The Secret to Making Your Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe Even Better!
The kids are all home for summer, which takes a bit of an adjustment period for everyone to get more acquainted with less of a schedule and a LOT more noise around the house for me.
It is no surprise that we have already made our famous “pan-banging” chocolate chip cookies ha! These are my favorite chocolate chip cookies to make because not only are they the tastiest recipe I have ever made--and how could they not be? Take a giant cookie the size of your face that is perfectly crispy around the edges, yet soft and gooey with pools of melty chocolate in the center and don’t even get me started on the ripples!
This is where the other benefit comes in for this particular recipe--you get to let out some extra aggression in the form of banging the cookie sheet several times in the oven to get a beautiful, perfect rippled effect that not only makes them look even more delicious, but the added affect even brings more texture and more to the mouth feel. They are pretty spectacular. I have added the recipe at the bottom, so please make them if you haven’t made them before. They are really fun to make.
They are a bit fussy and take a bit more time because you actually measure out the dough to get each ball 3.5 ounces and freeze them for 20-30 minutes before you bake them so they turn out just how to want them to each and every time. I actually believe that all this precision and fuss is exactly what keeps me coming back to make them time and time again because I know I can count on them to turn out just right each time!
Now, the secret I mentioned in the title of this article has everything to do with the type and quality of chocolate you are using in your chocolate chip cookie recipe. This doesn’t just apply to this recipe either. What I’m about to tell you can apply to your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe you already know and love. I have known this pan-banging recipe always calls for cutting up bars of dark or semisweet chocolate and that’s something that I never seemed to have on hand when making them previously. I have made this recipe with my favorite milk chocolate chips and even the standard Toll House semi-sweet chocolate chips many of us use and always had stellar results. However, I am telling you, cutting up that chocolate bar to use those random-sized dark chocolate chunks made all the difference in the world for elevating these already spectacular cookies. I couldn’t believe what a difference it made.
You see, you’ve got everything from a big pool of chocolate lava with the big chunks you add, but equally important are the little slivers of chocolate that give you subtle hints of it in every bite. It’s a really beautiful thing.
My favorite place to get this good quality chocolate bar that is over 1 pound of quality Belgian dark chocolate is from Trader Joe’s. They sell this bar for about $5, I believe, so it is such a great value.
This big bar will make you three batches of these chocolate chip cookies. I absolutely love using this same chocolate bar, cut up in into chunks again to make pain au chocolat, which is a French pastry that is basically a light, flaky croissant with melted dark chocolate in the middle. Those are so delicious as well. I’ll have to share that recipe with you soon as well.
Do you ever chop up a chocolate bar to make your favorite chocolate chip cookies? Did you like the result? Please share these thoughts and if you have any other earth shattering tips for the most beloved American classic chocolate chip cookie in the comments below.
2 sticks unsalted butter room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons water
2 cups , all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
6 ounces , bittersweet chocolate chopped into bite-size pieces
Directions:
Add Recipe to Cook'n
It is no surprise that we have already made our famous “pan-banging” chocolate chip cookies ha! These are my favorite chocolate chip cookies to make because not only are they the tastiest recipe I have ever made--and how could they not be? Take a giant cookie the size of your face that is perfectly crispy around the edges, yet soft and gooey with pools of melty chocolate in the center and don’t even get me started on the ripples!
This is where the other benefit comes in for this particular recipe--you get to let out some extra aggression in the form of banging the cookie sheet several times in the oven to get a beautiful, perfect rippled effect that not only makes them look even more delicious, but the added affect even brings more texture and more to the mouth feel. They are pretty spectacular. I have added the recipe at the bottom, so please make them if you haven’t made them before. They are really fun to make.
They are a bit fussy and take a bit more time because you actually measure out the dough to get each ball 3.5 ounces and freeze them for 20-30 minutes before you bake them so they turn out just how to want them to each and every time. I actually believe that all this precision and fuss is exactly what keeps me coming back to make them time and time again because I know I can count on them to turn out just right each time!
Now, the secret I mentioned in the title of this article has everything to do with the type and quality of chocolate you are using in your chocolate chip cookie recipe. This doesn’t just apply to this recipe either. What I’m about to tell you can apply to your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe you already know and love. I have known this pan-banging recipe always calls for cutting up bars of dark or semisweet chocolate and that’s something that I never seemed to have on hand when making them previously. I have made this recipe with my favorite milk chocolate chips and even the standard Toll House semi-sweet chocolate chips many of us use and always had stellar results. However, I am telling you, cutting up that chocolate bar to use those random-sized dark chocolate chunks made all the difference in the world for elevating these already spectacular cookies. I couldn’t believe what a difference it made.
You see, you’ve got everything from a big pool of chocolate lava with the big chunks you add, but equally important are the little slivers of chocolate that give you subtle hints of it in every bite. It’s a really beautiful thing.
My favorite place to get this good quality chocolate bar that is over 1 pound of quality Belgian dark chocolate is from Trader Joe’s. They sell this bar for about $5, I believe, so it is such a great value.
This big bar will make you three batches of these chocolate chip cookies. I absolutely love using this same chocolate bar, cut up in into chunks again to make pain au chocolat, which is a French pastry that is basically a light, flaky croissant with melted dark chocolate in the middle. Those are so delicious as well. I’ll have to share that recipe with you soon as well.
Do you ever chop up a chocolate bar to make your favorite chocolate chip cookies? Did you like the result? Please share these thoughts and if you have any other earth shattering tips for the most beloved American classic chocolate chip cookie in the comments below.
Pan Banging Chocolate Chip Cookies
The dough for these pan banging chocolate chip cookies isn't out of the ordinary, but the pan banging method (and the resulting ripples) is a little unusual. The final cookies are straight from your dreams though: chewy, soft, crispy, everything. Recipe Type: American Total Time: 1 23 hrmins
Prep time:
Cook time:
Serving size: 11
Calories per serving: 339
Ingredients:
Cook time:
Serving size: 11
Calories per serving: 339
2 sticks unsalted butter room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons water
2 cups , all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
6 ounces , bittersweet chocolate chopped into bite-size pieces
Directions:
Line 3 baking sheets with aluminum foil, dull side up. Preheat the oven to 350F.
In a large bowl, beat the butter until creamy. Add the sugars and beat until light and fluffy. Add the egg, vanilla and water; mix to combine. Add the flour, baking soda and salt; mix on low until combined. Add the chocolate and mix until incorporated. The dough will seem really soft, but don't worry about it.
Form the dough into 3 1/2-ounce balls (a heaping 1/3 cup each). Place 1 ball in the middle of a foil lined (dull side up) baking sheet and freeze for 20-30 minutes before baking. After you put the first baking sheet in the oven, place a second one in the freezer.
Place the chilled baking sheet in the pre-heated oven and bake for 10 minutes, until the cookie is puffed slightly in the center. Lift the side of the baking sheet up about 4 inches and gently let it drop down against the oven rack, so the edges of the cookie set and the inside falls back down. After the cookies puff up again in 2 minutes, repeat lifting and dropping the pan. Repeat a few more times to create ridges around the edge of the cookie. Bake 16 to 18 minutes total, until the cookies have spread out and the edges are golden brown while the centers are much lighter and not fully cooked.
Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack; let cool completely before removing the cookies from the pan.
Source: deliciousnotgorgeous.com
In a large bowl, beat the butter until creamy. Add the sugars and beat until light and fluffy. Add the egg, vanilla and water; mix to combine. Add the flour, baking soda and salt; mix on low until combined. Add the chocolate and mix until incorporated. The dough will seem really soft, but don't worry about it.
Form the dough into 3 1/2-ounce balls (a heaping 1/3 cup each). Place 1 ball in the middle of a foil lined (dull side up) baking sheet and freeze for 20-30 minutes before baking. After you put the first baking sheet in the oven, place a second one in the freezer.
Place the chilled baking sheet in the pre-heated oven and bake for 10 minutes, until the cookie is puffed slightly in the center. Lift the side of the baking sheet up about 4 inches and gently let it drop down against the oven rack, so the edges of the cookie set and the inside falls back down. After the cookies puff up again in 2 minutes, repeat lifting and dropping the pan. Repeat a few more times to create ridges around the edge of the cookie. Bake 16 to 18 minutes total, until the cookies have spread out and the edges are golden brown while the centers are much lighter and not fully cooked.
Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack; let cool completely before removing the cookies from the pan.
Source: deliciousnotgorgeous.com
Recipe formatted with the Cook'n Recipe Software from DVO Enterprises.
Sources:
- www.pixahive.com
- www.pixabay.com
- www.deliciousnotgorgeous.com
Mary Richardson
Weekly Newsletter Contributor since 2014
Email the author! mary@dvo.com
