Bake

Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies

September 10, 2020
4.7
3 Ratings
Photo by Sarah Kieffer
  • Prep time 20 minutes
  • Cook time 11 minutes
  • Makes about 20 cookies
Author Notes

As much as I like crisp, rich chip cookies packed with dark chopped chocolate and sprinkled with sea salt, I am convinced there is still a need for a basic, soft chocolate chip cookie that doesn’t require much work or pretension. At least, that’s what my kids tell me on a weekly basis. After trying all the chocolate chip cookies in this book, they have declared this simple one to be their very favorite, and each time I make them, I have to agree.

Note: Using chocolate chips instead of chopped chocolate will make for a puffier cookie.

Reprinted from 100 Cookies by Sarah Kieffer with permission by Chronicle Books, 2020.sarah kieffer | the vanilla bean blog

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Ingredients
  • 2 1/2 cups (355 grams) all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks or 170 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup (150 grams) brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 7 ounces (198 grams) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped into bite-size pieces, or 1 1/4 cups (226 grams) semisweet chocolate chips
Directions
  1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle of the oven. Heat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line three sheet pans with parchment paper.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
  3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Add the granulated and brown sugars and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the eggs and vanilla, and mix until smooth. Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed until just combined. Add the chocolate and mix into the batter on low speed.
  4. Form the dough into 1 1/2-ounce (45-gram) balls (2 tablespoons) and place 8 cookies on each sheet pan.
  5. Bake one pan at a time, rotating halfway through baking. Bake for 8 minutes, until the cookies are slightly puffed in the center. Give the pan a slight tap in the oven. Bake the cookies until the edges are just turning golden brown but the center is still soft, 2 or 3 minutes more (10 to 11 minutes total).
  6. Give the pan one final tap in the oven and then transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool. Let the cookies cool completely before removing from the pan. When pulled from the oven, the cookies will look puffed and light in color, but they will slowly deflate as they cool on the pan. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

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A baker's soliloquy. You can follow along at thevanillabeanblog.com.

1 Review

ingsquid December 9, 2020
What is the purpose of tapping the pan? and how do you do it?