Everyone has a favourite chocolate chip cookie recipe, right? After extensive research on the matter (and by research, I mean eating), my top pick is The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie from Cook's Illustrated. Nipping at its crumbs, in close second, is the infamous Jacques Torres incarnation.
All's fair in love & cookies. And since I've made the Cook's Illustrated and Jacques Torres recipes more than once (I won't give out actual number), I thought I should also revisit the 3rd runner up, Alton Brown's The Chewy...with tango of salty pretzels + sweet butterscotch chips.
If you love chunky, clunky, chewy cookies, I think you will fall in love with this recipe. It has the nutty, warmth of brown butter from Cook's Illustrated and the soft texture required from a great c.c. cookie. Plus, thanks to chopped pretzels, they also have a pleasant crunch nestled in-between each chewy bite.
I'm wistful for the next big chocolate chip cookie trend!
Recipe adapted from Alton Brown's The Chewy
Beautiful cookies! That combination is just so droolworthy.
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Rosa
These cookies look seriously amazing! Can't wait to try them out. (I've given up chocolate for January, so I guess I'll have to wait after all.)
ReplyDeletepretzels sound great in the cookies, thye look quite good really soft and moist
ReplyDeleteComme une petite ressemblance cookies, ils sont @ croquer
ReplyDeletePasse un bon lundi
Valérie.
well that just sounds about perfect. i want one of these RIGHT NOW!
ReplyDeleteits so hard to find THE ONE ccc recipe! I have to agree though, cooks illustrated is the best ive had so far.
ReplyDeletethese cookies look SO GOOD. i love chunky cookies, the more mix-ins the better
It's amazing what you can add to good chocolate chip cookie dough. Since I have made both other ccc you mentioned, I too need to be fair and make these.
ReplyDeleteMimi
What a lovely site you have here! Thx for the friend invite on FoodBuzz. Beautiful blog...these pretzel butterscotch cookies look dangerously addicting! :)
ReplyDeleteThese look so fantastic! Thanks for sharing ,
ReplyDeleteYou are a genius. I haven't baked in a while, but I'm going to break out the mixing bowls for this one! Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI didn't have bread flour so I used all-purpose instead and also added an extra egg yolk for extra chew! We'll see how they turn out, they sure smell amazing...
ReplyDeleteHi Anon!
ReplyDeleteI don't think the lack of bread flour will make much of a difference. (Great idea to add the extra yolk!)
I hope you will love these cookies as much as I did! Thanks for visiting. :D
Heaven...I'm in heaven with these cookies! They look perfect!
ReplyDeleteTHese are fabulous cookies. I have work with this method for awhile. But this total combination is just incredible. They are truely the best if they sit overnight. I made two batches, and first on sat overnight. The flavor is so much more intense. This is in my cookie rotation. thank you
ReplyDeleteHi Shalya!
ReplyDeleteI'm so happy to hear that you like the cookies! (Chilling cookie dough overnight can be difficult, but it is the key to great cookies.) :D
Thanks for visiting!
Made these yesterday, but had to add more pretzels. We used about 1 cup of broken pretzel bits. I also used 2 Tbsp. more of the chocolate chips. Used 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour and 1-1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour. Turned out perfect and the gobbled them up. I made smaller cookies, and ended up getting 3-1/2 dozen smaller cookies out of them. Two perfect bites per cookie.
ReplyDeleteRachael, that sounds perfect! (Great idea to toss in some whole wheat flour!)
ReplyDeleteMaybe if I had made mine smaller, I wouldn't have felt as guilty about eating so many! :D
These look (and sound) amazing - after extensive research I have to agree that nothing beats an awesome chocolate chip cookie, but I can see why these would be close runner up!
ReplyDeleteI thought these were amazing. I've made Alton Brown's cookies before and your recipe make the Chewy a whole new cookie. Thanks so much!
ReplyDelete@bakingtherapist, That's quite a compliment, Thank you! :D
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you enjoyed the recipe!
The NYT recipe, Jacques Torres, Cooks Illustrated...so many "favorites" out there. I do love the C.I. recipe the most of all but have never tried the chewy. Did however just recently make Compost Cookies (blogged them) based on the Momofuku milk bar cookbook. Good, but tons of work and steps...Alton basically ends up at the same place, less steps, less fuss it seems!
ReplyDeleteWhat is the purpose of browning the butter? Is this step necessary?
ReplyDelete@Anon, Brown butter gives the cookies a wonderful rich, almost nutty flavour. If you prefer though, you can simply melt the butter and skip the browning process. :)
ReplyDeleteSo what is the purpose of chilling 8 hours? Yes I am THAT inpatient :-) I was wanting to make the dough this afternoon and bake them like 4 hours later....is that not enough time?!
ReplyDelete@Jody The longer you chill the dough, the less the cookies will spread (and their texture will be much better). That said, I know waiting is hard...a half hour should be enough. :D
ReplyDeleteI chilled my dough overnight in the fridge. The dough is now rock hard and feels dry. Have it sitting out to try and soften it up enough to form cookies. Hoping they aren't a lost cause, because last night the dough looked seriously delish
ReplyDelete@Anon, Just let it sit (covered) at room temperature for as long as it takes...once the dough softens enough to be scoop-able, the cookies should be okay. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks! Yup, let them sit out for a while and they turned out great. So yummy!
DeleteThese were incredible! I had many compliments from coworkers. "Sinfully incredible" was my favorite reaction. I too had a hard time with the dough bring difficult to work with after the overnight chill. I used an ice cream scoop to loosen the tock hard dough, then formed the balls. BUT I made this again yesterday and thought ahead. I formed the fresh dough into TBS sized balls BEFORE chilling so it will be easier to get them out and onto the cookie sheet today. Love these cookies!
ReplyDelete@Anon, "Sinfully incredible" is music to my ears!:D I'm so glad to hear that these cookies were enjoyed by everyone.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea to scoop before the chill!
making these right now.... with the substitution of caramel pieces instead of butterscotch... sounds good, can't wait!!!
ReplyDelete@Terri, Love the idea of using caramel!! Please, send some over when they're ready! :D
ReplyDeleteI don't have a stand mixer, or hand mixer, I hope that I can mix manually? Other than that I will follow the recipe to the T. Do you see a great difference between a machine mixer and the old fashion way?
ReplyDelete@Anon, I can't remember how dense the cookie dough was for this particular recipe, but I think a hand-held mixer will work. If it looks like it's starting to strain after you start adding the dry ingredients, switch over to a large rubber spatula and mix things in by hand...just make sure the white streaks have disappeared into the dough. (It'll be a great arm workout, I'm sure!) :D
ReplyDeleteI just started using a stand mixer about 3 years ago. I love it. But it's more of a convenience issue than a quality issue. (I can walk about my house as it's working.) The results were just as delicious when I used a hand-held. ;)
Amazing cookie! I replaced the buttetscotch with toffee and they are incredible! Sweet and salty; chewy and a little crunch... Love it! Definitely a keeper... Thank you!
ReplyDelete@Anon: I love toffee, your cookies must have been spectacular! :D Thanks for letting me know!
ReplyDeleteLooks delicious! I made brownies with pretzels and toffee a couple days ago and loved the additional crunch and salt! yumm!
ReplyDeleteHow did I miss these incredible cookies? Love!!
ReplyDeleteI just tried these amazing cookies. I followed the recipe exactly and they turned out perfectly!! Eleven minutes was perfect in my oven. If all your recipes are this good, I'm really in trouble!!
ReplyDeleteLinda B.
@Linda B: Thanks for letting me know! (I hope you enjoy a few other recipes just as much.) ;)
ReplyDeleteI brought these to a BBQ yesterday, and another guest described them as sinful! (I agree!) Thanks for making me look like a rockstar! :)
ReplyDelete@Victoria: That is awesome! Happy to help. :D
ReplyDeleteAlton Brown's "The Chewy" has been my go to chocolate chip cookie recipe for the past eight years. It's the best I have ever come across in all my years of making cookies. The addition of butterscotch chips and pretzels sounds absolutely divine and will be my next endeavor in the kitchen.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely need to add another 1/2 cup of chocolate chips and pretzel pieces to achieve a nice mounded cookie. Mine spread out a bit too much for my liking. Overall, a delicious cookie.
ReplyDelete