The New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe, also known as The Jacques Torres or NYT Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe, is the best chocolate chip cookie recipe ever. Or in my opinion, at least. It could change tomorrow and probably will, but I just made yet another batch and love that they are thick, bumpy, and have soft and chewy centers with crispy, crumbly edges and loads of chocolate. They're not all soft and corn starchy or dough-y, but have some contrast and loads of chocolate. Maybe without the ribbons of melted chocolate they wouldn't as great. I don't know. But having made them for so many years now, I do have some notes. I've also posted a small batch NYT chocolate chip cookies recipe in grams, should you want to run and try it now.
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Cake Flour Plus Bread = All Purpose
Mixing cake flour and bread flour gives you a protein level similar to all-purpose flour, so some bakers make the New York Times chocolate chip cookies with all-purpose flour. I sometimes do, but having made these cookies about a million times I feel like for some reason, the bread and cake flour mix version is better! It could be my imagination and that my perception of them being better is just a response to my taking the extra effort to combine to flours, but they seem to have more contrast between middle and edge when I use both flours. Update: I think it's because most cake flour is bleached, and that does something for the softness. Just a guess.
What's Up With Chocolate Fèves
The original Jacques Torres recipe calls for bittersweet chocolate disks or féves. Féves are just chocolate disks that melt a little better than regular chocolate chips. I sometimes use féves, but most often I use Ghirardelli bittersweet chips. The Ghirardelli chips don't melt quite as much as féves, but they are a good size and have a great flavor that goes well with the dough. I like all kinds of different chocolate chips for different reasons, but these cookies are just not the same unless you use féves or Ghirardelli bittersweet chips.
Shape Dough and Chill Individual Balls
I'm still amazed at how much better the cookies turn out when made dough that's been chilled for at least 48 hours. And the cookies are even better if you age the dough in the refrigerator then transfer it to the freezer for a day or week or month and THEN bake the cookies. The way I do it is shape the dough into balls, set on a plate, cover and chill. The next day I'll bake up a cookie or two. Then the next day I might bake up a few more. They improve. The best cookies were some I made for an event. I needed to start way ahead of time, so I made the dough balls, chilled for a day, then froze for a few weeks before baking.
Convection NYT Chocolate Chip
They bake up a bit thicker in a convection oven. I often bake my small batch cookies in a Breville toaster oven with convection and a wall convection oven and now a Miele using the Surround mode. To bake the New York Times with a convection oven, bake at 350F for about 15 minutes or much longer if the dough is cold.
Small Batch NYT Chocolate Chip Cookies
Here's the small batch recipe for NYT Chocolate Chip Cookies with gram amounts. I've updated it a little and added volume measurements too, but I go by weights. This is a great recipe for using half an egg. If you don't have the two flours, you can use 120 grams of all-purpose which is about ¾ cup plus 2 ½ tablespoons.
60 grams bread flour (½ cup minus 1 tablespoon) 60 grams cake flour (½ cup) ¼ teaspoon plus a pinch of baking soda ⅜ teaspoon baking powder ⅜ teaspoon salt 70 grams unsalted butter (5 tablespoons) 62 grams brown sugar (¼ cup packed plus 1 tablespoon) 56 grams granulated sugar (¼ cup plus ½ tablespoon) 24 grams beaten egg ½ teaspoon vanilla ¾ to 1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
How to Make the Small Batch NYT Cookies
Weigh your flour(s) and mix with the baking powder, baking soda and salt. With an electric mixer, preferably a stand mixer, beat the butter and both sugars until light and creamy. Add the 2 tablespoons (24 grams) of beaten egg and the vanilla and beat just until blended, then stir in the flour mixture. Add chocolate (in chip or chunk form) and shape dough into large balls. Chill for as long as you can possibly stand it. When ready to bake, bake cold dough balls at 350F for about 18 minutes or until they look done to you. Times will vary with different ovens, and they may be done sooner in a convection oven.
Here's a link to the original New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe, and below is my adapted version with grams. For best results, measure the ingredients by weight. The only downside to this recipe is that the cookies don't stay fresh very long and must be eaten the day they are baked. They do freeze well, so if you need to bake them ahead of time just freeze the baked cookies.
Also, I recommend getting a NYT Cooking subscription. I was hesitant at first, but I've learned so much not just from the recipes but from the comment section.
Recipe
(The Latest) New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups minus 2 tablespoons cake flour (240 grams or 8 ½ oz by weight)
- 1 ⅔ cups bread flour (240 grams or 8 ½ oz by weight)
- 1 ¼ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons coarse salt
- 2 ½ sticks unsalted butter (280 grams)
- 1 ¼ cups light brown sugar (250 grams)
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar (225 grams)
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract
- 3 cups of the best chocolate chips you can find
- Sea salt -- good but I omit it half the time and the cookie are still great.
Instructions
- Thoroughly mix the flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
- Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment (a handheld mixer is fine), beat the butter and sugar until light and creamy, scraping side of the bowl often.
- Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. By hand (or using lowest speed of mixer if using stand mixer and paddle), stir in the flour mixture. When flour is incorporated, stir in the chocolate. At this point, I like to shape the cookies and chill the shaped balls.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and scoop out about 18 equal size balls. Chill until the dough is firm and the balls don't stick together, then put in a bag and chill overnight or for a few days. If baking way ahead of time, put the dough balls in a freezer bag, pressing out any extra air, and bake later.
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees and bring dough to room temperature.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat and arrange about 6 dough balls per sheet. Press the tops down slightly and sprinkle tops with sea salt if desired.
- Bake for 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet for 5 to 10 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
- I usually transfer them to the refrigerator to quick cool and prefer the chocolate set rather than warm and melt-y
Shannon says
I know this is an old post, but I just wanted to comment that this is now referred to as "The Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie" recipe at my house. I've made it several times, and have continued trying other recipes as well, but nothing else has beat this recipe yet. The only slight change I make is to use regular chocolate chips instead of discs and they are still amazing!
Beth says
I've made these twice now, using AP flour both times, but the first time I goofed and only used 1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder. I actually think they were better that way - much chewier and more... supple, for lack of a better word. I'll try making them again in a few weeks to see if I can replicate the original results, or if there was another factor that caused the difference.
Karen says
I also tried these, really sticking to the recipe using bread and cake flours and weighing everything. I used chocolate disks from El Rey, I have never used those before. They were 6.99 a pound. I also used Plugra butter. I baked half the dough after 33 hours and the rest after about 80 hours. These were good, especially when warm, but I don't know what all the fuss is about!
digigirl says
I made this dough up on Friday and baked them last night. I did them exactly to the recipe, including the size of the cookies. I think the technique is great - the texture of these cookies was perfect - crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside. But both my boyfriend and I felt like the flavor of the cookie was not very exciting. Yeah, the chocolate was good (isn't it always), but the cookie itself was nothing to write home about. Good, yes. Exceptional - no. I've got another chocolate chip cookie recipe that's been my standard, so I'm going to try that one using the extended chill technique and see how it does! Thanks for alerting us to this great article.
floretbroccoli says
Reporting back.
While probably not the best chocolate chip cookies I've ever tasted, they are certainly the best ones I've ever made. (I've never been a great chocolate-chip cookie baker.)
I baked off 8 last night. My guests ate some of the remaining batter, but I plan on shaping what's left and freezing it, so I can bake a few more on Saturday.
I'm going to try to pick up a cookie or two at Jacques Torres on Friday, so I'll be able to compare.
floretbroccoli says
I put the batter together Tuesday morning. (AP flour, Guittard 70% wafers.)
I'll be baking them tonight (36 hours) and will report back.
In a preliminary test last night, I found the refrigerated dough nearly impossible to scoop. My solution was to leave the bowl out for an hour, then scoop. I then refrigerated the dough balls. This will certainly make tonight's task easier.
Anybody have any thoughts on scooping dough after the butter has re-chilled?
Anna says
Hi Priscilla,
Thanks so much for testing with 100% all purpose flour. Some day I'd like to do a side-by-side taste test with the bread/cake flour cookies vs. 100% AP.
Priscilla says
Thanks for posting this great recipe. I made the cookie over the weekend and substituted what I had, which was 3 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour for the 2 special flours and ordinary semisweet chocolate chips. I baked them after 24 hours using the 3 1/2 ounces on a heavy aluminum sheet with no liner. They were excellent, with a crisp edge and chewy middle. They looked similar to the NYT picture, but with a few less wrinkles, although still beautifully crackled. I also baked some small ones for a party but I wanted finger food, so I used about 1 tablespoon of dough for each and baked at 375. I only chilled these for 12 hours. These small cookies were crispy and tender, and if I baked for only 8 minutes they stayed a little chewy in the center. Next time I might try two ouncers and see what happens.
Heidi says
I'm completely intimidated by the ingredients by weight not volume, and the amount of chocolate called for 1 1/4 lbs for 6 cookies!?! I don't even LIKE ccc cookies that much - I have to have nuts and stuff in them. These will wait until the hubby asks for them.
GrannyLooHoo says
To me, your cookies have far more appeal than the ones pictured in the NY Times article. Although I've never tasted a Levain chocolate chip cookie, the photos I've seen of them leave me drooling. I've experimented right along with your quest for the recipe and gained 5 pounds in the process. Seems silly to praise you for my weight gain, but I really enjoy your blog.
Anna says
Sue, I'm behind on my blogs today. I will take a look at that tomorrow. Can't wait to hear KA's take.
Erin, I suspect that by now you have the dough in the refrigerator ;).
Heidi, let me know how the Guittard discs work out. I once bought some fancy Guittard discs, but it turned out they were for melting and dipping. The chips melted too much during the baking process. I do like their normal semi-sweet chips and the now-discontinued super chips. I'm sure the discs you bought will be fine. I just bought the wrong type.
Katy, thanks for reminding me. I need to pull out my Sherry Yard book.
David, thanks for stopping by! Also, thanks for the new recipe. It will save a lot of people the hassle of hunting down pastry flour used in the old version.
I baked my cookie on an Air Bake Ultra cookie sheet and think that might have had something to do with the thickness. I'm going to try baking the next round on a regular cookie sheet and see if they come out a bit flatter. Not that it's a big deal. I think I will also be more mindful in forming the cookies and arranging the feves and discs.
David Leite says
Anna,
I don't know what you're talking about! Your cookies are gorgeous. I didn't bake the cookies in the NYT's photos, but when I made them to test/research them for the article, I used a half sheet pan made of aluminum with a Silpat on top. I formed the dough into pretty much round balls and turned all the feves and discs horizontal, parallel to the baking sheet. They melted better that way. That's how I got that "Sharpei" look.
Happy baking,
David Leite
Katy says
Another tip from Sherry Yard. She slices and bakes her cc cookies from a thick log in order to get lots of exposed chocolate for the melty factor.
Yet Another Anna says
Hi Anna!
I knew you'd give these a try! I baked mine just this morning, but made mine smaller, used smaller (and fewer) chips, and left off the salt on the tops.
Truly wonderful cookie dough.
I'm going to experiment and freeze some of the leftover dough, just to see how well they respond.
I really love freshly baked cookies, but the slice and bake stuff at the grocery store has lost its' appeal. 🙂 This recipe should make a nice substitute, if the dough freezes well. 🙂
Heidi says
I wanted to add that I bought some Guittard bittersweet chocolate discs and they were not too expensive. I can't remember for the life of me where I bought them however - if it was a Central Market kind of place, the local grocery, or Sur la Table...
Ok, I lied, on the Guittard website it says a 1 lb box is $12. I probably bought it at Sur la Table when I had my 20% off.
Erin Mylroie says
Hooray Anna! I knew I could count on you to give us the skinny on the lastest cookie craze. I'm definitely going to try them the next time I get a craving that I can dely for 24 hours.:)
Sue says
The King Arthur Flour Baker's Banter blogged about this article, and did their spin on the cookies. I thought it was interesting reading.
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/blog/
Anna says
Ashley, take a look at Katrina's. Hers looks more like the JT cookies. But I'm not complaining. I like mine a lot.
Michelle, I think these are more convenient. I usually have cake and bread flour in the house, but not pastry flour. A lot of people can't even find pastry flour.
Katy, let's discuss this via email when you make the cookies. I am curious to hear how the Guittard wafers work. Sometimes when I use them, they melt a little too much. Maybe we are using different Guittard products.
Rita, I am sure your cookies will be fabulous as always ;).
Broccoli Floret!
You must be an advanced dabbler.
I was wondering the same thing about using AP because I read somewhere that the protein content of all purpose was similar to what you'd get if you mixed bread flour and cake or pastry flour.
Maybe the cake flour/bread flour combo is there because the bread flour lends some extra gluten while the cake flour incorporates a softer wheat. Or maybe the cake flour is there because its higher startch content makes the edges crispier.
There's more to flour than just protein content, so it must be other characteristics of the two flours, combined, that make the cookie what it is.
floretbroccoli says
I am only a dabbler in cookies and wondered why 8.5 oz. of bread flour and 8.5 oz. of cake flour. Wouldn't 17 oz. of AP give you pretty much the same protein content?
Clumbsy Cookie says
I will probably try this next week, I hope to find a similar chocolate over the weekend when I go shopping.
I'm glad you tried them Anna, they look very good!
Katy says
I am about to whip up the dough so I can bake these this weekend. Anna, they will be thicker than original JT because there's less egg and more baking powder (reduces spread). And you used thicker chips. I am using Guittard 61% wafers.(available at our market here in SF because they're local and make all the chocolate for See's Candies) And I think they need 3 tsp of vanilla because of the volume of dough and I happen to love vanilla. FYI, the JTs sold at the store in NY are fairly flat and measure about 5-6" in diameter. I will report back after they're baked but I am excited to try yet another CCC and see how they compare to the JT original (the ones he made on Martha)
Michelle says
I think you've convinced me to give this one a try Anna. I wasn't going to try any more chocolate chip cookies since I love the JT ones you posted before. Do you like these better?
Ashley says
Ooo I was just reading about this cookie yesterday and I'm impressed you've already made it! Good to know it turns out as promised. Your cookie looks delicious (and I think very similar to the one posted with the article).
Anna says
Rachel, thanks for the tip on Merckens. I've never tried those.
Another souce of discs is El Rey. Their chocolate has a very distinct flavor (you may or may not like it) but one thing's for sure -- your cookies will have character.
http://sales.chocolateselrey.com/Categories.bok
Rachel B. says
For those who want to make cookies with a less exhorbitant "chocolate disk" (about 1" across), I highly recommend the Merckens Bittersweet Buttons that you can order through King Arthur Flour for about $6/lb. This isn't the time of year to do it most places, but when the weather permits, they're one of my favorite baking chocolates!
I bet you could also make your own melty chunks, either by melting dark chocolate--not chocolate chips, with their extra stabilizing ingredients!--and piping it into dots. Or, less labor intensive, just spreading melted chocolate into a 1/4" layer on parchment on a cookie sheet and cutting it into chunks after it firms up.
Anna says
Someone posted it verbatim on Cooking Light.
http://community.cookinglight.com/showthread.php?t=119993
Anonymous says
I am not a member of the NY Times - does anyone have a link to a typed out recipe?
sharon says
These look delicious and chocolatey. I spotted these on the CLBB and have been craving them since.
Katrina says
Oh, and I used an air bake (insulated) sheet for mine, too.
Katrina says
I think yours look great, but I think I like a thicker cookie. I just baked off a 20 hour chilled dough cookie. It looks pretty much identical to the one I posted last night. I haven't tasted it yet.
Yours also look more chocolatey than mine. When I make these again, I'm going to put in more chocolate, although I halved the recipe this time and put in the right amount of chocolate.
Did you measure out 3 1/2 oz. dough for yours, like the recipe suggests? I did and these cookies are huge! Can't believe it's only about half the amount they use for the Levains. Obviously just a different cookie. I am loving this one though.
bakingblonde says
I am going to try those next week! They look and sound wonderful.
I typically freeze my dough in preshaped balls for future baking (I don't need 3 doz cookies at a time), I wonder if freezing and chilling have similar effects on the dough? HMMM,
Either way I love trying new recipes and will be chilling the dough overnight and baking a few before freezing the rest of the dough balls! Can't wait!!
Lisa Ernst says
These look fabulous! Better than Levain and much more chocolatey. Can't wait to try them. I'd be interested, too, in where you would rank these cookies on your favorites scale.I don't know many people who have tried as many variations of chocolate chip cookies as you.:-)
Marie says
I'm so excited you made these and posted the link as well. I was all set to order some chocolate discs from Jacques Torres but they wanted $41.00 for shipping! I laughed for a long time over that. Maybe I'll wait till it's cooler where I live to order some. I'll get some Valrhona from Trader Joe's in the meantime.
I made both your latest oatmeal cookie and the peanut butter cookies from the week before last and they were great. They stayed fresh for almost a week. I'm looking forward to trying these, especially since I have a huge bag of bread flour left over from my Levain cookies.
Amy says
I'm so glad you tried these out so soon and shared them with us! They are definitely on my agenda for the weekend. I can't wait to try them. Do they rank up there with some of your other chocolate chip recipes, like Jacques Torres?
Katie says
WOW those look great! I've never heard of salting cookies...interesting. Love your blog!