How can they be so sure?

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I'm talking about something that is always on my mind... Chocolate Chip Cookies.

It's tough.

The thing that gets me is that EVERYONE has a chocolate chip cookie recipe. Everyone. If you are on youtube or TV you have a recipe. If you have a cookbook you have a formula for Chocolate Chip Cookies. If you own a bakery you have one.

And! Here is the kicker.

They all claim to be "The Best", or, "The Ultimate" , or, "Just like Grandma used to make"

It's false advertising.

It's like when you ask people how good of a driver people think they are and they respond with "Above Average" which is clearly impossible for the majority of people to be! So why does everyone think that their Chocolate Chip Cookie formula is the best?!

Now, I will grant that there are personal tastes which always have to come into play...

But I will ask you this: IS there one recipe to rule them all??

I would love to try your killer recipes myself :) Please feel free to post/ send them to me!

Have a great day!
Buddy
 
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I guess they advertise themselves as the best because people are always trying to find their own definition of 'the best' recipe. Online they will give their recipe titles such as 'best ever cookies recipe' because they know that's what people are searching for.

Lol, maybe I'm just getting cynical! :D

In reality we all have different preferences, and what appeals to one person won't appeal to another. Personally I enjoy that 'just baked' feel of cookies, I much prefer it to a harder texture. Browned butter always gives a delicious flavour, and aging the dough always tends to yield a better cookie too :)
 
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Lol, so many chocolate chip cookie recipes, and still, that ultimate cookie remains clearly defined in the imagination, yet so elusive. Yet doggedly we pursue that fantasy of rich warm soft chocolate, wrapped in a caramelized dough with a nice crunchy edge, and soft center.

Yup, it’s the dream of bakers...and exists only in our dreams.

I spent a couple years obsessing over chocolate chip cookies. I’ve made peace with it.

I believe that each chocolate chip cookie recipe is unique to the baker. The variables prevent replication from
baker to baker. The brand of ingredients, measuring method, oven and kitchen characteristics, and climate all effect the outcome.

I don’t give out my formula for this cookie, not because I’m arrogant and protective, rather, the variables will change the final product. And too, bakers rarely follow a recipe, so what comes out of my oven is nothing like what others pull from their ovens.

A few things I consistently apply to my CCC.
  • Flour: Central Milling Flour
  • Sugar: Cane
  • Butter: 83% butterfat
  • Chocolate: dark chocolate bars chopped or couverture wafers, but never a chocolate chip or compound chocolate
  • Chocolate to dough ratio: very high chocolate to dough ratio
  • Aging: an absolute
 
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Lol, so many chocolate chip cookie recipes, and still, that ultimate cookie remains clearly defined in the imagination, yet so elusive. Yet doggedly we pursue that fantasy of rich warm soft chocolate, wrapped in a caramelized dough with a nice crunchy edge, and soft center.

Yup, it’s the dream of bakers...and exists only in our dreams.

I spent a couple years obsessing over chocolate chip cookies. I’ve made peace with it.

I believe that each chocolate chip cookie recipe is unique to the baker. The variables prevent replication from
baker to baker. The brand of ingredients, measuring method, oven and kitchen characteristics, and climate all effect the outcome.

I don’t give out my formula for this cookie, not because I’m arrogant and protective, rather, the variables will change the final product. And too, bakers rarely follow a recipe, so what comes out of my oven is nothing like what others pull from their ovens.

A few things I consistently apply to my CCC.
  • Flour: Central Milling Flour
  • Sugar: Cane
  • Butter: 83% butterfat
  • Chocolate: dark chocolate bars chopped or couverture wafers, but never a chocolate chip or compound chocolate
  • Chocolate to dough ratio: very high chocolate to dough ratio
  • Aging: an absolute


Norcal,
There are indeed some guidelines, dare I say rules, that are always in the solid foundation of a great cookie! You have hit on them precisely... Though I'm not surprised given your depth of knowledge :)

Maybe, someday, if I work REALLY hard and gain your trust you would honor me with your recipe? ;)

A guy can dream!

BUD
 
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Norcal,
There are indeed some guidelines, dare I say rules, that are always in the solid foundation of a great cookie! You have hit on them precisely... Though I'm not surprised given your depth of knowledge :)

Maybe, someday, if I work REALLY hard and gain your trust you would honor me with your recipe? ;)

A guy can dream!

BUD

lol, you really love your CCC!

Tell me the brand flour you use and what you like in a CCC. Then I see if I can create a custom recipe for you. If it’s good, we’ll call it Bud’d Best.
 

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