The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie

Published on Tuesday, November 13, 2007, by Meredith Arthur and Eric Slatkin / Edit Post

The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie

By Meredith Arthur and Eric Slatkin

Tia Harrison, owner of the Lucky Cooky Company, takes simple ingredients and creates a soft, sweet, crisp-crusted cookie, full of melty Guittard milk chocolate drops. It is, indeed, the superior-est chocolate chip cookie.

The unparalleled. The best in show. We call it The Perfect: our video series on how something so very good gets to be that way.

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  • how can i get this recipe?

  • i want to try this recipe so bad.. i cook but i havent tried to bake ever. i am planning to buy oven but my worry is that what would be the right oven to buy, though i've seen / canvas some oven that has a "rottiserie convection" thing, coz in the video, the cookies should have a 1 minute of convection air. is the "rottiserrie convection" thing also the "convection air"? or for those who tried...+READ

    i want to try this recipe so bad.. i cook but i havent tried to bake ever. i am planning to buy oven but my worry is that what would be the right oven to buy, though i've seen / canvas some oven that has a "rottiserie convection" thing, coz in the video, the cookies should have a 1 minute of convection air. is the "rottiserrie convection" thing also the "convection air"? or for those who tried this recipe, is it necessary to have 1 minute of convection air to achieve the exact result or is there any way to achieve it without the convection air? hope someone will help me.. thanks........ tina :)-COLLAPSE

  • I made these this weekend - they're FANTASTIC. Not so blonde after all, they look like you're typical cookie. I suspect computer resolution is to blame for the lighter appearance.

    The cookies are soft and have maintained their soft, chewy consistency over 3 days (so far). They are not in the slightest dry or crumbly and the ever so slight taste of salt really balance these out.

    I will be...+READ

    I made these this weekend - they're FANTASTIC. Not so blonde after all, they look like you're typical cookie. I suspect computer resolution is to blame for the lighter appearance.

    The cookies are soft and have maintained their soft, chewy consistency over 3 days (so far). They are not in the slightest dry or crumbly and the ever so slight taste of salt really balance these out.

    I will be making these again! Thanks Chow Hound (and Tia) for sharing!-COLLAPSE

  • Thanks BE. I would have gone out and bought some, but it was Sunday night - the night of some nasty icey sleaty weather. I have since bought some more AP flour. Thanks again.

  • As a rule of thumb one cup of cake flour is equal to 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of AP flour. But this isn't absolute. You have to adjust as you go depending on humidity and all that.

    But your way is better, mixing a variety of flours usually adds to the flavor complexity.

    Of course, don't monkey around with actual cakes unless you are willing to risk dips and bubbles and heaven knows what else....+READ

    As a rule of thumb one cup of cake flour is equal to 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of AP flour. But this isn't absolute. You have to adjust as you go depending on humidity and all that.

    But your way is better, mixing a variety of flours usually adds to the flavor complexity.

    Of course, don't monkey around with actual cakes unless you are willing to risk dips and bubbles and heaven knows what else. Just put on your shoes and go buy more cake flour.-COLLAPSE

  • Wish I had seen these posts & video earlier. I made cc cookies last weekend and the tips/ideas would have been nice. Been making them for years but have never used the whisk attachment. Guittard chocolate is awesome; used Ghiradelli this time (that's what I had). On the note of using what you have on hand, does anyone know if cake flour can be substituted for AP flour? If so, how? I had only 1/2...+READ

    Wish I had seen these posts & video earlier. I made cc cookies last weekend and the tips/ideas would have been nice. Been making them for years but have never used the whisk attachment. Guittard chocolate is awesome; used Ghiradelli this time (that's what I had). On the note of using what you have on hand, does anyone know if cake flour can be substituted for AP flour? If so, how? I had only 1/2 of AP, so I used some cake flour, some Italian Bel Aria 00 flour, and some malted flour from an Ina Garten cookie mix (raspberry shortbread). Any ideas would be appreciated.-COLLAPSE

  • Everyone has their idea of the perfect ratio, perfect size, and perfect brand of chocolate chip. I'm about bigger but fewer, and preferably Guittard; I like them to balance each other. But lots of people feel that the cookie dough is just there as a sort of mortar to hold the chips together till they can get to your mouth. If you want to see a real flame war, bring up nuts.

  • After reading through everyone's comments, I can think of only one thing...

    You people think there's such thing as too many chocolate chips?!

  • I would see where this kind of cookie would be great under ice cream - where you want more the flavor of a cookie without the hard texture - so the spoon can cut easily through the cookie. But I'm more a fan of crunchy cookies, so a cakey cookie that falls apart like that would not be good to me. Those kind make me feel like I'm eating cake - or a cookie that is not fully cooked. My teeth enjoy a...+READ

    I would see where this kind of cookie would be great under ice cream - where you want more the flavor of a cookie without the hard texture - so the spoon can cut easily through the cookie. But I'm more a fan of crunchy cookies, so a cakey cookie that falls apart like that would not be good to me. Those kind make me feel like I'm eating cake - or a cookie that is not fully cooked. My teeth enjoy a good crunching, but I also enjoy the chewiness of a warm, fresh-baked cookie. A cookie that that hardens as it cools would be my version of a perfect cookie.-COLLAPSE

  • Not only is it the same from there, I'm pretty sure it's jus about the same you would find on the back of a nestle chocolate chip bag or hershey chocolate chip bag.

  • Being a chocolate chip cookie fanatic, I had to try this w/ the technique this morning, after leaving the butter out all night. I followed digkv's recipe above. They were good but a very cakey cookie while I prefer a flatter chewy one (I like the Best Recipe's large chocolate chip cookie recipe for big cookies best). I did search for the cookie recipe and came across this for Tia Harrison:

    ...+READ

    Being a chocolate chip cookie fanatic, I had to try this w/ the technique this morning, after leaving the butter out all night. I followed digkv's recipe above. They were good but a very cakey cookie while I prefer a flatter chewy one (I like the Best Recipe's large chocolate chip cookie recipe for big cookies best). I did search for the cookie recipe and came across this for Tia Harrison:

    http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=food&id=5642975

    It calls for 1/2 c. butter and not 3/4 cup from the recipe above. But, with less butter, the cookie would be even cakier so I'd definitely use the one w/ more butter. It gives the cookie a very nice buttery taste. Even w/ smaller cookies, they took 10 minutes to cook and they were very light in color. Overall, I'll stick to the more traditional method (except melted butter for the CI Best Recipe method). There have been a couple of great chocolate chip cookie recipes posted on the Home Cooking site, one using cold butter. But, this comes down to taste preference on cookies--whether you like puffier cakey cookies or flatter chewier ones.-COLLAPSE

  • WOW! I can't belive that everyone has so much time to argue about cookies. To slightly change the words of David Gahan"Cookies are cookies so why should it be you & I should get along so awfully". Also for the record the recipe above is exactly the same (except for the added fourth cup of butta) as the one given by the chef on View From The Bay...........Soooooooo creative!

  • Thank you alex. Actually, the recipe on the internet was wrong in that it called for 3/4 white sugar and then 3/4 granulated sugar which is the same thing: so I changed it to brown sugar. I also upped the amount of butter since 1 stick wasn't enough and I increased the cooking time as mine were still raw after 8 minutes as stated.

  • dig, thx for recipe, and I love the paper bag idea for the dry ingredients. I am always resxentful of the bi bowl jusy dusted with powder.... can't bring myself to not wash it, but hardly seems worth it. i'm ridiculous.
    out of curiosity, what did you not like about her original recipe? what did you want to change?

  • dig, thx for recipe, and I love the paper bag idea for the dry ingredients. I am always resxentful of the bi bowl jusy dusted with powder.... can't bring myself to not wash it, but hardly seems worth it. i'm ridiculous.

  • digkv, thank you for your recipe- now my go-to CC cookie recipe! These cookies are terrific. I added some toasted chopped walnuts.

  • After a lot of trial and error I think I get a recipe that at most I can say is inspired by Tia Harrison. I followed her tips and changed some of the ingredients written on ABC. And since I don't know how to upload pictures and stuff I had to create a blog to show them. http://digkv89.blogspot.com/2007/11/chocolate-chip-cookies.html

    Anyways, here's my recipe.
    Chocolate Chip Cookies
    --makes 14...+READ

    After a lot of trial and error I think I get a recipe that at most I can say is inspired by Tia Harrison. I followed her tips and changed some of the ingredients written on ABC. And since I don't know how to upload pictures and stuff I had to create a blog to show them. http://digkv89.blogspot.com/2007/11/chocolate-chip-cookies.html

    Anyways, here's my recipe.
    Chocolate Chip Cookies
    --makes 14 3.5 in cookies

    2 and 1/4 cups of AP flour
    3/4 cup of butter (1.5 sticks) softened
    3/4 cups of packed brown sugar
    3/4 cup of white sugar
    2 eggs- room temperature
    1 tsp vanilla extract
    1 tsp salt (Kosher and try to crumble it a little into finer grains)
    1 tsp baking soda
    2 cups of chocolate chips (about 1-12 oz bag)

    Make sure your butter is really soft, leave out for a couple of hours; if you didn't just pull it straight out of the refrigerator and microwave for about 14 seconds.

    Preheat oven to 350F. Cream butter in a large bowl with a stand mixer (use whisk attachment) or with a hand mixer (don't try by hand you really need a light fluffy texture.) Add both sugars and cream together until well incorporated and really light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time and then add the vanilla and then the salt. Beat until it is light but don't overbeat at this point. In a separate bowl (I just used a brown paper bag) mix together the flour and baking soda. If using a stand mixer switch to the paddle attachment or if using hand mixer switch to a large spatula. Add half the flour mixture and slowly pulse with the stand mixer or fold with the spatula. When flour has incorporated (don't overmix it's ok to still see white flour) add the rest and pulse or fold the flour in. Pour chocolate chips in and fold in using spatula or by hand. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and add 1/4 cup measurements of the dough spacing it out 3 inches in between. Flatten out the dough to 1/2 an inch and place into oven baking for about 10-12 minutes turning the cookies 5 minutes in. After it is done baking, remove from oven and let rest for about 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.-COLLAPSE

  • Nice sleuthing digkv! I didn't know about that!

  • Thanks for trying Meredith I do respect Tia for not wanting to compromise her cookie's name by giving out an untested recipe. However, after some googling, I found this: http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=food&id=5642975 a recipe from her appearance on ABC. I think combing that recipe and video with this video I can get a proper recipe.

  • In case it didn't work, that url again is: http://www.luckycookyco.com/contact.html

    Meredith

  • Hey all, I heard back from Tia, who says that it will be hard to give this recipe, but that she'd be happy to try to give you another, explaining, "The problem is that everyones ovens are different and there are so many variables that can't be controlled (moisture,quality of ingredients, etc.) through a recipe, I doubt it would give people the same product that I stand behind. You can also let...+READ

    Hey all, I heard back from Tia, who says that it will be hard to give this recipe, but that she'd be happy to try to give you another, explaining, "The problem is that everyones ovens are different and there are so many variables that can't be controlled (moisture,quality of ingredients, etc.) through a recipe, I doubt it would give people the same product that I stand behind. You can also let people know that if they e-mail me through my website I would be happy to answer any questions they have about the cookies." But you should email her with your questions at: http://www.luckycookyco.com/contact.html. She would be happy to ship the cookies for you to try as well!

    Meredith-COLLAPSE

  • My question is: is the inside of the cookie actually baked? A lot of times I've tasted cookies that were very soft but the reason is that the inside was still a bit raw. The cookies didn't seem browned at all, so I'm just curious what the inside is like.

  • I'd love to try these cookies, blonde though they may be.

    I remember ALton Brown doing a show on choc. chip cookies and what ingredients to change to make three different types: thin and crisp, fluffy and cakey, and crisp and cakey.

    Pretty interesting.

    Will she give us the recipe?

    Thanks, and Happy Thanksgiving to all!

  • this is a prime example of why I love this site! people throwing tantrums and denying cookies/birthday cake because of difference of opinions on baking techniques! I love it...continue arguing :D

  • Adding eggs slowly is a good idea when making a cake to avoid breaking the emulsion. I don't know that it would make a difference with cookies. I would have to try it both ways. Yum.

  • Using the word "perfect" to describe anything is asking for criticism. These do look yummy if I'm in the mood for some cookie with my chocolate (which is often).

    I'm always grateful for the professional tips, but when they don't give the reason for the technique (e.g., WHY should I put the eggs in one at a time) I have to wonder if they're just sharing their habits rather than real information....+READ

    Using the word "perfect" to describe anything is asking for criticism. These do look yummy if I'm in the mood for some cookie with my chocolate (which is often).

    I'm always grateful for the professional tips, but when they don't give the reason for the technique (e.g., WHY should I put the eggs in one at a time) I have to wonder if they're just sharing their habits rather than real information. I don't doubt that most of the time there is a good reason behind the tip, but more than once I've seen different chefs recommend exactly opposite techniques.-COLLAPSE

  • I would love the recipe please...I am always willing to try a different version of my favorite thing to do. But I will still add a darker chocolate.....after I try hers with the milk.

  • What I find interesting is that she uses the whisk attachment when creaming the butter and sugar. All recipes that I've ever seen call for the paddle attachment.

  • I've asked Tia if she wouldn't mind sharing the recipe for us--stay posted and we'll try to get it up for people to test for themselves! The mixer and convection oven do make it a bit harder for most home chefs to make themselves, however...

    Meredith of CHOW

  • People here certainly get offended really easily. Most of us are just voicing our opinion on the cookie. The "perfect" chocolate chip cookie is subjective as some people may like it cakier, or cripsier, or softer. We all pointed out that it is different than what we are used to seeing but all have expressed our interest in trying the cookie. I know I certainly will make these if there's a written...+READ

    People here certainly get offended really easily. Most of us are just voicing our opinion on the cookie. The "perfect" chocolate chip cookie is subjective as some people may like it cakier, or cripsier, or softer. We all pointed out that it is different than what we are used to seeing but all have expressed our interest in trying the cookie. I know I certainly will make these if there's a written recipe somewhere.-COLLAPSE

  • now, now, kids... EVERYONE gets cookies!!!
    Personally I like crunchy cookies better than soft ones, but I have to say: these are cookielicious...

  • It is okay, I'll make my own.

  • I also now hereby declare not only does S. Andrew Miller not get any cookies, no birthday cake, either,

  • Those were neither amazing, nor secrets.

  • You are a bunch of ingrates.

    This professional baker shared some amazing secrets with you (let your butter come to room temp overnight, add eggs one at a time, use a paddle for your drys, pulse your flour in, add choc chips by hand, use equal chips to flour, portion out with a scoop, pat cookies down before baking, find the sweet spot in your oven, turn half way through) and you guys don't even...+READ

    You are a bunch of ingrates.

    This professional baker shared some amazing secrets with you (let your butter come to room temp overnight, add eggs one at a time, use a paddle for your drys, pulse your flour in, add choc chips by hand, use equal chips to flour, portion out with a scoop, pat cookies down before baking, find the sweet spot in your oven, turn half way through) and you guys don't even try them before you go flaming.

    I hereby declare that none of you get cookies. Ever again.-COLLAPSE

  • I don't think judy was bashing anything. The cookies do seem to be blond but that would probably mean there is less brown sugar and thus a different texture which is something that I would like to try. I really wish there was a recipe written out something: these look promising.

  • Hey, hey! I said "nice technique tips" as a compliment! I took note of how she expertly handled the dough, and will try to emulate it on my own future batch of cookies. These cookies look good, but are just a little too blonde for my taste.

    (Now, a bashing comment would have been mentioning that I flinched when after scooping the dough with the dipper she pressed and flattened the cookies...+READ

    Hey, hey! I said "nice technique tips" as a compliment! I took note of how she expertly handled the dough, and will try to emulate it on my own future batch of cookies. These cookies look good, but are just a little too blonde for my taste.

    (Now, a bashing comment would have been mentioning that I flinched when after scooping the dough with the dipper she pressed and flattened the cookies after taking such care to keep the dough light and fluffy...and that I rolled my eyes at the last one minute bake on convection heat. Well the last is mostly envy that I don't have a convection oven, of course.)-COLLAPSE

  • Don't be so quick to judge what you haven't experienced. I, too, was skeptical. Then, I tasted one of the cookies.

  • Geez you are a little harsh Judyluvs. At least try the recipe before you bash it.

  • I did get some ideas-like not mixing the flour in too much and using the paddle attachment. I would use a darker chocolate IMHO, it tastes richer. I still don't understand the difference that is made by turning the sheet halfway thru baking. My oven browns my cookies evenly w/o doing that and I don't have a convection oven. Mixing way to many chips in....I will try it by hand next time though....+READ

    I did get some ideas-like not mixing the flour in too much and using the paddle attachment. I would use a darker chocolate IMHO, it tastes richer. I still don't understand the difference that is made by turning the sheet halfway thru baking. My oven browns my cookies evenly w/o doing that and I don't have a convection oven. Mixing way to many chips in....I will try it by hand next time though. The best chocolate chip cookies are always somebody ELSE'S cookies because everyone uses different techniques/ingredients and it is fun to taste something new and different.-COLLAPSE

  • Wow, way too much chocolate in each cookie, and way too blonde.

    I guess I would have to taste one, but it looks pretty far from perfect.

  • nice technique tips, but the cookies seem very blonde.