If there is a perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe, this one may be it. It comes from America’s Test Kitchen so you know it’s going to be delicious and the recipe isn’t as fussy as many of the other “best” chocolate chip cookie recipes. You don’t have to use a mixer, worry about softening your butter, or refrigerate the dough for two days before baking.
This is a chewy chocolate chip cookie with crispy edges. It’s not doughy or undercooked like a Mrs. Fields cookie because you let the cookies cool completely on the cookie tray. It has a richer flavor because you brown the butter before adding the other ingredients. My daughter loved them and asked if I added caramel to the cookies.
WANT TO SAVE THIS RECIPE?
Enter your email below and we’ll send it straight to your inbox. Plus you’ll get great new recipes from us every week!
Last week I stopped by the delicious Sugar and Spice and All Things Iced. BreAna’s Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies looked irresistible and I thought they would be the perfect addition to my 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies. The recipe comes from Cook’s Illustrated and BreAna posted links to several other bloggers who also loved this cookie, as well as a link to a nice video of the America’s Test Kitchen episode at Serious Eats.
My daughter wasn’t the only one who loved these cookies. We all devoured them. I made a few changes to accommodate my high altitude (about 4,000 feet). My adapted recipe is below. Let me know if you try them and think they’re perfect too!
WANT TO SAVE THIS RECIPE?
Enter your email below and we will send it straight to your inbox. Plus you will get great new recipes from us every week!
Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups plus 1 tablespoon 9 ounces all-purpose flour
- ⅜ teaspoon baking soda in other words ½ teaspoon minus ⅛ teaspoon
- 14 tablespoons 1 ¾ sticks unsalted butter
- ½ cup minus 2 tablespoon 3 ounces granulated sugar
- ¾ cup 5.2 ounces packed dark brown sugar (I used light brown)
- 1 teaspoon table salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 11/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips or chunks
- ¾ cup chopped pecans or walnuts toasted (optional)(I omitted)
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375º. Line 3 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Whisk flour and baking soda together in medium bowl; set aside.
- Heat 10 tablespoons butter in 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until melted, about 2 minutes. Continue cooking, stirring pan constantly until butter is golden brown and has nutty aroma, 1 to 3 minutes.
- Remove skillet from heat and pour browned butter in to large heatproof bowl. Stir remaining 4 tablespoons butter into hot butter until completely melted. Add both sugars, salt and vanilla to bowl with butter and whisk until fully incorporated.
- Add egg and yolk and whisk until mixture is smooth with no sugar lumps remaining, about 30 seconds. Let mixture stand for 3 minutes, then whisk for 30 seconds. Repeat process of resting and whisking 2 more times until mixture is thick, smooth and shiny.
- Using rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir in flour mixture until just combined, about 1 minute. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts (if using), giving dough final stir to ensure no flour pockets remain.
- Use a #40 cookie scoop, or about 1 ½ tablespoons dough, drop dough 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Bake cookies 1 tray at a time until cookies are golden brown and still puffy, and edges have begun to set but centers are still soft, 8-12 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking. Transfer baking sheet to wire rack; cool cookies completely on the tray for 30 minutes before serving.
Notes
Fairy Hobmother Giveaway:
I was recently visited by The Fairy Hobmother, Ian from Appliances Online. (They are currently promoting the Bosch Logixx range of appliances.) The Fairy Hobmother brought me a $50 Amazon gift certificate and he can bring you one too!
Just leave a comment on this post for a chance to be visited by the Fairy Hobmother. He found me when I commented on my sweet blogging friend and fabulous cook Megan’s Cookin’s Caprese Quinoa Salad post. Thanks Megan and Ian!
Be sure and check out all of the fabulous cookies the other 12 weeks of Christmas Cookies (and sweets) bakers baked up for this week.
cindy
Barbara thanks for the high altitude adjustments. I’ll try them soon. They look delicious!
angela@spinachtiger
I’m always game to try yet another chocolate chip recipe. They are welcome in my house and will always get eaten. That blog hop looks interesting.
Yummyfood
They look wonderfull….Yummmmyyyy
Barbara | Creative Culinary
I will have to try these…love that you showed us your high altitude adjustments; I typically post the original recipe and just do the HA for mine.
I made some chocolate chip cookies with brown butter a couple of weeks ago that I deemed my favorite so will have to do a cookie bakeoff in my kitchen soon.
Delishhh
If these are perfect the i will trust you and make these – i have been looking for the perfect cookies 🙂 I love your little storage box 🙂
Alison @ Ingredients, Inc
oh yum! They look perfect to me!
gloria
These cookies look delicious Barbara! gloria
Kathleen
I can’t wait to try these! They look fabulous!
garlutti
prescribing richer …. you have done great photo kisses Marimi
Amy
These cookies look delicious! They are really perfect for Holiday gift-giving. 🙂 Love that cookies tin you have, so festive.
Congratulations on your Fairy Hopmother’s visit. 🙂 How fun to get an Amazon gift card just in time for some holiday shopping.
Eliana
Barbara – these DO look like the perfect chocolate chip cookies. Wish I had a few of them right now to enjoy.
natalie (the sweets life)
you can’t ever go wrong with a good CCC. I haven’t made any in so long but I think this is the next recipe to try!
Becky at VintageMixer
I always love trying ‘best of’ recipes. I have tried the NY Times Chocolate Chip cookies and they were pretty amazing too.
Nutmeg Nanny
These cookies look delicious! It’s really sad, but, I totally want to eat a big scoop of that dough….haha 🙂
BreAna {Sugar & Spice & All Things Iced}
I am glad you liked them too. I thought the browned butter was a great addition to the cookies. I’ll have to try them again with your high altitude adjustments. I didn’t even think about that. Thank you for linking to my blog! It completely made my day!
Barbara
BreAna your cookies look so perfect I wouldn’t change a thing. Thanks for posting the recipe!
Bonnie
Barbara,
Thanks for adjusting for high altitudes so I don’t have too. It’s a nice change and the cookies look beautiful.
Megan
I’m a new fan of browned butter every since I made those rice krispy treats with it. I bet these are perfect, the pictures tell me so. A must try! I’m so glad the Fairy Hobmother picked you. You’ll have to let me know what you buy. 🙂
Rosa
They look wonderful! I’d lopve to have one now with my tea…
Cheers,
Rosa
Melanie
I will have to give these a try. I usually am not disappointed w/ an ATK recipe. We will see how it compares to a Shirley Corriher recipe that I like to use. Her’s are wonderful, with the toasted pecans coated w/ melted butter before mixing in w/ the cookie dough. The Christmas cookie tin put a big smile on my face. So cute!
a spoonful of yumm
the step by step pics are great. i love the christmas box 😀 so pretty !