The Cafeteria Chocolate Chip Cookie
As I’ve said before, it’s hard to create a unique and original recipe, particularly something as tried-and-true as a chocolate chip cookie. But I feel like I’ve done it. I wanted something like the ones from my high school cafeteria: A soft, fudgy texture, a lot of chocolate and as much vanilla as I could get away with.
If you bought buttermilk powder for the Buttermilk Donut Cookie, here’s another place to use it. It gives this chocolate chip cookie a savoury, lactic tang and a creaminess at its middle. It also has a splash of corn syrup (not the controversial kind) and uses only brown sugar. It’s dense, moist and thick.
I couldn’t decide between the Classic and the Double Chocolate, so read the notes below for an easy variation.
The Cafeteria Chocolate Chip Cookie
Makes 14
Prep time: 10 minutes | Total active time: 30 minutes
280 grams (2¼ cups) all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
170 grams (1½ sticks) salted butter, room temperature
200 grams (1 cup) light brown sugar
80 grams (½ cup) buttermilk powder
2 egg yolks
70 grams (3 tablespoons) golden or dark corn syrup
1½ tablespoons vanilla extract
400 grams (2¼ cups) mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two sheet pans with parchment. In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients and set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar and buttermilk powder until lightened and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the egg yolks and beat for another minute. Add the corn syrup and vanilla and beat for one more minute. Scrape down the bowl throughout this process.
Add the dry ingredients and mix for a minute, then add the chocolate chips. Revel in this moment, as 400 grams of tiny, beautiful chips cascade into the bowl. Mix until no streaks of flour remain. Turn the dough in the bowl with a rubber spatula to ensure it’s well-mixed.
Using a 4 tablespoon (#16) cookie scoop, portion 14 dough balls, arranging 7 on each pan, three inches all around, and bake - one tray at a time - for 9-10 minutes, rotating halfway, until just-set and lightly golden at the edges, but paler than you might think they should be.
Firmly smack the pan on the edge of the counter and, using a 4-inch biscuit cutter, corral the cookies into a perfectly round shape, gently forcing the edge of the cookies toward the centre. They will be thick with molten centres. Gently pat the tops with a measuring cup or the side of the biscuit cutter, making them even flatter. Allow to cool completely on the sheet pan. All cookies are great hot, but these are better when they set-up.
Cookies will keep for several days in a sealed container, but even if you found one in your car’s centre console 10 days later, it would still be good. Use best judgment.
Notes:
The Double Chocolate variation has been even more popular among friends and tasters, but I wanted to keep the published version traditional. To make it Double Chocolate, reduce the flour by 32 grams (¼ cup) and replace with ¼ cup of black cocoa. The rest remains the same.
These cookies work really well with a 1-to-1 gluten free flour blend.
I really stand by mini chocolate chips here. 400 grams is a lot, but I like the dispersement of the little ones.
You can easily use a hand mixer instead of a stand mixer.
Please don’t be afraid of corn syrup. It’s not the controversial high-fructose variety. Invert sugars offer lots of chemical benefits you can’t get from, say, granulated white sugar. You’ll notice this recipe is just brown + corn syrup. Chewy. Soft. Dense.
If you stock unsalted butter, increase kosher salt by another ¼ teaspoon to achieve optimal salt/sweet ratio. (This goes for all my recipes; just get into salted butter, it’s better everywhere.)
This is not the time to yield extra cookies by scooping smaller. Keep them big. They should be like delicious hockey pucks.
I recently posted a Reel of some favourite baking tools. One is a set of measuring spoons that includes some less-common ones, like a half tablespoon or ¾ teaspoon. For avid bakers, these are great. This recipe calls for 1½ teaspoons of baking soda, and guess what: that’s half a tablespoon! Here’s the set I bought.
King Arthur Flour offers a great Buttermilk Powder if you’re having trouble finding it.
If you wanna get wild, make both batches and fill your cookie scoop with half of each.
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