Martha Stewart's Chocolate Chip Cookies

I should call these "Cassie's Martha Stewart's Chocolate Chip Cookies." Martha may have written the recipe. But 'twas I who slaved over the hot oven to reproduce said recipe. Therefore I'm claiming these wonderful cookies! However, Martha and I must both give credit to the insightful article written in the New York Times last July that gave away the secret to making perfect chocolate chip cookies. The article states that by refrigerating the dough for 12 to 36 hours you are "allowing the dough and other ingredients to fully soak up the liquid — in this case, the eggs — in order to get a drier and firmer dough, which bakes to a better consistency." I've always been intrigued by the idea that cookie dough could be like a fine wine, getting better with age. I decided to test it out with a recipe from Martha Stewart's Cookies (my new go-to for cookie recipes). I used her recipe for Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies. I made only half of the recipe, because we still had cupcakes leftover from wing night. I scooped out two cookies from the dough to be baked immediately. I put the rest in an airtight container and tucked it in the back of the fridge (away from hungry eyes).

The first two test cookies were good. How could a homemade chocolate chip cookie NOT be good? They had a slight crispness around the outer edge, but for the most part were very soft. I had no complaints. Almost 48 hours later (yeah I know the article said 36 hours, but I was busy Thursday night), I baked the rest of the cookies. First, I tasted the dough and I could definitely tell a difference. It's hard to describe but it seemed to be a more round flavor. I scooped the dough straight from the fridge, placed them on baking sheets and baked them for 14-16 minutes (about 2 minutes longer than the room temperature dough). The 2 day old cookie dough baked up a little taller and had a slightly softer, cakier (but still chewy) center. The crisp edges extended a bit farther inward. My results were similar to those described in the NYT article..."First there’s the crunchy outside inch or so [1/4 inch on my smaller cookies]... A nibble revealed a crackle to the bite and a distinct flavor of butter and caramel... Then there’s the center, which is soft." I can confidently say I will never make another chocolate chip cookie without refrigerating the dough first!
Read the entire article here OR Conduct your own experiment!


Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
from Martha Stewart’s Cookies
MAKES ABOUT 3 DOZEN (I halved it and got 15 3-1/2” to 4” cookies)

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted but­ter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon coarse salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (Mine were a little yellow because I used vanilla butter nut flavoring)
2 large eggs
2 cups semisweet or milk chocolate chips, or a combi­nation (about 12 ounces)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Whisk together flour and baking soda in a bowl. Put butter and sugars in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Add salt, vanilla, and eggs; mix until well blended, about 1 minute. Mix in flour mix­ture. Stir in chocolate chips.
2. Drop heaping tablespoons (I used a #30 disher) of dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake cookies, ro­tating sheets halfway through until edges turn golden but centers are still soft, 10 to 12 minutes (14-16 for refrigerated cookies). Let cool on sheets on wire racks for 2 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks; let cool completely. Cookies can be stored between layers ­of parchment in airtight containers at room temperature up to 1 week.­