Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

There are few things better in this world than a really, really good chocolate chip cookie. Everything about them, from the dough (not ashamed to admit I eat it!), to the smell of them baking in the oven, is classic and comforting and delicious. And biting into a chocolate chip cookie warm from the oven... that's pretty hard to top in terms of heart-melting goodness.

My mom has used the same chocolate chip cookie recipe for years (scrawled on a piece of loose leaf by a co-worker) and I've adopted it as my gold standard cookie recipe. But recently I was listening to the chocolate chip cookie episode of my favourite food podcast, Spilled Milk, and they brought something to light that I didn't know before: chilling the dough for at least 24 hours will result in much, much better cookies. Chilling the dough, they explained, allows the sugars to get completely absorbed by the liquids, and the cookies turn out soft and chewy with a richer flavour - kind of toffee-like. Apparently, even the original Tollhouse chocolate chip cookie recipe called for chilling the dough overnight - a step that for some reason has been left out of the famous package instructions. 


So I decided to take my tried and true recipe and see if chilling the dough did in fact improve a cookie I didn't think could be improved. Spilled Milk linked to a really interesting New York Times article by David Leite about the quest for the perfect chocolate chip cookie, and his conclusion is that the magic chilling time is 36 hours. While I only chilled my dough for 24 hours, the results were still remarkable. The cookies turned out chewier than usual, and with a definite toffee-like richness; the brown sugar really gets a chance to do its thing (i.e. caramelize and turn totally delicious). 

If you're short on time or want cookies, like, right now, then opting to not chill the dough will still result in a very, very yummy batch. They'll be soft and have great flavour. Maybe, given a taste test, you wouldn't find the chilling difference that important. But I'm telling you, as a self proclaimed yumminess expert, that if you want your chocolate chip cookies to go from good to amazing, chilling is the way to go. 

Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies
From my mom's recipe box
Makes about 3-4 dozen

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

In a small bowl, combine the four, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In a larger bowl or mixer, beat the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla an beat for another couple of minutes. Gradually add the flour mixture; stop mixing as soon as the dough comes together. With a spoon or spatula, stir in the chocolate chips. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge, allowing to chill for 24-36 hours. 

When you're ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375°F/190°C and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Drop the dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto the cookie sheets (about 3 inches apart) and bake for 9 to 11 minutes until the edges are golden brown. Allow them to cool a bit before eating, and let them cool completely before storing them in an airtight container.