Chocolate Chip Cookies

I couldn’t wait to try this recipe, since it starts out with "This is our version of what is arguably the best cookie ever”. Does Chef Keller mean this is the best chocolate chip cookie recipe ever or does he mean that chocolate chip cookies are the best cookie and this is his version. I think he meant the later, but I am sure he is always striving for the best and I will judge this recipe based on claiming it is the best chocolate chip cookie recipe ever.

The recipe is super simple and easy to put together in less than 30 minutes. The cookie dough was phenomenal tasting and I couldn’t wait to bake them. The result was very good, but I am not sure they are the best chocolate chip cookie ever. I like the addition of 2 different kinds of chocolate and keeping them in bigger chunks definitely makes them better than using standard chocolate chips. My cookies were extremely flat and ran into each other.

I will subtract 1 star from my rating because I feel the super thin cookies were a result of a confusing recipe description. After finishing the dough, Chef Keller says that the dough can be refrigerated and also frozen, but doesn’t say it is required. I have a feeling refrigerating the dough overnight would prevent the cookies from spreading so quickly in the oven. I will make sure to try this next time.

This recipe makes a very buttery, thin chocolate chip cookie which is very good, but not quite the best cookie of its type (as one online reviewer called it). I reserve that honour for the New York Times chocolate Chip cookie (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/09/dining/091crex.html?_r=1).

They are fairly straightforward to make - the most complicated part is making sure you have two types of chocolate (55% and 70%) and carving off the chips yourself. The chocolate melts into the cookie rather than staying discrete as with a 'regular' chocolate chip cookie, and they can get a bit messy - so do be sure to cook them on parchment or a silpat as he suggests.

Update: a couple of days later I have to say that these cookies have grown on me (and my houseguests). They seem to get better after a day or so, and people liked the way the chocolate spread into a layer inside the cookie. They also stay chewy for a couple of days after making, which is nice. 4 1/2 stars now!

I had the pleasure of sampling many (okay far too many) of these over the Christmas holidays, and I have to say that these were the best chocolate chip cookies that I've eaten in ages.

To each his own, but these were just how I like my chocolate chip cookies: thin and chewy, with just the right amount of buttery goodness and random chocolate chunks. After three days they were still great.

Those over-floured and ingredient-poor specimens in the local coffee shop never stood a chance compared to these!