Some foods are just American. Apple pie, chocolate chip cookies, … Ah, well, about that pie. There is tart tartine from France which is certainly a forerunner of our treat — and to be truthful a good tartine can give a good apple pie a very strong run for the money. Or the Euro.
But we still have our American chocolate chip cookies. It was disconcerting, therefore to read in Dorie Greenspan’s Baking Chez Moi the headnote for Edouard’s Chocolate Chip Cookie. In France, if you say “cookie” then chocolate chips are involved. And in praising this cookie, Dorie really seemed over the top. You begin to think she favors this Parisian version of our perfect standard, the Nestle standard.
How silly could that be? It just shows the dangers of spending too much time in France. Or, as in Dorie’s case, actually living there for months, months at a time. Your entire perspective on life — as in chocolate chip cookies — can become distorted.
Still, I did read this recipe and wonder. Could I be wrong about the American cookie being the very best? Could Dorie be right? I am only human. And already this year I have been wrong about three, no two, things.
Dorie wanted hazelnuts. I had pecans on hand. What the hell? I made them.
The verdict?
Does anyone know how to get a French passport or a long-term residency permit? I need to spend time in France. One cookie at a time.
These are quite unlike any chocolate chip cookie you have ever had. There is an enormous amount of flour used here, almost double the amount called for in the Nestle recipe. And more sugar. And an additional 1 ½ cups of hazelnut/pecans ground up into flour as well. This dough may seem a little dry and it certainly is not wet.
The cookie itself? Distinctively different in texture and taste. The nuts provide some internal structure, crunchiness, and of course a patina of nut flavor. This is a great cookie. An extension — no an improvement — on the American original.
Who would have imagined? Get some nuts, get your blender out, and be prepared to be surprised ala France.
Ah, yes, Dorie uses both baking soda and baking powder. So, she has you flatten the cookies halfway through the baking process. I never saw a chocolate chip recipe with step before. But then, I’ve never done French before either. Yeah, halfway through, those cookies are little mountain monsters. As you can see from the picture, they settle down just perfectly.
Edouard’s Chocolate Chip Cookies
Yield: about 50 cookies, assuming you do not eat batter
Ingredients:
- 3 ½ cups (476 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 ¼ teaspoons fine sea salt
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 2 sticks (8 ounces; 226 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup (200 grams) sugar
- 1 cup (200 grams) packed light brown sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 12 ounces (340 grams) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (or 2 cups chocolate chips
- 1 ½ cups (150 grams) hazelnut or almond flour [I loved my pecans!]
Preparation:
Whisk the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder together in a medium bowl.
Working in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the butter on medium speed for about 1 minute, until smooth. Add both sugars and beat for another 2 minutes or so, until well blended. Beat in the vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, beating fora minute after each egg goes in. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients in 4 or 5 additions, mixing only until each addition is just incorporated. (Because you’re going to add more ingredients after the flour, it’s good not to be too thorough.) Still on low speed, mix in the chocolate and nut flour.
Divide the dough in half, wrap each piece in plastic film and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. (The dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. Or, if it’s more convenient for you, you can scoop the dough now and freeze it in balls. You won’t need to defrost the cookies, but you will need to bake them a little longer.)
When you’re ready to bake, center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350° F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or: silicone baking mats.
Edouard says to scoop the dough into mounds the size of golf balls. A medium cookie scoop with a capacity of 1 ½ tablespoons is just right here, but you can also spoon the dough out using a rounded tablespoon of dough for: each cookie. Place the dough on the lined sheets, about 2 inches apart.
Bake the cookies one sheet at a time for 8 minutes and then, using a metal spatula, gently press each mound down just a little; rotate the baking sheet. Bake for another 7 minutes or so, until the cookies are pale brown. They’ll still be slightly soft in the center, but that’s fine—they’ll firm up as they cool. Pull Ad sheet from the oven and allow the cookies to rest for 1 minute, then, using a wide metal spatula, carefully transfer them to racks to cool to room temperature. Repeat with the remainder of the dough, always using a cool baking sheet