Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie

This past week I started the intensive pastry courses in my program at ICE. Baking has always intimidated me a bit because it’s less forgiving than cooking. Everything has to be precise and exact, which is why I’m eager to finally learn all the things I’ve probably been doing wrong.

The first technique we covered was the creaming method. In cookies and cakes, the way butter and sugar are treated has a huge impact on texture and lift. Creaming is the most critical step in many recipes. It involves mixing room-temperature butter (ideally around 68°F) with sugar until it becomes paler in color and increases in volume. This process creates air pockets in the butter, which the leavening agents then expand to give baked goods their light and fluffy texture.

Sugar crystals play a key role. Their rough edges cut into the butter as they mix, forming those air pockets. The finer the sugar, the more air pockets are created, which means lighter results.

We practiced this ourselves and made chocolate chip cookies that turned out beautifully. One of the takeaways was to use real milk chocolate from a bar instead of chips, which often contain stabilizers like wax. Right before baking, a light sprinkle of Maldon salt on top adds another layer of flavor.

I also learned that “carry-over heat” applies to baking just as much as cooking. Baked goods continue cooking even after they come out of the oven, so it’s important to pull them slightly underdone. If a recipe calls for 12 minutes, for example, removing them around 7 minutes in will let the residual heat finish the job without overbaking.