One finger swipe up through my text thread with Dad will tell you we’ve been on a cookie bender lately. The dust up dates a few weeks back to January of this fine year when King Arthur Baking announced their recipe of the year. A supersized and super soft, as they would describe it, chocolate chip cookie made with bread flour (GASP, truly) and a procedure list so intense I basically had to Phone A Friend – Dad.
A few days later Dad sent me a photograph of a bag King Arthur Baking Bread Flour sitting on their kitchen counter which could only mean one thing. It’s ON. Well… two things really. It also meant that mom was going to call me from her garden to tell me Dad is making cookies again. It doesn’t take much for us to spiral, especially where brown butter and chocolate chips are involved and this cookie recipe was an all-hands situation for the Wilsons.
The questions we had were these:
Will this labor intensive, long rested cookie dough really make for a superior chocolate chip cookie?
Will these cookies knock Dad’s Best Chocolate Chip Cookie off the pedestal we keep the cookie jar on?
And we filled the fridge with cookie dough to find out.
Here are the ingredients we used to make KAB’s Supersized, Super-Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies:
• unsalted butter, melted to browned and used warm
• light brown sugar, and no granulated sugar which is different from traditional CCC recipes
• bread flour, which has a higher protein content than its all-purpose counterpart
• whole milk, to heat and whisk with bread flour to create a smooth paste or a tangzhoung starter
• baking soda and baking powder
• semisweet chocolate wafers, finely chopped for lot of chocolate bits
With recipe in hand, we tackled this dough.
First, we whisked together the brown sugar and salt. By now we’re familiar with browned butter. We whisked that liquid gold, still warm, into the brown sugar. The warm butter helps dissolve the sugar slightly but still leaves a bit of a sandy sugar mixture.
After addressing the butter and sugar, we made a smooth paste of warm milk and bread flour. This process of adding milky flour paste to baked goods is called the tangzhoung method. I’ve seen this method most often in Chinese and Japanese baking to make the fluffiest loaves of bread that don’t stale quickly. The process of gelatinizing stabilizes some of the flour, preventing it from crystalizing after baking. Helps keep baked goods soft and not stale.
I had never used this recipe in a humble cookie recipe. It always felt more appropriate for more intensive bread recipes but, sure – I’ll try anything in the same of a soft cookie.
We added the flour paste to the sugar mixture and continued to trust the process.
Next up were cold eggs and vanilla extract, followed by bread flour, baking soda and baking powder. There’s no need for a mixer around these parts, as this dough felt more like a batter to me at this point.
After a 15 minute rest in the fridge (I think to ensure the dough wouldn’t melt the chocolate), we stirred in the chocolate bits and pieces.
At this point we curbed any CCC cravings we had. Reluctantly. This dough requires a 24 to 72 hour rest in the fridge to intensity the flavors. At this point I was ready to snack on any chocolate scraps we might have had left.
After their dedicated rest, we scooped the cookie dough into generous and precise 50 gram balls that baked for about 15 minutes.
They emerged from the oven golden brown and pleasingly wrinkled around the edges. They look so different than dad’s cookies which bake to a pale golden and hold large pools of chocolate instead of shards. After a brief cooling time, we couldn’t wait to dig in. I mean… we really earned it!
My thoughts? There’s really no such thing as a bad chocolate chip cookie. Respectfully, this is not my favorite chocolate chip cookie. Is it worth the effort? Honestly, no.
There is an intensity to this cookie that I don’t need from a chocolate chip cookie. I attribute this to the large amount of brown sugar balanced, in a valiant effort by the large amount of table salt. The texture is bendy, chewy, and a bit cakey. We’ve got bread flour and baking powder to thank. If chewy cookies are your passion, this is a worthwhile bake.
In my opinion, these cookies are the pour-over coffee of the cookie baking world. Sometimes you want a project. Sometimes you want to use a very specific grind of coffee, with a very specific temperature of water, to stand over coffee pitcher with a stopwatch… just for a cup of coffee. That’s a vibe. This recipe is a similar vibe. A project of a cookie.
When I want a cookie, I’m looking for familiarity and simplicity. Dad and I have our perfect recipe and after weeks texting and days fussing over a cookie that might/could be better, we sat down on the couch with dad’s tried-and-true cookies and a knowing nod. Dad’s recipe reigns supreme.
Have you baked King Arthur Baking’s Super-Sized Super Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies? Sound off in the comments! We want to know what you think!
58 Responses
I made these too, and thought they were a pretty solid “meh.” To me, they definitely were not worth all the extra steps and dishes to, and I’m a person who loves complicated bakes. I wasn’t a fan of the texture, and for all the effort to build flavor, we found them oddly bland. Jacques Torres’ chocolate chip cookie recipe in the NYT still reigns supreme in our house.
Wow, these are the perfect chocolate chip cookies.
I made the KAF ones and my girlfriend banned me from ever straying from your Dad’s again. Fierce fans around here.
HAHAHAHAHHAHA. I understand Cara, they were worth a shot but your girlfriend is right.
I have made both, and I think that your Dad’s are the best. A few years ago, I entered them into our state fair and they won first place in the chocolate-chip cookie category. There were at least 16 other entries so I was chuffed. Thanks to your Dad for sharing his recipe!
Absolutely chill the dough for at least 24 hours. I spread it flat and placed on a cookie sheet in the freezer for 1 hour then 5 more in the fridge. It worked ok but not as well as a 24 hour slow chill. Great recepie…I add double vanilla and a few drops of almond extract to mine and they turn out perfect.
I respect you went through the whole process and then gave your honest opinion that it wasn’t for you. Refreshing. Keep it up.
I baked KAF CCC recipe and really like them. Love the browned butter taste and the chewyness. I wouldn’t bake them every time we want CCC but they are worth the extra effort.
I’ve baked the KAB recipe and your Dad’s recipe. I like them both very much. However, I think the KAB cookies stay fresher tasting longer.
Loved this comment because I also thought what’s all the fuss over this recipe? It was more time-consuming to mix up for not an improved taste. How can you improve on perfection, really! But I was glad I gave the recipe a good ‘ole try!
I have tried them, and they weren’t the greatest at all. I am a pastry chef, and have all kinds of chocolate chip cookies. I make mine with 1/2 bread flour, and they are spectacular. I decided to do it for fun, but was disappointed. Sorry King Arthur, sometimes your recipes aren’t the greatest!
So sende YOUR recipe. I’m dying to check it out! LOVE me some awesome cookies!
Send it to laramieplain@gmail.com
Thanks!
Cynthia
( In Laramie) Nothin else to do here ;)
We tried the recipe. Baked them up and the cookies looked amazing. Tasted super bland, no flavor. A real disappointment for cookie of the year. Pass on this one !
I also made the recipe as printed. I chilled half the recipe for one hour and the rest for 24 hours. No difference to my cookies. I will not bake these again as I was hoping for something over the top and they did not deliver.
Just here to comment that the story-telling is fantastic. And like everyone else, I am now opening the link to your dad’s recipe. Thank you Joy for your service!
I’ve made the KAF cookie recipe 3 times, and every time I thought they were fabulous. I don’t understand how so many people are getting “cakey” results. The insides of my cookies were very chewy, almost like the famous Levain Bakery cookies, whose insides border on cookie dough. I haven’t tried your father’s recipe, so I can’t compare them. But, IMO, the KAF cookie rivals the Jacques Torres recipe, which was my go-to CCC recipe for a long time. Also, the baked cookies froze very well.
I had the same experience. Chewy, chocolatly and delicious. I have made them 3 times because my family loves them.
I’ve been hearing about the KAF cookie and figured that I need to give them a try. I’m not a fan of cake-like cookies, so you and your Dad have saved me the trouble. I did read your Dad’s recipe a few weeks ago and it is most definitely on my list of CCC recipes to try. I’m looking forward to it!
King Arthur’s were sad. I’m a cookie baker and I’ll never make those cookies again – – cannot figure out how that won the cookie of the year. I’ll try the new ones and see – – I’ll let you know.
I did also had to try the King Arthur recipe, I won’t be doing that again. Your dad’s chocolate chip cookie recipe remains my all-time favorite and I’m sticking to it. Thank your dad.??
I also tried King Arthur’s recipe of the year and was more disappointed than I can say as they were nowhere near the chocolatey goodness of my own favorite recipe. I trust King Arthur for many baking ideas, but this is not one of them.
I made the King Arthur cookies: They taste very good, maybe the browned butter and brown sugar combo. The tangzhoung step IMHO is not worth the effort but the baked texture is uniquely soft and pliable. The cookies were way too big at the KA recommended size, esp since they spread and flattened a lot while baking! (Could be due to 5000’+ altitude I was at) The chewiness and flatness did make them perfect for ice cream sandwiches but I’ll keep the Joy recipe for usual baking!
I have been reading the comments thinking to myself, “why go to all the trouble”, but if they make good ice cram sandwich cookies – that would be the answer. It isn’t easy to find a good ice cream sandwich cookie!!
I saved the recipe to make it at future time, but now I think I will make your dad’s recipe. Thanks for testing it.
I wouldn’t describe the KAF CCC as a chewy cookie at all. It’s very cake like and… I did not like it at all. Not worth the effort. Unlike say their recipe of the year for cinnamon rolls a few years back using the same tongzang method. Go check those out!
I made the King Arthur cookie of the year also. My husband and brother and I thought OK. But my favorite recipe is your dad’s (though I thought were yours). Also available at King Arthur Baking website and my go to recipe. I make a double batch of browned butter and freeze til needed.
I wanted to try this new methods and recipe. I baked a double batch of KA and a batch of my gold standard chocolate chip cookies. I work at a university where I enlisted 48 faculty and staff to blind taste test. Results, while everyone said bith cookies tasted great – 42 preferred my cookie, 6 liked KA. KA is cake like but they liked the browned butter taste.
I’m sticking with my recipe.
I really liked the KAF CCC. I’ve made the dough a few times since I found the recipe. Mine don’t turn out as wrinkly as yours. In fact, they look more like your Dad’s recipe when I pull them from the oven. Maybe because mine are larger at about 90g/cookie. I’ll try your Dad’s recipe and see which I like better, but right now I’ve got to use up the tub of batter I made last week.
I too didn’t think they were worth the effort with the resulting cookie with pools of chocolate (not chocolate chips). Honestly I like a good chocolate chip cookie, I am kind of over with the burning of the butter, adding salt, resting the dough for days, and all the other special processes people dream up to make their cookie different. I like ATK’s recipe.
I am sticking with the Jacque Torres recipe, always get grand reviews.
I decided to make world peace cookies once I had a look at the extensive preparation required for KAB’s cookies, it just seemed like too much work. So I am thrilled to hear that I’m not missing out on the cookie of my life. Thanks for your over and above dedication to cookie monsters everywhere!
Hi Joy,
I too made the KAF cookies back in January and was not impressed. I thought maybe I didn’t follow the recipe but that wasn’t it. These CCC just didn’t have that razzle dazzle you expect from homemade CCC. I think I’ll give your dad’s recipe a try.
Thanks for taking one for the team for us. Saw the KAB recipe. Saved it to try. Now I won’t. Your dad’s cookies ALWAYS win. Sometimes I add a bit of espresso powder if I want to mix it up a bit, and I highly recommend! :)
I also made the KAB cookies.. just because. Like you, I found these to be too labor intensive AND expensive. KA wants $16.95 for a 16oz. bag of their wafers. Luckily I had most of a bag leftover from an earlier project. $17 for 16 cookies is a little much. After waiting forever we finally had cookies. No one was thrilled. After 3 weeks I dumped the last five, now rock-hard cookies, from the cookie jar. Family much prefers the traditional Tollhouse recipe which can be eaten that same day… within minutes.
Add me to the list of people who jumped in to make the KA chocolate chip cookie recipe of the year (which in previous years has truly earned that honorific). Also add me to the list of people who went, “huh?” After the very involved process of making the dough, then chilling it, the resulting cookies were resoundingly underwhelming. Mine turned out thick and cakey. But most perplexing of all, they had no flavor! How is that possible? I am an experienced baker, so I feel very confident that I am able to follow directions. If you read the comments on the KA site, lots of other people ended up with cakey textured,, flavorless cookies. On my to-do list today is make a batch of your dad’s cc cookies. I feel very confident that I will not be using cakey and flavorless to describe them!
I made them also. My two favorite recipes are your Dad’s (of course!) and the recipe from Jacque Torres. The Torres recipe also has to be refrigerated (and uses a bread and cake flour blend, plus you sprinkle the cookies with sea salt before baking). We ate them all, but somehow they are too soft, and too much work compared to other recipes. So I’m sticking with Cliff’s recipe or if I have the extra time, the one from Jacque Torres. So glad to hear your opinion as well, because I love your recipes!
** agree, not worth the hype! (But now will try your dad’s recipe!)
The title of the post gave me a good chuckle!!
Meh is all I could think of! I love tahzong for bread and will try any recipe out of the ordinary…..but, really? Waste of block chocolate. This CCC is not even in the top 50 of recipes for the year!!
I too made the KAF cookies right after they were posted. My husband is a die hard CCC lover so we were excited. We both were disappointed, especially for the labor, cost, and time involved ?
I am a huge KAB fan and couldn’t wait to see what the recipe of the year was. Took one look and thought it wasn’t worth the fuss…not when your dad’s recipe is OH SO GOOD and another favorite I make. I’ll stick to the tangzhoung method for my cinnamon roll recipe. You have saved bakers a lot of time that will be appreciated Joy!
Please tell me you flew to your parent’s house just to make this recipe with your dad!!!!
You just confirmed all the misgivings I had when I first read this recipe on the KA site. I can give it pass now.
I reached the exact same conclusion. An interesting project, and a decent CCC but not remotely close to dethroning your Dad’s recipe as my favorite. I still have only one go-to recipe and it ain’t named Arthur.
I have half of a batch of your dad’s cookies in the freezer waiting to be baked – they are just so darn good! I always have brown butter in the fridge at the ready for the next batch. There truly is no better CCC recipe!
Generally speaking, I think CCC’s are best while still warm from the oven. When I tried the King Arthur recipe cookies fresh from the oven, I was definitely underwhelmed. However, I thought they were significantly better the next day. I think they are better than any of my other favorite CCC recipes for eating after the first day.
this looks good!
malinda
http://www.malindaknowles.net
I usually use the Alton Brown recipe that does use bread flour-I like that texture but this King Arthur situation seems a bit too involved ? thank you for your service ?
If I’m going to pay for the ingredients to make chocolate chip cookies then I want them to look like Dad’s cookies. If I saw the King Arthur chocolate chip cookie at a cookie exchange, I’d kindly pass. Sorry KA
I baked the KAF cookie and agree with your assessment. For the time and effort there are better alternatives.
We enjoyed the cookies thoroughly but didn’t think it was worth the effort. I would stick with your browned butter cookies over this. That said it’s really fun to play with recipes and experience new ways to do things so am very glad I took the time to make them.
I did bake the cookie and seriously do not like the end result. I’ve made them twice and both times, the cookie is just too dark. I tried lowering the cooking time. That didn’t work. It was just unnecessary and not worth the time.
I’m on day 22 of whole30 (my fourth time, and honestly the easiest round), and oh I am scheming so many baking plans. I think I need a personal cookie bake off between your Dad’s chocolate chip cookie and NotWithoutSalts salted chocolate chip cookie, which has become the standard in my house. Because sometimes you need a kitchen project and if the result is more cookies, even better!
After reading your review, and a few others, I will skip this KAB recipe. I have tried many recipes, your Dad’s is definitely one of the highest and gets made more often than most
I did make the King Arthur’s Chocolate Chip cookies and they were yummy. The only disappointing thing was that they don’t freeze well at all. I always like a good recipe that you can also freeze even for a short time.
I have made them and thought they were very good but they did not knock my go to, needs no time to chill, recipe. Entire family agreed. I did enjoy the process though and will probably make them again.
Love this. Thank you for your service! Reminds me it’s been too long since I’ve made your dad’s cookies….!
Truly I saw this post not five minutes after deciding to make (well, start) the King Arthur recipe tonight… and then realizing there are some VERY disparate opinions over on the KA reviews. So I read this post with great anticipation and suspense :) “This is the pour-over coffee of cookie recipes” is such a great description and lets me know what I’m in for.