Monica: What about friends of your grandmother's? Wouldn't they have the recipe?
Phoebe: Well, you know I may have relatives in France who would know. My grandmother said she got the recipe from her grandmother, [trying to pronounce her name in French]
Phoebe: Nestlé Toulouse.
Monica: What was her name?
Phoebe: [again trying to pronounce it in French] Nestlé Toulehouse.
Monica: Nestle Toll House?
Phoebe: Oh, you Americans always butcher the French language.
Muahahahaha, that was a great episode. I remember how frantic Monica was for these cookies, and I can now relate...because I have found the most perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe thanks to Alton Brown. Not Nestlé Toulouse. I finally got to use my Good Eats bible that my wonderful husband got me for Christmas. If you get to watch the episode Chips for Sister Marsha, there are 3 different varieties he makes: the thin, the puffy and the chewy. I'm totally bias on this and love a gooey, chewy, chocolate-filled cookie. AB explains that the chewiness calls for melting the butter, holding back on the egg whites and using more, if not all, brown sugar. It really does make for the ultimate cookie. Enjoy with a nice tall glass of milk.
The Chewy
Adapted from Good Eats the Early Years: Volume 1
Ingredients:
2 sticks unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
Preparation:
1. Melt the butter in a heavy-bottom medium saucepan over low heat. (Let this cool down)
2. Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda and set aside. (I use a scale to measure my ingredients, too. Accuracy is key to baking!)
3. Pour the melted butter in the mixer's work bowl. Add the sugar and brown sugar. Cream the butter and sugars on medium speed. (It should look like creamy peanut butter)
4. Add the egg, yolk, 2 tablespoons milk and vanilla extract and mix until well combined.
5. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture until thoroughly combined. (AB does this on parchment paper, and adds it in slowly. I just used a bowl)Stir in the chocolate chips.
6. Chill the dough for 1 hour. (In the actual episode, he chills the dough for 36 hours or so)
7. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
8. Take the cookie dough out of the fridge and scoop onto parchment-lined baking sheets (I used my silpat mats) 6 cookies per sheet. (YUP...I said 6, like GIGANTIC style!)
9. Bake for 14 minutes or until golden brown, checking the cookies after 5 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet for even browning. Cool completely and store in an airtight container. (It's important to rotate the cookies to help evenly cook them - especially for those without convection ovens).
Review: OMG...so effing fantastic. This is FOREVER known as my go-to recipe for making chocolate chip cookies, and I kinda LOVE that they are big. It's perfect for dunking, and the buttery and gooey-ness of the chocolate chips is unbelievable. Thanks Alton Brown for perfecting the science on the chocolate chip cookie! YUMMY!
