I’ve tried about 5 online chocolate chip cookie recipes and I’ve come to the conclusion that none are significantly better than the toll house recipe. That recipe is a classic for a reason. I think there’s just not a very high ceiling you can go with improving a chocolate chip cookie. I’ve tried the Jacques Torres recipe and added a bit too much flour and it tasted indistinguishable from Levain, which I never cared for.
I’ve also come to strongly believe that a big factor in which cookie people prefer is simply the cacao percentage of the chocolate chips which is very individual and more important than the quality of the chocolate.
The big factors in differences between cookies that I’ve noticed:
fat percentage. THe Levain/NYT recipe has a little more butter than tollhouse if I recall correctly. A Tate’s-like version has almost DOUBLE the butter of tollhouse, to encourage lots of oven spread and a thin, crispy, cookie.
Form: Want big thick cookies with gooey centers? make 2-3 oz cookies, leave them in a ball prrior to baking. Bake from chilled or frozen. Have at least an equal percentage by weight of chocolate as flour, if not more. Use coarse chopped chocolate for a variety of sizes and textures
Want 'em thin 'n crispy? SMALLER cookies, 3/4-1oz, let come to room temp and flatten out to 1/4 in" thick w/ wet figertips prior to baking. bake at a lower temp (325 works for me) for longer to allow for more spread and more drying out w/o burning. Use chips for distinct bumps of chocolate in your crispy, buttery little discus.
Chocolate percentage is a personal choice. Sometimes sweet and creamy milk morsels are right. Sometimes you wanna be all grown up and sophisticated and go with semi- or even 60+% bittersweet.
sea salt on the thin ones is (to me) a bit overwhelming, but I consider it essential for thicker, more ‘traditional’ type cookies.
Of course, one can go a completely different route and do choc. chip shortbread cookies, which have even less chocolate in them percentage wise, but can be equally delicious.
The Ivy has a very loyal chocolate chip cookie following and their bakery, Dolce Isola, on Robertson just north of Venice has them at reasonable prices.
The in-house (not from a central commissary) guac at the Santa Monica branch is really good. Not as decadent as The Cookie, granted, but maybe way healthier?
Waayyy to sweet for our tastes and even our kids can’t handle more than a bite or two from the ones in NYC. Luckily we know one of the bakers there and she gifted us some today. Same result, few bites and done even for the kids.
