Soft, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

People always ask me what my favorite food of all time is, very tough question for a chef and someone who generally likes everything. I’ve thought long and hard and what I have decided is that a good Chocolate Chip Cookie is probably my biggest pleasure in life. Whether crispy, gooey, thick, thin, big, small…I LOVE them all. I’ve noticed that unlike me, most people are rather opinionated about their cookies. Some like soft and some like crispy crunchy. One of my best friends Chris is one of those people who only likes cookies that are soft and chewy, never crunchy. I was invited over his apartment for dinner so I decided I would surprise him with some soft, chewy cookies! After some research I came to find that there are two things that may help your cookies retain that soft, just baked feel: Pudding Mix and Cake Flour. There is also more brown sugar in this recipe than white sugar which also helps it get that perfect chew. The pudding gives the cookies a beautiful sweet and robust vanilla flavor but also makes them very soft because when the wet ingredients are added the pudding sort of activates in the dough. The creamy/gelatinous qualities of the pudding also keeps these babies soft for good! These will be something I make of the regular, in fact I am already craving them again.

Recipe Yields 12-14 cookies

Ingredients-

• 1/2 Cup Dark Brown Sugar

• 2 Tablespoons White Granulated Sugar

• 1 Stick (1/2 Cup) of Unsalted Butter, Softened (but not melted)

• 1/3 Cup of Vanilla Instant Pudding Mix Powder (I prefer Jello Brand)

• 1 Large Egg

• 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

• 1/2 Teaspoon Fine Table Salt

• 1 1/4 Cups Cake Flour (Not Self Rising! I prefer Swan brand in the red box)

• 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda

• 1 Cup Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips

• Optional: Flake Sea Salt

Steps:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F (ideally on a convection setting). Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or using an electric hand beater, blend together the Dark Brown Sugar, White Sugar and Butter until light and creamy, about 3 minutes.

3. While thats beating stir together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl- Cake Flour, Salt and Baking Soda. Set aside.

4. Add the Pudding Mix (in powder form), 1 egg and vanilla to the butter/sugar mixture and beat until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure everything is incorporated evenly and blend again on high for another 3 minutes.

5. Gradually beat in the flour mixture to the butter mixture on low speed until everything is incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure it is evenly incorporated.

6. Mix in the chocolate chips either on low speed with your paddle attachment or you can mix by hand with a wooden spoon. Just mix until combined, do not overmix.

7. Using a cookie scoop or a spoon, drop about 1.5 Tablespoon size balls of dough onto a parchment lined cookie sheet. Make sure there is at least 1 inch in between each cookie in case they spread slightly. You want the dough to be in a fairly round, high mound before baking to ensure it gets a nice chewy consistency after baking.

8. If you’d like a salty finish you can sprinkle a few flakes of sea salt on top of each ball of dough before baking (optional).

9. Bake in the middle rack of the oven for 8-10 minutes or until the edges are golden but the cookies are still a bit gooey and soft.

10. Let them cool slightly on the pan before serving. They can be enjoyed warm or cold, they will be soft and chewy regardless!

    Enjoy!