- [Narrator] Thank you to Shef
for partnering with me on this episode.
Shef, spelled S-H-E-F, is an online marketplace
that enables anyone anywhere to start a small food business.
Think of it like Etsy,
but for homemade food delivered to your door.
I'll share more about Shef
and how you can try one of these cookies for yourself later.
But for now, let's get down to basics.
(upbeat music)
Okay, so the first thing I want to do
in pursuit of the ultimate cookie
is explore some cookie concepts.
What do different leaveners do,
different sugars, different times, different temperatures?
As a control,
here's the prototypical chocolate chip cookie recipe.
9.5 ounces of light brown sugar
and 4.5 ounces of white sugar
are combined with eight ounces, 225 grams,
or two sticks of unsalted butter at room temperature
or softened for easy mixing.
Then with a hand mixer or in a stand mixer,
these are creamed together
for one to three minutes on medium-high speed
until the mixture sticks to the side of the bowl
and becomes lighter and fluffier.
The machine is then stopped,
the bowl ideally scraped,
and two eggs along with a teaspoon of vanilla extract
are added to the mix.
These are beaten together for 30 seconds to one minute,
or until light and creamy,
then the bowl is scraped once more.
Before, in an entirely different bowl,
the dry ingredients get pre-combined.
11.5 ounces of all-purpose flour,
half teaspoon each baking soda and baking powder,
and one tablespoon of kosher salt.
Tiny whisk together until homogenous,
maybe in a slightly bigger bowl than that one.
Thoroughly mixing the dry stuff
ensures that the leaveners and the salt
are evenly distributed throughout the cookies.
The dries then, as so often happens, are added to the wets,
mixed together on medium-low speed until just combined,
taking care not to over-mix,
which can cause gluten development
or beat too much air into the dough,
which can negatively affect the final texture.
Now here's where things get really exciting
because we're gonna add 12 ounces of plain chocolate chips,
combining once again on medium-low speed
until the chips are just evenly distributed
throughout the dough.
Give the bowl one last scrape
to make sure that everything's been evenly mixed,
and there you have it, the cookie dough of my childhood.
Pretty as you please, back of the bag style goodness.
Now, this dough is not only gonna act as my control
for leaveners and sugars,
it's going to give us the opportunity
to explore time and temperature.
As you can see, I'm doling things out
in set two-ounce scoops
and writing things in the parchment paper
in a very adult scientific manner.
First up, we're gonna bake these guys
straight from the bowl,
but each tray will be baked at different temperatures.
All cookies will be removed from the oven,
and after a one-minute rest,
immediately evacuated onto a cooling rack.
Same goes for the multiple batches
using different sugars and leaveners,
but these will be baked from room temperature
at 350 degrees Fahrenheit,
each for the exact same amount of time.
So let's start with the control cookie recipe
being baked at various temperatures.
400 degrees Fahrenheit for 12 minutes,
350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes,
and 300 degrees Fahrenheit for an astounding 35 minutes.
The slow and low 300-degrees Fahrenheit cookie
was drier, tougher, and oilier than the other batches.
This could work better with a higher fat content,
but for our recipe, it's not the greatest.
The 350-degree Fahrenheit cookie was soft
and much more yielding.
A little cakey, a little chewy.
Exactly what I remember served
next to a tall glass of milk at my first sleepover.
So while certainly nice,
not gonna win any cookie competitions.
The hotter, faster
400-degree Fahrenheit for 12 minute cookie was my favorite.
The sort of medium rare of cookies.
The still-moist center turning fudgy and truffle-like
once completely cooled.
So while that might be my favorite,
350 feels like a better standard for the rest of the tests.
Next up, one of the most oft-advised,
scooping then chilling your cookie dough
for at least two hours before baking.
As you can see, this primarily affects spread and height,
both of which significantly contribute to texture.
The cookie baked from room temperature being thinner
has a more uniform texture
while the one baked straight from the fridge
is thick enough to accommodate a softer interior
and crispier exterior.
It's no contest.
Generally speaking, you should chill your cookie dough
before baking it, but for how long?
You wanna give it at least two hours to chill through.
But what happens when you give it two days?
These are from the exact same batch
baked at the exact same temperature for the exact same time,
but the dough that was fridged for two days before baking
has a deeper, richer color.
Not to mention a chewier,
more toffee-like flavor and texture.
So if you have any opportunity
to make your cookie dough in advance,
this is an instant upgrade,
or rather the opposite of an instant upgrade,
a very slow upgrade.
I often fridge my cookie dough for up to a week
before baking it,
but I'm not sure if I'm legally allowed
to advise you to do that.
So we've talked time and temperature.
Now, how about ingredients?
Cookies usually call
for a mixture of brown and granulated sugar.
That's because each brings
their own personality to the party.
A cookie baked with just granulated sugar
comes out not only pale, but very crispy.
Not to mention severely lacking in the flavor department
from the loss of molasses.
A cookie made with only brown sugar, as you can see,
turns out a bit darker and certainly more flavorful,
but it ends up kind of dry and tough,
presumably because it browns more quickly.
Lots of recipes call for a 50/50 mix,
but I like to do a ratio closer to three parts brown
to two parts white.
I think the little bit of extra molasses
gives the cookie more character.
Now, I don't know about you guys,
but I have no idea what baking powder or baking soda do,
and after making these different test batches,
I think I know even less.
Somehow the cookie baked with no baking powder
or baking soda almost turned out the tallest.
I have no earthly idea why,
but I do know that it had
maybe the worst texture of the day: short and cake-like.
The 50/50 mix was business as usual.
The cookie baked with only baking soda
turned out darker and crispier.
That's because baking soda lowers the temperature
at which the Maillard reaction occurs.
So definitely most resembling a thin, crispy affair.
Lastly, the baking powder achieved good height,
and that's pretty much what it's there for,
to help give the cookies lift.
That being said,
it was certainly on the softer side of things,
so I'm thinking 50/50 is the way to go.
So we've seen some of the different aspects
of the cookie baking process in action.
Now, how do we improve upon them
and make my ultimate cookie?
First up, brown butter,
and you might notice that I'm starting with 25%,
or half a stick, more than usual.
That's because a good deal of water weight
is lost in the browning process.
As we cook the butter over medium heat
for four to six minutes, swirling almost constantly
so that the butter doesn't burn or explode
until the foaming subsides,
the butter becomes semi-clear
and the little flecks of dairy solids
turn a lovely, toasty golden brown,
at which point you wanna remove it.
Not only from from the heat, but from the pan entirely.
There's only about 30 seconds difference
between brown and burned,
and that can happen with residual heat from the pan.
Don't be afraid to add a small ice cube
to stop things in their tracks.
Allow the butter to cool completely
at room temperature until soft, but solidified.
Then it's business as usual.
We're creaming that butter together
with our brown and white sugar mixture until fluffy,
but not too fluffy.
Then we're scraping the bowl, adding our two eggs.
And in place of the one teaspoon of vanilla extract,
adding about a teaspoon and a half of vanilla paste,
which brings a subtler,
but much more delicious vanilla flavor
and little flecks of the stuff too.
Cream that together for 30 seconds to one minute
and then once again scrape down the bowl.
It's important to do this at every stage of the process.
Otherwise, you might end up with streaks of butter,
or eggs, or worse.
Same deal with the dry stuff as before.
Flour, baking soda, baking powder, and kosher salt.
But also, my secret cookie haymaker:
one tablespoon of very finely-ground
hazelnut-flavored coffee.
This brings a dimension to the cookies
that you have to taste to believe.
Introduce the dries to the wets
and mix them together on minimal speed.
Then you definitely want to give the bowl
one more mighty scraping
to make sure that there are no pockets of flour
hiding in the bottom.
And there you have it, my master cookie dough base,
laden with sweet, rich, and savory flavors all on its own,
but we're far from done.
In lieu of chocolate chips, I'm adding one pound of stuff.
What is stuff?
It's whatever you want it to be.
In my case,
a heady mixture of milk and dark chocolate chips,
butterscotch chips, chopped dark chocolate,
peanut butter chips, dried coconut,
mini pretzels, kettle chips, and caramel corn.
Just about as much as the dough can physically handle.
Go ahead and mix that stuff together
with a delightful crunch.
Once again, taking care not to over-mix,
this time because you don't wanna break up
all those big beautiful pieces of stuff.
Now, at this point, I like to pre-scoop my cookie dough
onto a parchment-lined baking sheet,
cover it with plastic wrap,
and keep it in the fridge,
lying in wait to be brought to life.
I'm baking these guys at 375 degrees Fahrenheit
on a cold tray for about 15 minutes.
Just enough so that they have enough structural integrity
to be gently twisted on the sheet without falling apart.
Allow to cool completely and there you have it,
my ultimate cookie.
Basically, a choose your own adventure candy bar
loosely held together by cookie dough.
And for a very limited time, you can order some right now.
With the help of Shef, for the first time ever,
you'll be able to order cookies
made by me and the Babish team.
We spent this week cranking out as much dough as we could
so we could bake over 1,500 cookies to share with you.
Head to the link in the video description
to place your order of cookies before we sell out.
All profits go to No Kid Hungry.
Thousands of local chefs and bakers
have been cooking on Shef since 2019,
and millions of dishes have been served to date.
With Shef, people are able
to start their own small business,
support their families, and make money doing what they love.
After you check out the Babish cookies on Shef,
be sure to browse for other great dishes to try.
(upbeat music)