Jacques Torres Chocolate Chip Cookies

The Famous Jacques Torres Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Chip Cookies are perfect for parties and here is one that is excellent with its salty, crunchy chewy and sweet taste all at the same time! The secret is the wait time in the refrigerator letting all the flavors meld together and the two different types of flour used. The flaky salt sprinkle added the perfect last touch. I was in search of the best chocolate chip cookie recipe, when I came across the recipe for the Jacques Torres Chocolate Chip Cookies printed in the New York Times. I looked for 5 recipes and selected them on the best reviews and the greatest variety in ingredients and of the five recipes that we tried, this was our "winner." I think it is definitely one of the best cookies I have made. Although a little more time consuming, I'd say it was definitely worth the extra effort. What a great party food or goodie bag treat. Makes twenty-six 5-inch cookies or 8 1/2 dozen 1 1/4-inch cookies.

Ingredients

2 cups minus to 2 tablespoons Cake flour (8 ½ ounces)
1 2/3 cup Bread Flour
1 1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 1/2 teaspoon Coarse Salt
1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 butter sticks) Butter
1 1/4 cups Light Brown Sugar (10 ounces)
1 cups plus 2 tablespoons Granulated Sugar (8 ounces)
2 Large eggs
2 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
1 1/4 pounds Bittersweet Chocolate Disks or Chunks with at least 60 percent cacao content. We used Toll House Semi Sweet Chunks.
Flaky sea salt or coarse sea salt for sprinkling on top of pre baked cookies.

Items to Have on Hand

Parchment Paper
Ice Cream Scoop
2 Large Bowls
Sifter
Hand Mixer

Steps

In a large bowl, sift together the cake flour, bread flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.
Using a stand or hand mixer, cream butter and the brown sugar and the granulated sugar together until very light, approximately 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each. Stir in the vanilla.
Reduce mixer speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds.
Drop chocolate pieces in and using a spatula or wooden spoon, gently fold them into the mixture.
Wrap dough in Saran Wrap and refrigerate for 24 to 72 hours.
When you are ready to bake, remove the chilled dough from the refrigerator and let it sit out at room temperature for 20-30 minutes before baking to soften slightly.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Scoop out 3.5 ounces (approximately 1/4 cup) of dough for each cookie Scoop ice cream scoop sized mounds of dough (approximately the size of golf balls) onto baking sheet lined with parchment paper. We used flat scoops, placing flat side on parchment.
Sprinkle lightly with flaky or course sea salt and bake at 350 until golden brown but still soft, about 18 to 20 minutes for large cookies, or 10 to 12 minutes for smaller cookies.
Transfer parchment sheet with cookies carefully to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then place cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Enjoy warm!

Tips and Suggestions

I found bread and cake flour at Walmart.
The original Jacques Torres Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe calls for Bittersweet Chocolate Disks with at least 60 percent cacao. I may treat myself to a bag of these special disks but since bittersweet chocolate and semisweet chocolate are very similar we looked for something at our local grocery store. We used Nestle's Semi Sweet Chocolate Chunks which is 60 percent cacao. It is darker than milk chocolate but not quite as dark as bittersweet chocolate, but we were pleased with the results.
If you can't find disks, use chocolate chunks or roughly cut some dark or semisweet chocolate to get the full Jacques Torres cookie experience with melting pools of chocolate.
We used Coarse Sea Salt but recently learned about Maldon Flaky Salt which we will use the next time we bake these cookies. Maldon Salt is a flaky pyramid shaped salt made by evaporating sea water. Its large, flaky crystals enhance texture and provide a light crunch in each bite. Maldon Salt is best when used as a finishing salt; sprinkle it onto your food before serving or in this case on cookies.
Parchment paper can be found at most grocery stores in the aisle with Saran Wrap and foil. Costco has a great deal on a 2-pack.
Use a good ice cream scoop. We first bought a very inexpensive one at Walmart and it didn't release the dough at all. A metal 1/4 measuring cup can also be used.
Dough may be used in batches. You can freeze the dough and bake at a later date with great results.
Store baked cookies in an airtight container. Best consumed within 3 days.