Chocolate Chip Cookie Clouds

Well, it finally happened! I am so excited to finally launch my baking blog, an idea that’s been in my head for the last couple years. Not surprisingly, it took the world to literally stop in order for me to dedicate more time to what I love – creating sweet treats in the kitchen. 

As I write, we are now officially 4 weeks into the COVID-19 pandemic quarantine, and I am finally starting to get the hang of this thing. When Michigan’s stay-at-home order took effect, I was furloughed from my job, something I never expected would happen to me. At first, the news made me feel confused, anxious, and restless. After many days of self reflection, it finally dawned on me that this pandemic can’t last forever and this time away from work should be savoured as precious time that I get to spend with my husband and favourite canine… and to do whatever I feel like! Thankfully, my husband was able to continue working reduced hours at the hospital and ever since we’ve been learning to live together 24 hours a day, all three of us, on just one little couch. 

Between seemingly endless long hours of Netflix, Tik Tok, and Peloton workouts (shout out to Robin Arzon for kicking my butt on the daily), I started focusing on mastering the most intricate French recipes I could imagine – mousse au chocolat, coq au vin, quiche lorraine, pommes anna, beef bourguignon, just to name a few (can you tell my family of origin is French?). And I’m not the only one. People all over the world are trying their hand at baking and cooking for the first time, for better or for worse. Which is why I wanted to share a foolproof classic with you that won’t disappoint, the infamous chocolate chip cookie. There are exactly a trillion ways to make it, and everyone claims their chocolate chip cookie recipe is the best. I spent the past week in the kitchen testing different recipes to formulate my own perfect version of the chocolate chip cookie – thick, cakey, fluffy, with serious chocolate factor. 

So what makes this cookie amazingly thick and chewy? 

First, it’s all about butter, baby. It’s imperative to allow the butter to soften at room temperate, which from the fridge will be about hour or two. The problem with very cold butter is you will need to mix in the sugars more vigorously and longer, which results in creating air bubbles. This is all fine and dandy for the cookie dough, but when the cookies bake the air bubbles will be released and the cookie will spread. 

Another enemy of a fluffy cookie is too much butter, too little flour, or too much sugar. In studying different chocolate chip cookie recipes, I calculated that many standard chocolate chip cookie recipes have 38% butter to flour/butter total by weight. Increasing the flour ratio will create a thicker cookie, therefore I decreased the butter in my recipe to only 36% butter. I also used a higher proportion of brown sugar, as this also leads to a chewier cookie. 

Speaking of flour, my cookies use bread flour instead of AP flour. Bread flour has a higher protein content of about 12-14%, while AP flour has 8-11%. This extra protein in bread flour creates a slightly higher rise, which is what will help with making our cookie fluffier. Yum! 

Lastly, the addition of cornstarch, or cornflour as they call it in the U.K., is a flavourless thickening agent made from corn. It is often added to emulsions to thicken the batter, and it will help our cookie achieve the desired soft and chewy texture. In some cookie recipes, you may notice that bakers claim their secret ingredient is instant pudding. Guess what instant pudding is mostly made of? You guessed it – cornstarch! Another tip is to always use fresh leavening agents. They can go bad quickly, rendering them ineffective. 

Some other helpful hints to stop your cookie from spreading: 

• Use a clean baking mat (preferably silicone) to “cling” to the bottom of the cookie to prevent spreading. Any greasiness on the mat will allow spreading. 

• Weigh your ingredients. *I cannot overstate how important this is*

• Chill the cookie dough for 2-12 hours prior to baking.

• Don’t over-bake the cookie. A cookie that looks slightly underdone in the middle is a perfect cookie. 

• Use an oven thermometer for accurate temperatures.

• Use a cooled or room temperature baking sheet for each new batch.

• Roll your cookie balls so they are slightly higher than they are wide.

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I’m so excited to share my best, chewiest, fluffiest, cookie, a.k.a the last chocolate chip cookie recipe you will ever need! 

Did you make this recipe? Tag @thetoothsometable on Instagram and hashtag it #thetoothsometable