perfecting my cookie
this past week i started my intensive pastry courses in my program at ICE. i think i’m very intimidated when it comes to baking because it’s not as forgiving. things need to be very precise and accurate. so, i’m extremely eager to learn about all of the things i’ve been doing wrong when it comes to baking.
the first thing we learned about was the ‘creaming method’. the importance of butter and sugar in cookie recipes happens to contribute a lot to texture and lift. the creaming method is the initial and most important part of some cookie or cake recipes. it requires taking room temperature butter (the ideal temp for butter when baking is 68 degrees) and sugar then mixing it together in a stand mixer until it is lighter in color and increased in volume. this process produces air pockets in the butter which are needed for leaveners to produce light and fluffy cakes and cookies.
with sugar crystals, they usually have rough and jagged edges that cut into butter when mixed together. they create these pockets of air that contain trapped fat. so the smaller the crystal, the larger quantity of air pockets resulting in light and fluffy cakes and cookies.
we got to try the creaming method ourselves which resulted in the most beautiful chocolate chip cookies. we learned that using real milk chocolate in cookie recipes, preferably in a bar is far better when baking. avoid using chips as they contain wax. before adding them into the oven, sprinkle a few flakes of maldon salt on top for another level of flavor.
i learned that ‘carry-over heat’ also applies to baking, not just cooking. with baking you always want to under-bake your good. as soon as you take it out of the oven, it will continue baking until cool. so taking anything out past an initial time is potentially over-baking your good.
ex: if a recipe calls for baking something for 12 minutes, usually a good time to remove from the oven would be 5 minutes before that time.
perfect chocolate chip cookies
equipment
stand mixer, paddle attachment
parchment paper
full sheet tray
ingredients
butter, cut into small squares, 285 grams
light brown sugar, 285 grams
granulated sugar, 228 grams
eggs, 100 grams
vanilla extract, 9 grams
all purpose flour, 485 grams
oat flour, 60 grams
baking soda, 6.25 grams
baking powder, 6 grams
salt, 9 grams
bittersweet chocolate, coarsley chopped, 285 grams
milk chocolate, coarsley chopped, 285 grams
flaky sea salt for sprinkling on top
instructions
using a paddle, cream butter and sugar together until very light, about 5-10 minutes depending on how soft your butter is. creaming the butter and sugar is the most important step to getting the perfect crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside cookie. you want to cream the two until it becomes lighter in color and increased in size/volume. peaks should form. then add in eggs and vanilla, very slowly. be very careful when adding in the eggs as you don’t want it to break the emulsion. i recommend whisking in the eggs before adding into the creaming mixture.
combine flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. reduce speed to low and add dry ingredients and mix until just combined. add chopped chocolates with a spatula.
scoop mixture onto a baking sheet in specified size. sprinkle very lightly with sea salt flakes.
bake at 350 on parchment paper lined sheet pans. bake until golden brown but still soft. about 8 minutes or less. underbake for a softer chewier cookie.
