The Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie and Baking As Therapy

I’ve always found baking and cooking to be therapeutic. It doesn’t matter what’s going on in my life, if I head to the kitchen and chop up some onions and sizzle them in olive oil or mix butter together with sugar, I know that things will always be okay. Like so many, I have found myself spending even more time in my (tiny Brooklyn) kitchen cooking and baking meals that incorporate ingredients that I have on hand and can easily make a healthy meal with—thank goodness for dried beans, red curry paste, organic frozen spinach and coconut milk. There is so much ambiguity in the world right now. We are cut off from seeing others we know, many of us have stopped working and our daily activities have been completely curtailed. I find myself unable to concentrate, I feel scattered and at the same time anxious, vulnerable and slightly afraid. I live in New York, which is the epicenter of the current crisis so staying at home is even more essential. I’ve taken to early morning walks, when the sidewalks are completely empty, to help quench my yearning for fresh air and to chocolate chip cookies because when it comes to baking, only chocolate will do.

If you Google, ‘the best chocolate chip cookie recipe’ you’ll get an astounding 136 million results. And if you are anything like me, you’ve been looking for ‘that’ recipe for quite some time. Do you prefer crispy, chewy, caky, doughy, flat, puffy, etc are all things to consider when finding the ‘one’ that will become your go-to recipe. I’ve baked a ton of different recipes, my favorite until recently was Bon Appétit’s Best Chocolate Chip Cookies, until I tried Sarah Kieffer’s Pan Banging Chocolate Chip Cookies. Upon first bite, I had to ask myself what took so long? Gooey on the inside and crispy on the edges, wow, amazing. I made the recipe a total of three times—stress baking—and decided to cut the amount of sugar and butter, I found them getting a bit greasy. Here is a slightly edited recipe that is as visual pleasing—thanks to the pools of chocolate that sit in the middle and while fun, I didn’t bang these out—and also chewy with the right amount of cakiness.

The Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature but with a slight chill*

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1 egg

2 tablespoons water

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

7 ounces good quality dark chocolate, cut into shards, with some bigger pieces, divided

Flaky sea salt for garnish, if desired

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a bakings sheet with parchment or a baking mat, set aside. Combine butter and sugars in a bowl fitted for a mixer. Beat until fluffy, about 3 to 4 minutes, then add egg and water. Beat until combined. Add flour, baking powder and salt and mix until thoroughly combined. Fold in 6 ounces of chopped chocolate. Using a cookie scoop, place a mound of dough on tray—these cookies will spread, so don’t crowd the pan. Add a few pieces of remaining chocolate on top to create the chocolate pool effect. Chill in the freezer for at least 15 minutes. Bake for 10 minutes, rotating pan halfway through. Cookies are done when slightly browned around the edges. Once they come out of the over, sprinkle with flaky sea salt, enjoy!

*I’ve found that it’s best to have soft butter that hasn’t been softening all day, meaning it’s been out of the refrigerator for maybe an hour and is just soft enough to beat with the mixer.

This recipe was adapted by The Vanilla Bean Blog’s Pan Banging Chocolate Chip Cookies

Photography by Alison Engstrom