Triple Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Okay. So, second day of spring break, I was flipping through pages of cookbooks and came across these devils. Death by chocolate if you want to call it. So chocolaty and so buttery and so sweet and so crunchy but so soft and so chewy and so good and so perfect. Best. Cookie. Ever.

My sister says they taste exactly like the caf cookies at school. And trust me, the caf cookies are the best. Only 75 cents for a good size cookie and people line up to buy like $10 worth of cookies! I know that's a lot cookies for just one person and that means working out a lot too, to get rid of all those calories. =) 

Each cookie should weigh 150 grams for a monstrous cookie, 75 grams for a big cookie, 50 grams for a medium-sized cookie, and 15 grams for a small, averaged-sized, cookie. Well, maybe average-sized, but pretty reasonable.

Never got to see the last cookie, since it was finished so quickly. But they were huge. And I mean huge, like massive. Well maybe only for me, I'm tiny. Oh well. These cookies are easy to whip up and you can freeze the dough for up to 1 month. 

from Thomas Keller's "Bouchon Bakery" cookbook

INGREDIENTS:

238 grams (1 1/2 cups + 3 tbsp) all-purpose flour

2.3 grams (1/2 tsp) baking soda

3 grams (1 tsp) kosher salt

134 grams (1/2 cup + 2 tbsp) dark brown sugar, lightly packed

12 grams (1 3/4 tsp) unsulfured blackstrap molasses

104 grams (1/2 cup + 1 tsp) granulated sugar

107 grams (2/3 cup) 3/8-inch chunks 70% to 72% chocolate

107 grams (scant 1/2 cup) chocolate chips

167 grams (5.9 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature

60 grams (3 tbsp + 2 1/2 tsp---approx. 1 and a bit) eggs*

*lightly beat the egg to break up the yolk and combine it with the white and weigh/measure

DIRECTIONS:

Position the racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F (convection or standard). Line two sheet pans with Silpats or parchment paper.

Place the flour in a medium bowl. Sift in the baking soda. Add the salt and whisk together. 

Place the dark brown sugar in a small bowl and stir in the molasses and granulated sugar, breaking up any lumps; the mixture will not be completely smooth. 

Place the chocolate chunks in a strainer and tap the side to remove and powdered chocolate, which would cloud the cookies. Mix with the chocolate chips.

Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Turn to medium-low speed and cream the butter, warming the bowl if needed, until it is the consistency of mayonnaise and holds a peak when the paddle is lifted. Add the molasses mixture and mix for 3 to 4 minutes, until fluffy. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add the eggs and mix on low speed for 10 to 30 seconds, until just combined. Scrape the bowl again. The mixture may look broken, but that is fine (overwhipping the eggs could cause the cookies to expand too much during baking and then deflate).

Add the dry ingredients in 2 additions, mixing on low speed for 15 to 30 seconds after each, or until just combined. Scrape the bottom of the bowl to incorporate any dry ingredients that have settled there. Add the chocolates and pulse on low speed about 10 times to combine. Refrigerate the dough for 30 mins.

Using the ice cream scoop, divide the dough into 6 equal portions, 150 grams each, or smaller depending on your preference. Roll each one into a ball.

The cookies are very large; bake only 3 in a pan. With a short end of the pan toward you, place one cookie in the upper left corner, one in the lower left corner, and the third one in the center, toward the right side of the pan. Bring the dough to room temp. before baking.

Bake until golden brown, 14-16 mins in a convection oven, 18-20 mins in a standard oven, reversing the positions of the pans halfway through baking. Set the pans on a cooling rack and cool for 5 to 10 mins, then transfer the cookies to the rack to cool completely.

Bon appétit!