Best type of chocolate to use for chocolate chip cookies?

[nanny599]

Hello everyone,

I am trying to create the ultimate chocolate chip cookie recipe and am wondering what is the best type of chocolate for a chocolate chip cookie.

So far I have been using bars of regular baking chocolate chopped up into chunks and have been impressed with the results. Ive heard good things about using couverture chocolate discs in cookies. has anyone had any experience using these? if so which are the best type to get? There are so many different types listed on the Callebaut website!

Looking forward to your answers and experiences!

 

[J13]

First, I'll answer the question about the chocolate disks: My go-to CCC recipe is Mindy Segal's and it uses disks. You can find it here:

http://www.midwestliving.com/recipe/mindy-segals-chocolate-chip-cookies/

I have tried these cookies using the disks and they are wonderfully chocolatey and rich, but most of the time I just use chocolate chips. These cookies made with the chips are equally wonderful.

As for which disks you should use...where are you located? I go for Guittard and/or Valrhona as they are world-class excellent, and I can find them in certain stores near me (Sur La Table, and a Kitchen Supply store). There are a lot of amazing chocolate companies now, and that means many "bests" out there. You might as well go for chocolate disks that are both excellent and easy to find, rather than something that requires special shipping.

I'd also recommend checking out a kitchen supply store (if there's one in your area) which sells to the public. They usually have big bags of disks made from really good chocolate companies.

All that said, the beauty of Chocolate Chip cookies is that you can use almost any type of "chip" to chocolate them. While a lot of us (maybe the majority?) are into dark chocolate, there are plenty out there that still prefer milk chocolate and/or white chocolate. And some recipes even argue for milk chocolate depending on what you're planning on serving with the cookies. Even with dark chocolate, there is a certain percentage bittersweet that is, well, the sweet spot for chocolate chip cookies—if you go over that, those consuming won't like the cookie, however excellent the chocolate.

Which is to say, maybe you should have a few "ultimate" CCC's. A variety of them to serve up depending on occasion (snack for the family or after a special occasion dinner), on whether they'll be served with coffee or a big glass of milk, and even the time of year (is it winter or summer?). Also whether you're going for a cookie that you can sink your teeth into, or one that's wafer thin and crunchy. There's no reason to limit yourself to one "ultimate" is there?

Look forward to hearing on what you decide to bake up and how it turns out.