{Ultimate} Chocolate Chunk Cookies

You know you live in California when your Kindergartner goes to school in his winter gear — ski jacket, hat, yes, even gloves — so he could run amok in a snowball fight…of marshmallows. I guess we have to do what we must, right, to celebrate winter? I had never heard of a marshmallow snowball fight before, and when the teacher sent home notice that there was to be an epic snowball fight for all the kindergarten classes, I expected the school to call in a snow making machine to blanket the kindergarten courtyard and transform the playground into a little ski slope. Isn’t that the logical thing to do? Of course, marshmallows were surely much more exciting to the little guys! Other than our escapes to Tahoe, the kids don’t have that living-with-snow experience. They’ve never had to really bundle up for school, never sat by the radio (or these days television?) to anticipate school closings, and never shoveled the driveway. They may ski (better than me, in fact), but they haven’t had much practice making snowballs. It’s certainly not as easy as it looks. Rolling dough for Chocolate Chunk Cookies is much easier. And eating them is even easier. Wouldn’t you love to come in after a romp in the snow for a bite of this? {Ultimate} Chocolate Chunk Cookies Over the years, I have made dozens and dozens of chocolate chip cookies batches, only to be disappointed. I have long sought after what I consider a proper cookie, and after many attempts, I think I have finally arrived at what I consider the Ultimate (capital U) Chocolate Chunk Cookie. It’s lofty, thanks to a combination of cake* and all purpose flours. It’s tender, thanks to butter and a little cream cheese. It’s gooey, thanks to big hunks that I chopped from a decadent chocolate bar. And for the few that remain from the batch the following day, you can rest assured it maintains that perfect bite. Makes 2 dozen. INGREDIENTS 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened at room temperature 4 oz cream cheese (1/3 less fat) 1/2 cup granulated sugar 3/4 cup brown sugar 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 cup all purpose flour 1 cup cake flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 8 oz chocolate chunks (bittersweet or semisweet) METHOD In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and cream cheese on high speed until thoroughly mixed and creamy, about 2 minutes. Mix in the granulated and brown sugars until fully incorporated. Beat in the egg and vanilla and mix thoroughly again. In a separate bowl, whisk or sift together the flours, baking soda and salt. Slowly add this to the mixer and beat until just incorporated. Do not over stir. Fold or stir in the chocolate chunks. Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least two hours (or overnight). Preheat the oven to 350°F. and place the racks in the center of the oven. Prepare your baking pans with parchment paper. Take a medium ice cream scoop (equivalent to about 2 tablespoons) to scoop out the dough and roll into a ball. Place the cookie dough 2-3 inches apart, about 8 per cookie sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes, rotating the trays halfway through to insure even baking. When the cookies are golden brown on top and a nice amber color on the bottom, remove the tray from the oven and allow the cookies to settle on their trays for a few minutes; they will be very soft initially. Gently transfer to a wire rack to cool. Enjoy!! * Notes I had never considered using cake flour in my cookies until I saw The Cilantropist’s adaptation of Jacques Torres Chocolate Chip Cookies. Amanda and Jacques (if I may call him Jacques!) use a combination of cake and bread flour. I was intrigued, but it absolutely made sense. Incorporating cake flour into my recipe made a huge difference. Chilling the dough at least 2 hours (or if you can wait, overnight) is critical. The butter needs to return to a more solid state to bake properly, otherwise the dough will melt away in the oven. If two dozen cookies is too much for you to handle, freeze half the batch after you roll the dough into balls. Then you can bake whenever you have a craving! Cookies will keep for several days in an airtight container. © Liren for Kitchen Confidante, 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: chocolate, chunk, cookie, cookies, Desserts and Treats, treat Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh