Competition Killing Tips for Incredible Cookies

First Step: Brown and re-constitute your butter1. In a high-walled saucepan, melt your butter over medium-low heat. You want a high-walled saucepan because it will prevent too much water from evaporating. You'll hear your butter start to pop and crackle. This is fine.2. Once your butter is browned, remove it from the heat. You'll best know it's browned by the smell. It should be nutty and caramelized. The color will also be brown (obviously), but I often can't quite see the butter because of the thick layer of froth that forms over it.3. Let your butter reconstitute into softened (not melted) butter. I usually just let it sit, covered, for several hours until it hardens (stirring it once in a while to evenly distribute all the browned milk solids). The butter's high fat content will keep any bacteria from growing. However, a faster version of this is to take two large bowls. In one bowl, pour ice water. In the other bowl, pour the melted butter, then place that bowl over the bowl with the ice water. Vigorously stir the butter. The very-cold ice water will quickly reconstitute the butter back into softened butter. Second Step: Make sugar cream1. Use a rubber spatula to scrape your softened (and browned) butter into a mixing bowl. Ideally, use a stand mixer like a Bosch or Kitchenaid.2. Shovel in your brown and white sugar on top of the butter.3. Cream your butter and sugar together by mixing it on high speed until the sugar is thoroughly incorporated and the butter has taken on a fair amount of air. You are NOT trying to whip your butter, and there is such thing as mixing it for too long. However, the butter should be light and able to hold its shape. Third Step: Incorporate everything but the flour and chocolate1. Add your eggs, baking soda, salt, and vanilla extract to the butter and mix it just until incorporated. Fourth Step: If applicable, chop your chocolate1. If you bought a couple bars of really good chocolate like I prefer, then place them on a cutting board and chop them up with a chef's knife. I like to aim for some big chunks of chocolate and some small ones, but this is your call. Note: chocolate bars are preferable to chocolate chips for three reasons. First, it's easier to find high-quality chocolate in bar form. The quality of your chocolate will determine the quality of your cookie, and if you haven't had incredibly good chocolate, you haven't lived. Second, the chopped chocolate bar adds variety in texture to your cookie. There will be some really good cookie bits as well as some luscious pockets of molten chocolate. Third, chopped chocolate bars are GORGEOUS in your cookie, and they put chocolate chips to shame. Fourth Step: Gradually add the flour and chocolate1. Gradually incorporate the flour into the rest of the dough. First best results, you will no longer use your machine mixer. Instead, use a wooden spatula to stir the flour in by hand. This is for the same reason you don't want to overmix your pancake batter; overmixed cookie dough results in a tougher cookie. We want this cookie to be crumbly and biscuit-like on the edges, and incredibly soft in the center.2. Once the flour is incorporated, mix in your chocolate. Note: because of your mixing method (and especially if you lost a lot of water content from your butter), your dough may be very shaggy or crumbly. You may even notice some spots where the flour isn't entirely incorporated. If this happens, don't panic. Just use your hand to compress the dough in on itself. The spare bits of flour won't be a problem (as long as there isn't a ton of it). Fifth Step: Wait for three days1. Form your dough into large balls. I usually use a cupcake scoop, though this understandably might be too large for you.2. Place your cookie dough balls on a baking sheet and cover it in plastic wrap.3. Place the baking sheet in the fridge. Leave it for three days.4. (Optional) to save some fridge space, take your baking sheet out for a couple of hours and transfer the cookie dough balls to a storage bag. Note: technically, you can skip this step and move on to step six after just a couple of hours. However, that's a mistake. Giving your cookie dough time allows the flavors to develop in a unique way. It's one of the many elements that makes these cookies so good. Sixth Step: Flatten and bake1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.2. Take your cookie dough balls out of the fridge. Your cookie dough will be hard, and because of the temperature, will not soften and melt properly while they bake. This is all according to plan!3. Give your cookie dough balls a little squishy squish! Flatten them into pucks about the size you would be happy eating. I aim for about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch thick. Your cookie dough balls will almost certainly crack along the edges. This is a good thing! As they bake, all that extra surface area will become crispy and delicious. Meanwhile, the cold interior of the cookie will bake slower, leaving it soft and gooey.4. Bake your cookies for 10-12 minutes. Ideally, use an insert thermometer to measure the internal temperature of one of your cookies. When the temperature is somewhere between 160 and 185°F (depending on how gooey you like them), your cookies are done. This is the temperature where gluten starts to coagulate. Seventh (and final) Step: Re-shape, cool, and enjoyIt's possible many of your cookies will have very cracked up edges and be very mishapen. This can be part of the charm and isn't generally a major issue. However, it might make them TOO crumbly. Otherwise, you might just not like the look of the craggly edges.1. Take a large ring mold or wide-mouthed cup. Place it over one of your cookies that is fresh out of the oven (before even taking it off the baking sheet).2. Swish the ring mold or cup in gentle circles. This will knock the cookie against the sides and, because it is still soft, will gently reshape the cookie back into a neat circle.3. After 3-5 minutes, transfer the cookies from a baking sheet to a cooling rack.4. Eat them when you feel brave enough to withstand the molten chocolate. Experts say wait at least fifteen minutes. Alternatively, you can just eat them on the way to the emergency room because you were too impatient and gave your mouth second-degree burns (just kidding. Don't do that).Recipe formatted with the Cook'n Recipe Software from DVO Enterprises.