The 3 Laws of a Damn Great Chocolate Chip Cookie
Use a cookie scoop for better consistency during baking.
Okay, so it’s not a real law— but it should be and I’ll explain why below.
Alright, nerds, it’s time to get judicial about chocolate chip cookies. Why? Because boring chocolate chip cookies just don’t cut it— so I’ve created three laws to ensure your next batch of cookies blows your mind. Here’s what we’re going to cover:
First Law: Don’t Overmix The Dough When Adding The Flour
It’s easy to overmix cookie dough because the thought of biting into a cookie and finding chunks of flour or another ingredient in their cookies just sounds unappetizing. So we mix like there’s no tomorrow— but what happens when we overmix the dough?
First, we should talk about what mixing does, other than just blending ingredients. The process of mixing introduces air into the dough, causing it to be light and fluffy. Too much aeration, though, will cause your cookies to turn out ultra-flat and crunchy (but, no judgment if that’s what you’re into!).
My recommendation— add your flour mixture in 1/3 at a time and wait for the streaks of flour to disappear fully before adding more. Once all the flour is incorporated, turn your mixer off — the chips must be mixed in by hand #sorryaboutit.
Pro tip: Once your dough is mixed, start scooping it right away.
Dough that sits in the bowl gets downright funky (and crusty— yuck!). To prevent that, scoop out all of your dough balls right away and place them on a baking sheet. I recommend placing them in the fridge (wrapped in cellophane) while you wait for the next batch to finish up in the oven.
BONUS: Freeze the dough balls for up to one month so you can always have fresh cookies on demand any night of the week.
Personally, I love my cookie scoop and I noticed a significant improvement in the consistency of my cookies once I started using one. I used to roll my dough balls by hand but found that the texture of the cookie was always really packed down and heavy— scoops prevent that (winky face).
Second Law: Always Use Browned Butter
As far as I’m concerned, browned butter is the only butter to use for chocolate chip cookies. It’s relatively easy to make and, more importantly, it adds a distinctly unique, nutty flavor that you just can’t get from anywhere else.
What you need to make browned butter
2 sticks unsalted butter
1 small saucepan
How to make Browned Butter
Melt two sticks of butter in a small saucepan on medium-high heat, whisking regularly.
As foam begins to form, reduce heat to medium and continue to whisk until the milk fats at the bottom of the pan begin to brown.
Once you smell a nutty aroma, turn the heat off and transfer the butter (and all the fats at the bottom!) to a bowl and allow it to cool to room temperature*.
* If you’re in a hurry, place the butter in the freezer for around 20-30 minutes, stirring often. You don’t want the butter to return to a fully hard state— but it should be easy to move around with a scraper or spatula.
Third Law: Use A Variety of Chocolate Chips
This might seem like a piece of throwaway content but, trust me, when I tell you that this makes a world of difference for your cookies.
Think about it, different chocolates have different melting points so by adding more than one type of chocolate chip to your dough— you’re expanding the flavor profile and the texture of your cookies (especially if you warm them up later!).
I use dark chocolate chunks, semi-sweet morsels, and (if I’m feeling squirrely) I’ll even throw in a few salted caramel chips, too.
If you want to go the extra mile — add some flaky salt on top of your cookies.
Well, that’s it. Go forth and be cool.
