Jenifer’s chocolate chip cookies
With love, my mom and I
By MOLLY THOMPSON – mmtthompson@ucdavis.edu
My mother, Jenifer, is the most passionate fan of chocolate chip cookies that I’ve ever met — maybe the most passionate to ever exist. Naturally, when I began showing interest in baking in third grade, they were my first foray into the kitchen. As long as I can remember, I’ve been baking different variations of the classic cookie and tasting them when we find them in the wild (at coffee shops, bakeries, hotel buffets, airports, cafes, etc.) to try and hone in on what makes the perfect cookie — at least the perfect cookie for my mom.
We learned that she likes her cookies crispy on the edges and soft in the middle; cakey, but not too chewy. Medium-sized cookies are best; not too big and not too small. She likes semisweet chocolate or a mix of milk and dark; not all dark or all milk. She likes the shape of regular chocolate chips, but she likes the flakey shavings that accompany chopped chocolate inclusions even more. She likes a lot of chocolate chips (especially on top), but there still needs to be a good ratio of cookie to chocolate. A little bit of flaky salt on top can take it to the next level, but too much ruins it for her.
Thus, after extensive research, I began to work on crafting Jenifer’s perfect chocolate chip cookie during my fourth year of high school. I tested different ratios of brown and white sugar (the moisture content affects the crispiness or chewyness). I tried different amounts of eggs, and how many whites or yolks I used (the protein and fat changes how cakey it becomes). I made versions with and without browned butter (the nuttiness of toasting the milk solids in the butter can deepen the flavor of the dough). I experimented with different amounts of bread flour alongside all-purpose flour (the higher amounts of gluten in bread flour can help make the cookie more toothsome). I varied the types of chocolate I used, how I prepared it and how much of it I included (regular chocolate chips or different amounts of chopped chocolate bars). I tried different temperatures and times for baking (the hotter and faster it bakes, the crispier the outside will be while the inside remains softer, but it can become uneven). After some trial and error, this is what I produced:
Ingredients:
Salted butter - 2 sticks
Brown sugar (packed tightly) - 1 cup
Vanilla extract - 1 Tablespoon
Molasses - 1 Tablespoon
Granulated sugar - ½ cup
1 egg + 1 egg yolk
All purpose flour - 1½ cups
Bread flour - 3/4 cup
Salt - 2 teaspoons
Baking soda - 1 teaspoon
Semi-sweet chocolate (chopped) - 175 grams
Flakey salt (for garnish)
Instructions:
Straight from the fridge, brown 1 stick of the butter on medium heat for about 7 minutes, stirring occasionally
Transfer to a glass measuring cup and allow to cool for at least 15 minutes
Soften the other cup of butter and beat in with a hand mixer and the brown sugar for about 4 minutes
Beat in the vanilla and molasses
Add the browned butter and granulated sugar a beat for 2 more minutes
Add the eggs and beat for another minute
With a spatula, mix in the flour, salt, and baking soda
Chop the chocolate while the dough rests
Fold in the chocolate
Chill the dough for 30 minutes
Bake the cookies on greased cookie sheets at 350° for 12-15 minutes, depending on size
Sprinkle with flakey salt immediately after removing them from the oven
Allow to cool and enjoy
My parents love these cookies so much that they made it clear how much they’d miss having the little treats after I graduated high school and moved away for college. In an attempt to keep them well stocked, I made a massive batch of cookie dough before I left and froze it in pre-portioned balls for them to pop in the oven whenever they were in need of dessert. To this day, I try to replenish the freezer cookie dough stash whenever I visit.
Baking, especially chocolate chip cookies, has been a part of my life that I’ve enjoyed since I was a little kid. It was something I could share with my mom, a way to bond with her and a skill to be proud of. I love that a simple cookie can be so much greater than the sum of its parts, and I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my mom and I do.
Written by: Molly Thompson — mmtthompson@ucdavis.edu
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