Chocolate Chip Cookies by Jacque Torres

I seldom get so excited about something that I blog immediately, but this is one of those events. With the exception of Urasawa. But then again, Urasawa is the exception to everything. Both my friend Susie and Miss food, je t'aime raved about these cookies. Though it must be noted that Christina raved about them because she made them and ate them, and Susie raved about them because she saw pictures on Pintrest and thought they looked delicious.

I have dinner tomorrow at my co-worker Sona's house and my Asset Manager is going to be there. I thought it would be the perfect time to break out the cookie batter and see if it lived up to the hype. The very first time I met my Asset Manager was right after I took macaron classes, so I had brought vanilla macarons with salted caramel ganache into the office and it was love at first bite for him. He went nutso and from that point on, every time he came into the Los Angeles offices, he would ask if I baked anything. Last time he asked me right when I sat down in his office for my review! Needless to say, I hadn't (sad face) but that didn't stop him from giving me a good review anyways (relieved face).

I thought it would be the perfect time to break out the cookie batter and see if it lived up to the hype. Jacque Torres is a chocolate master and these cookies really show his skill, especially with the combination of flours. Luckily, I had both kinds of flours on hand so I didn't have to break the bank buying them along with the chocolate, which already cost me a pretty penny.

Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt
adapted from food, je'taime and Jacques Torres
makes 18 5-inch cookies

2 cups minus 2 Tbps (8.5 oz) cake flour
1 2/3 cup (8.5 oz) bread flour
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp coarse salt (kosher or sea)
2 1/2 sticks (1 1/2 cups) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups (10 oz) light/golden brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 Tbps (8 oz) granuldated sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 lbs chocolate disks/fèves (at least 60% cacao)
Sea salt, for sprinkling

Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.

Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350degrees. Remove cookies from refrigerator and let them come to room temperature. Line a couple baking sheets with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.

Scoop 6 3 1/2-ounce mounds of dough (the size of generous golf balls) onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day. Eat warm, with a big napkin.

I made some changes, as Christina suggested - baked the cookies in 2 oz portions so they wouldn't be too unwieldly and refrigerate the dough for the full 72 hours. These cookies were a pain to make, but don't let this deter you. I think they were more of a pain for me because I'm OCD. I actually weighed out each scoop of 2 oz dough so all the cookies would be a uniform size. Do you know how weird it is to be picking out 0.05 oz of dough to get it perfectly even? Since the cookies were smaller, I was able to make 33 cookies total. It took them 17 minutes to bake, but start checking at the 15 minute mark as it may depend on how much your dough has defrosted from being refrigerated.

One bite and it was totally worth it! Oh yes, and here's to you, Susie. You're pregnant and taking care of your baby Riley and you totally deserve each bite. Adhere to the note: none for your husband.