The Only Cookie Dough You Need to Know

Getting people to find common ground on matters of taste can be a Herculean task. Here at Kitchen Stories, for example, we come from a fairly diverse cross-section of the world and, as a result, we have equally diverse opinions on things like food, art, music, and other cultural topics. That is, of course, until we pull a batch of our chewy chocolate chip cookies out of the oven and stand in the kitchen, savoring every bite and sighing in unison with delight. We’ve yet to find anyone who disapproves of these heaven-sent cookies.
But, just when we thought we’d perfected the chocolate chip cookie, we tested out a few baking tips and discovered that we could still improve upon an already awesome recipe. We consider this to be a positive thing. Baking, just like writing, is a perpetual process of revision and discovery, and you never know what you’ll uncover along the way. Here’s what we found:

Brown the Butter:

Before beating the butter together with the sugar, simply cook it in a saucepan over medium-high heat for approximately 4 – 6 minutes until it turns golden brown in color and begins to smell slightly nutty. Then, pour the butter into a medium-sized bowl, whisk in one ice cube, and place in the fridge for 15 – 20 minutes. Browning the butter will give your cookies beautiful, subtle hints of caramel and hazelnuts.

Refrigerate the Dough Overnight:

Place your dough in an airtight container and let it sit in your fridge overnight. This gives the starch in the flour more time to absorb the liquid from the eggs, which in turn hydrates the flour and results in a cookie that is perfectly chewy and moist.

Sprinkle Coarse Sea Salt on Top:

There isn’t much science behind this suggestion. It merely adds a nice contrast in flavor. A hint of high quality sea salt is the perfect companion to moist, chewy, chocolaty cookies. You’ll see.

Putting Theory into Practice

Try the aforementioned tips with our fantastic recipe for chewy chocolate chip cookies. Don't forget the milk!