cookies =o) They are so chocolatey and soft..yum!! Thanks for sharing!!
Nisey
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:) )
Karen B
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.
Tina
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…
lala
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!
Jeff
I loved these cookies. I put in buttermilk instead of milk. This gave it a nice and creamy texture.
Tracy
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.
Beth G
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! :)
Alicia
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 :)
Kristen
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
Evan
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!
Tony
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!).
Chris
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/
joythebaker
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!
zoe francois
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!
Susan
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.
Jill in Atlanta
I’ve tried Alton’s chewy recipe and it was better than the Toll House one, but, honestly, the uncooked dough wins- hands down.
Cheryl
I always used to cream the butter with the sugar. I’d always read about people melting the butter to produce a chewier cookie, but I thought it would make it more greasy. Not so! It produced a thicker, chewy cookie, just the kind you find at the freshly baked cookie stores. I also agree with the refrigerating the dough for a while, that seemed to help too.
Mr.Sound
Very nice. I’d like to feel the chocolate fill in that cookie in my mouth.
http://www.foodista.com/2008/06/12/mexican-hot-chocolate/
Bronwyn
Funny the NYT article came out shortly after you wrote your blog. Two of my friends forwarded the article to me! I’m looking forward to trying the overnight refrigeration. And see if I can get that perfect, chewy CCC.
I’ve always creamed my butter and sugar, and have also taken to adding a bunch of cinnamon and ginger, and a bit of cloves and nutmeg to my recipe. It makes for a very fall-smelling and tasting cookie. But that’s an easy addition, it’s getting the right texture that’s tricky. Somehow my brother has perfected it, and he just follows the Tollhouse recipe. I don’t know if he beats the butter sugar and eggs for longer or takes them out of the oven just under done and leaves them to finish cooking on the pan. He must just have that magic tough.
The one trick I found helps is patting down the dough after I’ve dropped it on the pan, just to spread them out a bit. I find the cookies will spread out anyway, and this just makes for more even rising and cooking.
Looking forward to trying and reading about more pointers to make that perfect CCC!
queenie
Creamed butter is my preferred method. I’m an old school girl.
S for Kitchen Confit
I’ve always been one to use softened and creamed butter. The NY Times article though has me wanted to let the dough rest now for at least 24 hours – the problem is if I have uncooked cookie dough in my fridge for 24 hours it will be eaten by the time I want to bake the cookies!
Mari
My attempts at chocolate chip cookies have until now left something to be desired, leaving me to wonder if I’m just crap at making cookies? Silly, considering I’ve aced a whole number of more complicated baked goods, like genoise, meringue buttercream and brioche. I think I’ll be trying your recipe, because I’m tired of flat chocolate chip cookies!
Evan
Martha Stewart’s Cookie of the Day for Friday, July 11:
Giant Chocolate Chip Cookies (with creamed butter)
Lauren
Sister,
I think I’ll make these cookies for Karl and Jenny. They’ll love them! Thank you for the advice.
Cindy H
I’m pretty sure I could handle either/or, and I’m up for anyone sending me samples so I could make a choice… :o)
I personally always add a little extra flour than what the recipes call for, and then I chill the dough, so the melted or the creamed ultimately become pretty much the same in the end..
I’ve gotta say, though, that the image of the cookies in the bowl is delectable!
Cindy
http://www.jbkpottery.com
Mike
I have not made a comparison, but my first impulse would direct me towards creamed butter over melted. Either way though, I’d eat all of those cookies :o
Tipperella
Which Alton Brown recipe is this?? We love his Chewy CCC recipe. There is also a Crunchy (we like ours chewy though).
Heather
Mmm. Chocolate chip cookies. My son went through a pahse of searching for the perfect one. He forgot to add the butter, and ended up adding it melted at the end, instead of the old school, creamed with sugar. They were delicious.
Personally, I don’t like soft chocolate chip cookies, I like them crunchy on the edges and somewhat chewy in the middle, thus the flat version.
Some people swear that adding a tablespoon rather than the usual teaspoon of vanilla is a must also.
Looking forward to the rest of the debate. . . :)
Heather
Jennifer
Hi there,
I stumbled across your blog and was reading all of these posts and I thought I would share what I use in chocolate chip cookies. A few years ago I found a really great recipe that creams the butter and sugar (3/4 brown and 1/4 white) and then you add vanilla pudding mix. Just the mix, not prepared. The instant kind. It makes the cookies so very soft and they NEVER GET FLAT. When they bake they rise up stay very puffy. They take a full 11-12 minutes to bake. The outside and the inside both stay very soft. You could leave the cookies out on the counter uncovered for days and they would remain soft. I know because I tested one out, just to see if they would get crunchy or stale. They didn’t. I know it sounds unconventional, but hey, I’m an unconventional kind of girl.
BTW, I absolutely LOVE!!! your blog. I look foward to the next read.
Abeer
AHhh my favorite topic chocolate chip cookies, well since im just a beginner i try and experiment with different recipes in order to get the perfect cookie, so i tried a martha stewart recipe for a double chocolate mnm cookie (it has got m n m;s instead of chocolate chips) (found here:http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/mslo/menuitem.fc77a0dbc44dd1611e3bf410b5900aa0/?vgnextoid=ad104679e8b0f010VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default&rsc=header_3&autonomy_kw=M+n+M+cookies ) but the problem is they turned out to sticky or fudgy and not in a good way! maybe i had done something wrong since i tried them a while back but by looking at the ingredients can any1 guess what the error might be?
P.s. I found this article on martha Chocolate Chip cookie 101, you might wanna check it out: http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/mslo/menuitem.3a0656639de62ad593598e10d373a0a0/?vgnextoid=ae832cfa6862f010VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default&rsc=header_8&autonomy_kw=Double+chocolate+Chip+cookie
cakebrain
Thanks for sharing the AB recipe using melted butter. I’m going to try it ’cause I’m always on the lookout for the perfect chocolate chip cookie. I have made a cookie using bread flour (but not melted butter) that creates a really nice soft cookie like the kind you get at the Cookie specialty shops in malls. I’m happy with my creaming the butter method, but I’d like to be ecstatic! So I’m also going to try the Torres 36 hour chilling the dough technique! Great post!
Leilani
My favorite chocolate chip cookie is thick, crunchy on the outside, and almost undercooked in the middle-and it usually has pecans in it. (No cake-like cookies allowed!)
I have only made chocolate cookies one time with melted butter. I used a version of an Otis Spunkmeyer copycat recipe. My sister still talks about them as the best she’s ever had. While trying to find the recipe just now online I came across this–it has a ton of different chocolate chip cookie recipes. http://www.chocolatemonthclub.com/recipes/chocolate-chip-cookies.htm
Also, I glanced at various versions of the Otis Spunkmeyer recipe, and they all list shortening as an ingredient. I don’t remember using this, but I also only made these once about 6 years ago.
Oh, and I LOVE your blog. Thank you for being such an inspiring baker.
Pamela
I’m glad to see that you are feeling a bit better. I truly love this AB recipe for Chocolate Chip cookies. When I first tried it, I knew I would have to stop myself from going nuts with it. I must have made it about 6 times within a 4 week period. I really love the texture of this cookie and it comes together nicely. By the way, I have your blog in my reader and I always enjoy seeing what you are up to. HANG IN THERE!!
Kevin
Another chocolate chip cookie recipe to try! They look great!
Stephanie
Hello! Just thought I’d tell you I’ve really enjoyed reading your bloggy! I just came across it today and I think its great! Definitely a bookmarker!
Jaina
Those look delicious! I’m going to have to try that recipe. I’ve never really paid attention to the state of butter…I actually usually use margarine. No real reason, just what we’ve always had around. I think I may have to start paying attention to the type of ingredient I’m using.
TastyNewEngland
This may sound like madness to all of you but my favorite choco chip cookies are made with…margarine. I almost cringe typing it. As for creaming vs. melting, I’m not sure what the method is, I don’t make them myself and I almost don’t want to ask for the recipe and spoil the magic!
Tim
Given my immoderate, unseemly love for chocolate-chip cookies, may I vote for . . . all of the above? :)
arundathi
i made some great cookies with melted butter – chewy and soft. delicious. these look amazing, but since we don’t have bread flour here in india, i can’t try it! :(
gorgeous photos!
Gina
As soon as I saw the title of your post I immediately thought of Alton Brown’s recipe (“The Chewy”) from his Chocolate Chip Cookie show. It is hands-down my **favorite** chocolate chip cookie recipe. I add more chips than what the recipe calls for (I add 50% more). This recipe is the whole reason I bought a scoop for my cookie dough. Now I wonder how I lived without that thing! :)
Sweetcharity
I’m ol’school about it.
My chocolate chip cookie recipe is the one my mom used, the chocolate dot cookie recipe from an old Chatelaine cookbook. They have brown sugar and white sugar creamed with butter. And it’s true, they sometimes flatten. Maybe I’m just nostalgic, but I like ’em like that, and I kinda like the element of surprise- oOooo! what kind of cookies are they gonna be this time?. Actually a few months ago I made them at work- the butter got waaaaayy too soft, and when they baked, they flattened completely, and the sugar caramelized. But the end result was pretty much chocolate florentines.Thinking back on it, I seem to remember I may have mis-measured the flour. Oops!
When I make them at home I tend to make a double batch, roll all the dough into balls and freeze them on a flat tray to be moved into a freezer bake once frozen. Then when I bake them (which is whenever I want a few fresh cookies), I add a couple minutes to the baking time, but otherwise bake as per usual. The cookies don’t flatten out, and stay chewy/gooey in the middle.
Melody
Very interesting recipe…the cookies does look delicious!
Amy
I’ve always preferred melting my butter and using half white sugar, half brown sugar. It seems like anytime I’ve used a recipe that calls for creaming the butter and sugar, I get a crispy cookie – which I hate! However, its possible I’ve always just picked the wrong recipes – I’m sure there are plenty of CCC recipes out there that use creamed butter and don’t result in a crispy cookie; I just haven’t stumbled on it yet. I vote melted butter all the way! :-)
cyndi
I tend to stay “old school” when I bake chocolate chip cookies, but add a bunch more chocolate than called for (sometimes I even mix chips, chunks + mini chips for an added ‘wow’ factor). A few years back (after discovering my love for chocolate + cinnamon) I decided to add cinnamon and now have a new favorite…Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Cookies. They’re moist, gooey and oh so addictive! They’re my family’s absolute favorite cookie and I seem to get requests all year long. They also improve with age and tend to taste better on day 2 & 3 (if they last that long!)
Amanda
Wow look at debate you sparked Joy! I think its safe to say that we all love cookies and that playing around with the different techniques results in yummy rewards. I have done both methods, melting butter and simple creaming, and both worked well. I made a one bowl cookie recipe from Jill O’Connor’s book that was stellar. The cookies were a little crispier but they also reminded me of little clouds because they had a nice puffy center. I enjoy Dorie’ recipe too. I want to try a more fluffy cookie recipe, although I do prefer a thinner and carmel-y cookie.
Jen
These look delicious! I might have to try them soon. I’m going to have about 20 different kinds of flour in my apartment, but that’s OK, right? I usually make the basic recipe — either follow the chocolate chip bag, or use Mrs. Fields cookie book recipe. I tend to bake them MUCH less than I’m supposed to tho so they end up being so chewy and delicous.
Mia
I recently had some cookies (Alice Medrich recipe, I think) that were made by melting the butter and the sugar together…it created an almost caramel-y effect, and they were some of the best cookies I’ve had.
Amy
Hi Joy, Glad you see you back at the helm of the mixer and the camera! Keep your chin up. Tomorrow’s my birthday and I think I’ve found the perfect dessert for my party. I ‘ll let you know how they turn out. Thanks for sharing your beautiful recipes, images and insight.
Steph
Your cookies look scrumptious! I have a recipe that I use that calls for half melted and browned butter and half softened. The browned butter is perfect touch. I will have to try this recipe and compare!
Tiffany
I too make the old school cookies, sometimes resuliting in the ‘flattened and disappointing’ cookie. (I always manage to eat them, regardless). I’ll have to try the melted butter and bread flour–perhaps that will be next week’s cookie. Glad you are doing better!
Kevin Conroy
Funny you should mention this. Today’s food article in the NY Times is all about chocolate chip cookies. I found the historical piece of it interesting, but I’m even more interested to hear your thoughts on their recipe advice of chilling the dough for 36 hours.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/09/dining/09chip.html
Love to get your input!
And so glad to hear that you’re feeling better. :)
Mary
To be honest, when I first started reading my mind rejected the idea of using melted butter in a chocolate chip cookie. But now I’m thinking I have to try these cookies. They look fabulous and I’m insanely curious about a light cookie made with melted butter and bread flour.
justJENN
I’m glad you’re feeling better. Baking always helps me.
Jackie
The chocolate chip recipe I’ve been using for a few years is similar to this, except the bread flour and they cook at a much lower temperature. I do find chilling the dough makes all the difference with the melted butter in the dough.
Your cookies look delicious, and I can’t wait to see the next installment of the debate- maybe I can give creamed butter cookies a try!
Karen
Joy – this is my daughter and son’s favorite recipe. They were forever searching for the perfect “soft” cookie. I, on the other hand, enjoy a crispier cookie. I make the soft cookies so that I won’t eat as many. My daughter made these cookies a few weeks ago and they were as crispy as a toll house cookie, despite having followed the recipe. I think the only explanation is that she overcooked them. It’s imperative that you take them out of the oven just when they’re starting to get golden colored otherwise they’re overdone.
Stephanie
I use creamed softened butter for my favorite recipe. It didn’t originally call for that, but one time I tried it with non melted butter and sweet mother the cookies became an absolute staple in our house. Now they are the only recipe I will use.
Jen
I’ve never made cookies with melted butter and bread flour. Yours look awesome though. I do love a recipe that has a packet of instant pudding in it. They come out soft and delicious every time. Here’s the recipe: http://beantownbaker.blogspot.com/2007/09/new-favorite-chocolate-chip-cookie.html
Clumbsy Cookie
I just read your last post and I hope you’re filling better and finding some confort in all those comments and in your pajama! Baking is a good therapy I think…
Anyway, I love Alton and I love CCC (who doesn’t?) but I’ve never made his cookies. I’ve made CCC with bread flour before and the result was very very good! They get puffy and crunchy outside and chewy inside. I’ve tried the same recipe with AP flour and they also get good but a bit more cakey. I found the recipe for them on cookiemadness.com and then made experiments myself with it. I’ve even used instant yeast and those were my favorites! But what I think is that CCC are like steak, one like them rare, other medium rare, or well-done… With the cookies everybody had their favourites, so there’s no way of finding “the best”, just the best for you. Keep the experiments I love reading them.
Alanna
I’ve seen people use browned butter too. With older recipes, I’ve started using salted butter — because that’s what they were developed for.
Evan
I have never tried melted butter chocolate chip cookies. But you’ve really touched my heart with this one. I am a chocolate chip cookie FREAK! On my birthday, I always get a free dessert at a local coffee shop and I always choose the choc chip cookie. And they always try to talk me into something more extravagant, like turtle cheesecake or tiramisu…nope, just the cookie please! I think this is also my next project.
Ev
Sefali
Ahhh…Chocolate chip cookies. A topic near and dear to my heart…this is my type of debate!
I’ve been eyeing a couple of chocolate chip recipes to try out soon. Firstly, there’s the whole Levain Bakery phenomena that I just became aware of. No, I haven’t tried them yet, but they sound dreamy…forget dinner and just give me the scone sized cookie, crispy and caramelized on the outside, soft and melted with a heart of goo on the inside. So I found this “Copycat Levain Bakery Throw Down Cookie” recipe and I’m so keen to see how it lives up to the hype. Have you tried the Levain cookie?
Then there’s Elinor Klivans’ “chocolate chip-stuffed cookies”. Isn’t the name itself droolworthy? Two disks of dough cradling a chocolatey heart of goo. I must make these soon…!
gail
i still go for the creaming of the butter.
i think the reason why the creamed butter version flattens because the butter only gets to melt inside the oven thus it makes the cookie flat. hmmm…
Stephanie
For chocolate chip cookies, I always go to a Martha Stewart recipe I found years ago in her magazine (for a brief, maddening moment, I was a subscriber) that calls for creaming the sugar and butter. And let me tell you, this makes the best chocolate chip cookie I’ve ever had…and I made a batch of them to try to cheer me up recently. Baking is always so therapeutic.
Miri
Joy, these cookies look marvelous! I love soft choc chip cookies.
Jovian
Great to know you’re feeling better, Joy! :-D