Chocolate Chip Cookie Upgrade: Crinkly, Chewy, Browned Butter | Easy No-Mixer Recipe

these two cookies were made with the same nine ingredients the only difference between them technique and the amount of each ingredient that was used i'm going to show you how i went from this classic cookie made with the original chocolate chip cookie recipe to my ideal version that retains the spirit of the original while amping up both the texture and the flavor not only is it ridiculously delicious but it's also easy to make no mixer required i promise this will be your new favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe oh and did i mention that it creates its own perfectly crisp and crinkly edges i mean come on [Music] hey there welcome to my kitchen my name is sheldon but my friends call me shaldo so why don't you do the same today we're talking about something near and dear to my heart the chocolate chip cookie i have to admit i am hard to please when it comes to the chocolate chip cookie i'm both a cookie snob and a cookie fundamentalist here are my top four requirements for any chocolate chip cookie recipe number one texture this here is the most important part for me overall the cookie needs to be chewy but it can't be one note i'm looking for a crisp edge that transitions into a soft and gooey interior number two flavor i need to taste both the cookie and the chocolate but really for me the cookie itself comes first with the chocolate acting as the perfect accompaniment i want deep warm toffee-like butterscotch notes plus lots of salt to offset all of the sweetness number three keep it simple keep it classic a chocolate chip cookie is a combination of basic ingredients that become greater than the sum of its parts fancy chocolate or whatever else is nice but not necessary the recipe should be able to shine with just everyday ingredients four must be easy must be speedy when i crave cookies i want cookies now that coupled with my laziness means that i don't have the patience for a recipe that takes hours or days it needs to be as straightforward as possible and generate the least amount of dishes all while not sacrificing any of the previously mentioned qualities i've tried countless recipes which hit some of the four points but not all of them some were delicious but entirely too complicated others were easy to make but lacking in the taste department to create the perfect recipe for me i knew that i had to break down the cookie to its most essential form and go from there side note if you don't want to get nerdy about cookie science and want to skip straight to the recipe head to this time stamp below by analyzing the classic chocolate chip cookie we can find out what factors create its texture and flavor and then tweak those variables to suit our needs the chocolate chip cookie actually hasn't been around for all that long it was only invented in 1938. if we follow the original recipe we end up with a cookie that's pleasant after all it's still a chocolate chip cookie but with some shortcomings flavor-wise the cookie is one-dimensional sweet with a whisper of vanilla but not much else in terms of complexity texture is where it's really lacking it's entirely too soft cakey with no textural variation and worst of all it's not chewy here are the three factors in this recipe that contribute to its texture one creaming the recipe starts off with the creaming method where softened butter is beaten with sugar this incorporates tons of air into the dough making the final cookie fluffy and cakey 2. flour ratio this cookie has a high proportion of flour the extra flour adds strength to the dough which is great for bread but here it prevents the cookie from spreading and imparts too much structure three cookie size these cookies are pretty small only one rounded tablespoon of dough per cookie since baked goods cook from the outside in the center of a small cookie is able to bake at relatively the same rate as the outside this means that you have to either choose between a soft cookie or a crunchy cookie there's no chance to create a crisp edge while still keeping the inside soft in conclusion to get the cookie texture that we want basically the opposite of cakey and fluffy all we need to do is to skip the creaming use less flour and bake larger cookies that's texture taken care of what about flavor first of all we can add more salt salt is the ultimate flavor enhancer and will add dimensionality to an otherwise totally sweet dessert but actually brown butter will be the real mvp here during the browning process milk solids in the butter go through the my yard reaction this generates huge flavor by browning the butter before using it in our cookie we're getting all of these deep and toasty notes for free just with this one step with all of that said we can jump into the recipe let's start off at the stove to brown our butter very important make sure you have two tablespoons of cold water ready to go beside you we'll get to its significance later place butter in a stainless steel or other light colored pan over medium heat the lighter pan allows you to monitor the progress of the butter with a black pan you can't see how brown everything is getting and risk burning swirl the butter in the pan until it melts and keep cooking over medium heat soon after the butter is melted it'll start making this burbling crackling sound this is the sign of water evaporating the presence of water sets an upper limit on the temperature of the butter only after all the water is gone can the butter get hot enough to start browning the milk solids after a while the crackling sounds will die down be ready at this point the browning will happen very quickly remember to stir so that nothing sticks and burns monitor the bottom of the pan looking for lots of small specks that are starting to turn golden or brown you can see them here as i swirl the spoon around if your butter is still foamy at this stage and it may be it will be difficult to see the bottom of the pan use your sense of smell when it's ready the butter will start smelling unbelievably nutty and delicious i promise this will be very noticeable turn off the heat and immediately add in the cold water we set aside be careful the pan will sputter and steam butter is comprised of about 80 fat in 20 water during the browning process all of the water evaporates so we have to add back enough water to make up for the loss this moisture is crucial to the texture of our cookie it'll help later to keep the cookies soft the water will also stop the cooking process preventing the butter from over browning this is about the color we're looking for a nice golden brown just look at all the precious toasted milk solids that's what creates the flavor of brown butter transfer the butter to a large mixing bowl to help it cool down it only needs 5-10 minutes to slightly cool usually if i weren't filming a video i use this time to gather and prep all my other ingredients it works out to be pretty much the perfect cooling time for the butter once your butter is cooled slightly add in granulated and brown sugar brown sugar contains molasses which will work with the brown butter to create extra caramely flavor use a whisk to mix until evenly combined then add one fridge cold egg and one tablespoon of vanilla extract this may seem like a lot of vanilla and it kind of is but it's one of my secrets which will make your cookie both taste and smell amazing now for the fun part just a little bit of elbow grease required we need to vigorously whisk for one minute melted butter can't hold on to very much air so there's no chance of over-aerating like with creaming but we still need some air in the mixture to create a nice texture so make sure that you set your timer and whisk whisk whisk for one whole minute when you're done the mixture will be lighter in color and slightly thickened next add in baking soda and salt whisk well to distribute evenly this saves the step of combining all your dry ingredients in a separate bowl which means one less thing to wash baking soda here will react with a slightly acidic brown sugar generating lift also being an alkaline ingredient it lowers the ph of the dough which will actually speed up browning this means more color and flavor in our cookie dump all your flour into the bowl and stir with a spatula until all of the flour is incorporated and there are no dry patches left again if this were real life i would just measure my flower straight into the main bowl side note measuring by weight here and really throughout the whole recipe is preferred specifically flour is a compactable powder that is notoriously difficult to consistently measure by volume weighing guarantees the same amount each time you'll find the weights of all of the ingredients in the written recipe if measuring by cups spoon your flour into the cup before leveling off this will ensure that you don't end up with too much flour in the dough remember what too much flour does to a cookie not really what we're looking for here especially because we've intentionally lowered the amount of flour in this recipe this creates our desired denser chewier cookie along with a crisp edge now for chocolate i use bog standard semi-sweet chocolate chips not only do i enjoy the nostalgic flavor but i also like that the chips don't disperse too much into the dough this way in the final cookie there are pockets of chocolate separated by cookie each bite will be different and allow the cookie itself to shine through add in your chocolate gently fold until evenly combined and voila our cookie dough is finished to portion the cookies use a large number 20 cookie scoop which equals 3 tablespoons of dough [Music] if you don't have a scoop use damp hands while rolling to prevent sticking you're aiming for around golf ball size or just under a quarter cup i find that hand rolling always conceals the chocolate chips so i like to basically rip apart the dough ball and turn it inside out before messily squishing back together so that we get some visible chocolate on the outside place the dough balls on a tray cover and rest in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up slightly this step is crucial to prevent the cookies from spreading out too much when baking the cookie dough can live in the fridge from 30 minutes up to two days until you're ready to bake them if you don't want to bake immediately freeze the dough for up to three months you can bake the cookies directly from frozen just add an additional two to three minutes to the baking time now preheat your oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit or 175 celsius with the rack in the center of the oven [Music] once the oven is heated place six chilled dough balls on a lined baking sheet don't try to fit more than six to a tray otherwise they will spread out fuse into one giant cookie trust me i am speaking from experience here before baking finish with a dusting of salt this creates a wonderful sweet salty moment use as much or as little as your heart desires i'd recommend at least a light sprinkle here use a salt with the largest crystals you can find i happen to have a flaky smoked malden on hand but coarse sea salt and kosher salt will also work i wouldn't use anything finer because your cookie will end up with too much salt on it bake the cookies for around 10 to 12 minutes around the 9 minute mark start observing them for doneness remember everyone's oven is different notice how these cookies spread so much more compared to the original recipe at first the outside quickly melts thins out and sets then the middle repeatedly melts and sets this is what creates those crinkly edges the cookies are done once the outside edge is browned and crinkly the center should still be pale and slightly puffed up at this point the cookies are very soft but they will firm up as they cool let the cookies cool on the tray for about five minutes before transferring to a wire rack now behold these glorious chocolate chip cookies check out that signature crinkly edge which is such a huge tell that the texture is going to be amazing the slightly crisp edge contrasts with the center of the cookie which is super gooey when warm but settles into a soft chew once cooled this cookie has been out of the oven for about 10 minutes so it's still warm it's got just enough structure to hold together but look how it's falling apart the water we added back to our brown butter is key to the softness discreet pockets of silky bittersweet chocolate are caressed by the brown butter goodness of the cookie itself the whole thing is suffused with heavenly notes of toffee nestled in the warm comfort of soft vanilla punctuated with the occasional crunch of a salt crystal whoa sorry got a little carried away um anyway i think the updated cookie speaks for itself i really just wish you could smell my kitchen right now seriously go make these cookies you probably have all the ingredients in your pantry already so what are you waiting for you'll find the full written recipe with ingredients and instructions linked in the description if you decide to make these cookies please comment and let me know how it goes tag me in any photos i would love to see them you can find me on instagram right here thank you so much for joining me on this first episode of sheldo's kitchen if you like baking cooking uh asian food eating good asian food making good food just like in general then i like you and hope that you'll stick around please follow along where each week i'll be sharing a deep dive into all of my favorite foods and how you can make them at home hope to see you soon

Channel: sheldo's kitchen

Views: 354,667

Keywords: chocolate chip cookie, easy cookie recipe, browned butter, cookie science, chocolate chip, chewy chocolate chip cookies, chocolate chip cookie recipe

Id: qsMEKFzRaRM

Length: 14min 53sec (893 seconds)

Published: Thu Oct 14 2021