Truth be told, I’ve been looking for the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe for quite some time. Well, now, I’ve found it!

The recipe is adapted from the justifiably famous Jacques Torres cookie recipe. Friends have described it as, no joke, the perfect chocolate chip cookie. I was, needless to say, skeptical. I mean, how much can you really improve on the classic Toll House recipe?

It turns out, this recipe does a lot to improve it! For one thing, it goes heavy on the chocolate. This isn’t a butter cookie with a few sad, lonely chocolate chips mixed in. No, this is over a pound of good quality Belgian chocolate. The original recipe called for special Jacques Torres chocolate discs. I substituted that with a bar of Trader Joe’s excellent pound-plus dark chocolate.  When the bar is chopped roughly, you get a range of finely ground chocolate and larger chunks. The result? Each bite, though bursting with rich chocolate flavor, is enticingly unique.

The recipe also calls for the cookie dough to be chilled for at least 24 hours. Why? It’s allows the dough to properly moisturize.  It turns out that the original Nestle Toll House cookie recipe, according to lore, also called for the dough to be chilled overnight. I know it’s hard to wait for cookies, but the wait is worth it.  

The kicker? The cookies are finished with a sprinkling of sea salt. The salt adds depth and dimension to the dark chocolate. It really takes these cookies to a whole new level. Are these the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had? Yes!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

First, a note about chocolate. If you don't have a Trader Joe's around, you can of course use another type of chocolate. Look for something that is at least 60% cocoa, and really go for the best you can afford. This cookie is all chocolate, so don't skimp on the main ingredient!

To chop, take a large knife. Chop the chocolate into chunks of varying size. Don't worry if there is some chocolate powder. That adds character to the cookies!

Get your room-temperature eggs and butter ready to go.

Sift the dry ingredients, including the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. Preferably, weigh the ingredients out. Otherwise, measure them out and set aside. 

Now, using a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the room-temperature butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. 

To cream, use a low speed on your stand mixer. 

Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. 

Now, stir in the vanilla.

Now, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, using low speed on the mixer.

The batter will look fairly sticky at this point. 

Now, drop the chocolate chunks in and incorporate them. Don't worry about breaking the pieces. Set the mixer to low and mix for 5 - 10 seconds to incorporate. 

Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, so you'll always have fresh cookies. Dough may also be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.

For convenience, you can also break the dough up after the time into the refrigerator into dough balls and freeze the dough balls. Defrost before baking.

When ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside. 

Now, here you have a choice. Big cookies or small cookies? For big cookies, scoop 6 3 1/2-ounce mounds of dough onto baking sheet. For small cookies, scoop 8-10 1 1/2-ounce mounds of dough onto baking sheet.

The dough itself will be dry but easily malleable into balls.

Sprinkle lightly with sea salt.

Bake until golden brown, but still soft. When they come right out of the oven, they will still be rather soft. But remember, they'll cook and cool in the pan and continue to harden. 

For the large cookies, bake 18-20 minutes. For the small cookies, bake 12-15 minutes. 

Transfer baking sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes.

Then, slip the cookies onto another rack to cool for a bit more.

Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day. 

Eat warm, with a big napkin and a large glass of milk. Enjoy!

Time: 45 minutes (for 1 6-cookie batch), plus at least 24 hours' chilling.

Ingredients

2 cups minus 2 tablespoons cake flour (8 1/2 ounces)

1 2/3 cups bread flour (8 1/2 ounces)

1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt

2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter

1 1/4 cups light brown sugar (10 ounces)

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar (8 ounces)

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/4 pounds bittersweet chocolate (Trader Joe's Pound-Plus Bar, Dark Chocolate) (at least 60 percent cacao content)

Sea salt

Adapted from Jacques Torres's Chocolate Chip Cookies, as adapted by the New York Times.

By Matt Eitelberg