The Secret Ingredient You Should Be Using In Your Chocolate Chip Cookies

So here’s a question for you: Who among us
doesn’t love a freshly-baked chocolate chipcookie?If you hand anyone a plate of these tempting
treats, they’re sure to go full-blown CookieMonster on you nom-nom-nom, as the kids like
to say.In fact, chocolate chip cookies are such a
favorite that it’s hard to believe they haven’tbeen around since the dawn of mankind.Curiously, these delightful snacks only date
back to the 1930s, where they were inventedat a restaurant called the Toll House and
yes, that’s precisely why they’re often referredto as Toll House cookies.So now you know.You probably also know that the original recipe
the one you’ll find printed on bags of Nestlechocolate chips is already just about perfect.Still, there are lots of ways to improve on
the classics, usually by switching up onemagic ingredient.Lucky for you, Handle the Heat blogger Tessa
Arias took it upon herself to test the mostpopular ingredient tweaks for the classic
chocolate chip cookie.She replaced butter with shortening, substituted
cake or bread flour for all-purpose flour,and added cornstarch or an extra egg yolk.The verdict?The secret ingredient that made the very best
chocolate chip cookies was the same one endorsedby celebrity chef Alton Brown: Namely… bread
flour.”Sift together two and a quarter cups of bread
flour with a teaspoon each of salt and bakingsoda.”It’s true: Bread flour makes for the thickest,
chewiest cookies on the planet, and Ariasstrongly suggests that you substitute at least
half the all-purpose flour for bread flourwhen making your chocolate chip cookies.But if you don’t use any all-purpose flour,
you might need to adjust the proportions alittle bit.Her recipe calls for using 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons
of all-purpose bread flour in place of 1 cupof all-purpose flour.Alton Brown’s famous chewy chocolate chip
cookie recipe also calls for using only breadflour, which is measured in ounces 12 of them,
to be exact; approximately 2 and 1/3 cup.He even helpfully uses a puppet to help explain
why this is:”Since bread flour can absorb much more liquid
than all-purpose flour, more moisture willstay in the cookie.”Thanks for clearing that up!Meanwhile, Brown assures us that the bread
flour will help you attain “extra chewiness”in your cookie, and everyone will be thrilled
with the results.According to Baker Bettie’s Baking 101, bread
flour has the highest amount of protein ofany of the most commonly used types of baking
flour the others being all-purpose flour,cake flour, self-rising flour, and whole wheat
flour.In the baking process, extra protein translates
to extra gluten and gluten is what createsthat highly desirable “extra chewy factor.”That’s why bread flour is a smart swap for
regular all-purpose flour.Bettie also has her own scientifically-formulated
recipe for chocolate chip cookies that arechewy, yet thin.This recipe calls for using bread flour as
the only type of flour in the whole recipe.Bettie also provided a few other tweaks for
added chewiness in a blog post about the sciencebehind chocolate chip cookies: For example,
you can use more brown sugar than white sugarin the cookie recipe.Or you can eliminate one egg white and add
two tablespoons of milk in its place.You can also choose to melt the butter instead
of creaming it.Want to know why?It’s because melting the butter releases water
which, when combined with the bread flour,creates yet more gluten.Chocolate chip cookies are a beautiful thing
in their original form but the recipe cancertainly be tweaked if you want to try improving
on perfection.The website Food52 claims:”Cornmeal adds a slight grit and texture to
the batter.Toffee echoes, and repeats back, the earthy
sweetness of brown sugar without adding toomuch extra sweetness.”Last but not least, a little sea salt helps
tie the whole thing together.Meanwhile, the craft beer website The Beeroness
posted a recipe for chocolate chip cookiesflavored with chai spices, molasses, and,
you guessed it: beer.The Daily Meal also offered up a bunch of
over-the-top cookie recipes that include allsorts of wild ingredients think trail mix,
Rice Krispies, cashews, toasted marshmallows,Nutella, and pistachios.They don’t suggest putting all these add-ins
in the same cookie recipe… but there’s noreason you can’t give it a try, you wild animal.Or better yet, why not come up with your own
over-the-top spin, whipping up chocolate chipcookies that are chock full of pecans, bacon,
and a bit of bourbon?The possibilities are truly endless.“Mom mom mom.”Check out one of our newest videos right here!Plus, even more Mashed videos about your favorite
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