Chocolate chip cookies are a nostalgic childhood favorite for many children and adults alike. Paired with milk, chocolate chip cookies are delicious and comforting yet effortless to make. The simple cookies can be made to be crunchy, chewy, or crispy, depending on the person's preference. Unlike a finicky macaron, chocolate chip cookies are deliciously simple; yet, specific tips and tricks can be followed for optimal (and delicious) results to make incredible cookies. So for the perfect chocolate chip cookies, delve into these helpful hints and tips!
What Makes An Ideal Chocolate Chip Cookie?
It's a million-dollar question to ask, with no clear-cut answer. The truth is, the definition of an ideal chocolate chip cookie may not be the same for everyone. While some people believe a perfect cookie is crunchy all the way through, others prefer a cake-like cookie. Meanwhile, some people despise a crispy cookie and settle for an incredibly moist and chewy one. There's no such thing as a universal chocolate chip cookie recipe that will satisfy everyone's palettes. Despite people's different preferences, ideal cookies share some common traits.
For example, an ideal chocolate chip cookie will have good chocolate chips to dough ratio. Ideally, every bite should have an incredible burst of chocolate, exhilarating the senses and sending a sugar rush to the person eating it. Furthermore, a good cookie is not crumbly. Cookies that crumble into dust upon picking it up signify that they will dry. In that case, a large glass of milk will be needed to soak the cookie (but good luck making sure it doesn't crumble upon hitting the milk).
Secondly, a good cookie shouldn't feel like a rock. If a chocolate chip cookie risk is breaking one's tooth, the cookie has been baked for too long! Crunchy cookies are delicious, but rock-hard cookies may not be. Lastly, this is most important, but the ideal cookie should be delicious! Chocolate chip cookies are effortless to make, but they are a labor of love. Simple things like using quality flour, butter, or chocolate can really make a difference when making a chocolate chip cookie.
Tips For Making Great Chocolate Chip Cookies
No matter which recipe one decides to use for making chocolate chip cookies, several tips can be applied that can help craft a delicious cookie. Though chocolate chip cookies are way less fussy than macarons, a little attention can go a long way towards scrumptious cookies. Don't forget: the most essential ingredient of any recipe is love.
Firstly, use ingredients at room temperature. It's tempting to whip out the butter and eggs to start creaming them with the sugars. However, cold butter is often hard to cream and incorporate with sugars and other wet ingredients. So, before making cookies, leave the butter and eggs out on the kitchen counter for around 15 to 20 minutes to get to room temperature. While one's waiting for them, it's wise to prep other ingredients for the recipe as well.
Use chocolate that's delicious on its own. Like cooking with wine, the best variety to make meals is with the delicious one. Thus, when it comes to making chocolate chip cookies, the best chocolate is the one that's delicious to the person eating it. Bakers don't have to settle for just typical chocolate chips—they can use chocolate that they enjoy on its own for an extra delicious cookie. Furthermore, use a variety of chocolate to give the cookie way more depth and exciting flavor to the dough.
Measure ingredients accordingly when mixing ingredients, both wet and dry. For example, suppose too much flour is added (without compensating it for enough liquid). In that case, one may end up with a crumbly cookie that is dry and easily breaks.
Though tempting to cook immediately after making incredible cookie dough, it's always best to let the dough rest, especially in the fridge for a couple of hours. Letting the dough rests gives a chance for the butter to cool down and redistribute the wet ingredients amongst the dough. This will make handling the dough much more manageable when it's scooped and, as an added bonus: will make the cookie browner upon baking. Letting the dough rest also gives the cookie a nice flavor!
Lastly, make evenly sized cookies! Though the advice is simple, it's essential. Uneven distribution of cookie dough—where some cookies are larger than others—will result in uneven baking across the pan. The result is some cookies that are perfectly cooked, while others remain overly cooked or severely undercooked!
Chocolate chip cookies are a childhood favorite that is easy to make and whip up for family and friends in no time. A delicious batch of cookies is only one bowl away with a couple of helpful hints!
