Making the Best Cookies

Let's get the obvious out of the way first. Chocolate chip cookies are the best cookies. So if we can make the best chocolate chip cookies, then we can make the best cookies.

Making cookies is mostly a science. Once you get the scientific part down, a little bit of practice makes perfect. These cookies are so good they were tested experimentally as a replacement for stop signs.

So, how do you make the best cookies in the world? Follow these instructions, practice, get to know your oven, and then check out the advanced tips at the bottom.

Cookie Dough

Definitely do not bake your cookies this close together

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Follow the directions, make yummy cookies, and share them with your friends.

Ingredients (double or triple as necessary):

  • 2 Cups Flour
  • 1/2 tsp Sea Salt
  • 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
  • 1 c Brown Sugar
  • 1/2 c White Sugar
  • 3/4 c Butter
  • 1 egg
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 tbsp vanilla
Tools
  • Two large mixing bowls
  • Cup + spoon measuring devices
  • Oven
  • Baking Sheet
  • Silicon Baking Mat (optional)
  • Kitchen Scale (optional)

Directions

  1. Start by getting all of your ingredients out in one place. That way you will not forget anything. Put things away after each step and make cleaning so much easier!
  2. Mix dry stuff in bowl, set aside.
    • 2 Cups Flour
    • 1/2 tsp Sea Salt
    • 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
  3. Mix sugars and butter in new bowl. Melted butter is easier but changes how dough bakes (see advanced tips). Make sure it all gets mixed well.
    • 1 c Brown Sugar
    • 1/2 c White Sugar
    • 3/4 c Butter
  4. Add eggs and vanilla to sugar + butter and mix well.
    • 1 egg
    • 1 egg yolk
    • 1 tbsp vanilla
  5. Add dry stuff into wet about 1/2 cup at a time and fold it with a gentle force.
  6. Add chocolate chips (about 1 cup but really a personal preference here).
  7. Place on cookie sheet. Make whatever size you want.
  8. Bake at 325 for 12ish minutes, until edges are browned.
  9. Remove from oven and let sit on cookie sheets for 5 minutes. Move to wire rack for 5 more minutes.
  10. Eat!!!

Cookies

Ever since I can remember I made Chocolate Chip Cookies. In high school I discovered a recipe I really liked, memorized it, and spent the next ten years experimenting on slight variations.

After college I really wanted to start a business making cookies. My plan was to strap a little oven on a bike trailer and go to the people. Who doesn't want a cookie that was freshed baked in front of them? Unfortunately, I got a real job.

The real secret is not what you put in the cookies, but how you make them. So be sure to add lots of love!

Advanced Notes

Want extra good cookies? Follow some or all of these advanced tips to get better cookies.

While Making

  • Use a kitchen scale to weigh the flour.
  • Sift the flour with salt, baking soda before adding to sugar/butter.
  • Let sugar and melted butter sit in fridge for ~30 minutes after mixing.

Dough

  • The cookies are better if you wait a day or two to bake them! Let all the yummy sugar and fat work its magic.
  • Put the dough wrapped in plastic or tightly covered for 24-48hrs. I unusually do this with at least half the dough whenever I make cookies.
  • Freezing the dough works too! Let thaw in fridge overnight before baking.
  • Take it out of the fridge 30 min before you plan on baking the cookies.

Baking

Post Bake

  • They are good to eat after 5 min of cooling on a wire rack!
  • They are also still very good later! If you are storing them overnight, be sure to put them in a sealed bag or Tupperware.

About Those Chocolate Chips

  • This is really a personal preference, both in quantity and quality. As long as you do not go overboard with too many chips, the cookies will turn out good.
  • I like the larger bittersweet type chocolate chips. There used to be a brand I liked the most but I forgot. It's probably in my experiment notebook somewhere.

Good luck and enjoy the cookies!

Secret Sauce

Okay, you really want to make the best? Here is the super secret step by step instructions. Follow this exactly for the best experience. Tell everyone.

Prerequisite

Make the cookies above a few times. Mistakes are good! That is how we learn. Getting down your oven timing requires some practice.

Dough Preparation

  1. Get all your ingredients out . Use double the recipe above.
  2. Melt butter on stove or oven. Do not burn! Low temperature.
  3. Measure flour on scale (very important to get exact weight) and add to flour sifter.
  4. Add baking soda and salt to sifter.
  5. Sift the flour into a clean, dry bowl! Cover the bowl with towel.
  6. Combine brown sugar and white sugar.
  7. Add melted butter (a few little un-melted chunks are ok)
  8. Stir stir stir! We really want to mix the fat and sugar.
  9. Set sugar + butter in fridge for 30 minutes.
  10. (30 minutes later) Remove sugar + butter from fridge.
  11. Add eggs, yolks, and vanilla into sugar + butter (room temperature is best, thats why you get them out at the start). Stir stir stir!
  12. Introduce a bit of flour (~1/2 cup) to the sugar mix and stir.
  13. Continue to add flour about ~1 cup at a time and stir with folding motion (see this video for pointers).
  14. Take a break! Stirring this much dough is hard.
  15. After most white specs are gone, start adding chocolate chips!
  16. Add about ~3/4 cup at a time until to your liking.
  17. Make dough into a big round ball (or 2 smaller ones). Fun (also fun)!

Waiting

  1. Cover dough tightly with plastic wrap and place in sealed container.
  2. Put dough in fridge for exactly 36 hours. Or more than 24 hrs and less than 40.

Baking

  1. Remove dough from fridge 30 minutes before baking.
  2. Turn oven to 325. Have thermometer inside to verify temperature.
  3. Use ice cream scoop with lever to ball cookies into 2-1/4 inch scoops. Adding some flour to scooper helps.
  4. Put cookie dough on silicon baking mat on this baking sheet.
  5. Place cookies on over rack 1/3 up from bottom.
  6. After 6 minutes, move to shelf closer to top.
  7. Remove cookies when just browned on visible edges. Bake cookies for approximately 12 minutes total.
  8. Remove and let sit on baking sheet for 5 minutes.
  9. Move to wire rack to cool another 5 minutes.
  10. Savor your delicious cookie and melted chocolate.
  11. Store extras in sealed container. They are still yummy and chewy a few days later! (They dry out after about 36 hours)

When I put it that way it sounds very tedious. But for me it is a meditation. Enjoy your cookies!

-Joe

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