Jacques Torres Chocolate Chip Cookies
Filled with big puddles of chocolate and chilled for optimal texture and flavor, Jacques Torres Chocolate Chip Cookies may very well be the ultimate chocolate chip cookie!
I’m not a fan of fussy recipes. I like to keep things as simple as possible. That is one of the reasons it has taken me years to get around to baking Jacques Torres Chocolate Chip Cookies.
You may have seen these cookies discussed here and there after The New York Times sang their praises. They’re big, thick cookies jam-packed with chocolate. But the recipe is exactly what I would call fussy. There are two kinds of flour, some odd ingredient measurements, and a lot of chilling time before you can even bake them. Now that I have made them, though, I can safely say that they are worth every ounce of fuss.
The other reason I had never made these famous cookies is that Jacques Torres’ shop is literally just down the street. If I want a giant chocolate chip cookie, I can just walk down there and get it. And believe me, I have done just that many times.
One of the last times I devoured one of those cookies, I decided it was high time I tried baking them myself. I got out the two kinds of flour and even got the chocolate from Jacques Torres to try to replicate those big ol’ cookies. I followed the recipe very closely in an attempt to make a fair comparison to the original.
I mentioned the long chilling time for the cookie dough, and I did a little experiment to see if it really makes a difference. The recipe recommends refrigerating the dough at least 24 hours and up to 72 hours. I baked the dough every 24 hours for 3 days and definitely found some differences.
The different chilling times basically present a scale of crispiness and chewiness with some flavor differences, too. The 24-hour cookies were crispier, whereas the 72-hour cookies were softer and chewier. The 48-hour cookies were in the middle of the scale, with soft cookies that had a crispy outside.
We thought the 48- and 72-hour cookies had the best flavor. That chilling time allows the flavors to meld together and become magical. The dry ingredients absorb some of the moisture from the wet ingredients, giving you a firm dough. Honestly, I’d be happy with the cookies from either of those chilling times, which allows me some leeway in when I bake the dough if I’ve got some in the refrigerator. That’s not to say the 24-hour cookies weren’t really, really good. Honestly, you can’t go wrong!
My tips for making these cookies are fairly simple. If you have a scale, this is definitely the time to use it to measure your ingredients. (And if you don’t, you can get one pretty inexpensively. I have this scale and it serves me well.) You’ll get a better result with accurate measurements, and it simplifies the whole process. I also highly recommend that you use a scale to portion the cookie dough. Again, it’s easier and you’ll get more evenly baked cookies if they’re all the same size. Use a #14 or #16 scoop (about 1/4 cup) to get in the ballpark and then adjust from there as needed.
For the chocolate in these cookies, the recipe recommends chocolate discs. I usually have those in my pantry for when I need to melt chocolate. Those chocolate disks will melt as the cookies bake, spreading throughout the cookies into magical chocolate puddles. There are several brands available, with Guittard probably being the most available. I used Jacques Torres chocolate for the full experience, but any good brand will do. You won’t get the same result from standard chocolate chips, so try to get chocolate discs if you can. Otherwise, I’d go with roughly chopped chocolate over chocolate chips.
I got a few of the original Jacques Torres Chocolate Chip Cookies from his shop to compare. You can see the store-bought kind alongside my version in the photo above. Honestly, we thought that the ones I baked were a little better, but that can be chalked up to freshness and small-batch baking. I’ll still gladly enjoy one from his shop whenever I have the opportunity.
This has been quite a lengthy discussion about a cookie, but there’s plenty going on here to warrant it. While there’s some fussiness in making them, it all comes down to the cookies. And they are beyond amazing. The texture, the flavor, just the whole package is just fantastic. While I’d likely pick a simpler recipe when I’ve got a chocolate chip cookie craving, I highly recommend baking a batch of Jacques Torres Chocolate Chip Cookies when you want an all-out chocolate chip cookie experience.
More Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes
- Browned Butter Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Mini Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookies
Jacques Torres Chocolate Chip Cookies
Jacques Torres Chocolate Chip Cookies may be a bit fussy to make, but they're just so, so good!
Ingredients
- 2 cups (240g) cake flour
- 2 cups (240g) bread flour
- 1 & 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 & 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 & 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 & 1/4 cups (282g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 & 1/4 cups + 3 tablespoons (284g) firmly packed light brown sugar
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons (227g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 & 1/4 pounds (567g) bittersweet chocolate discs (about 60% cacao)
- sea salt
Instructions
- Thoroughly whisk together (or sift) the cake flour, bread flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- Using a mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, brown sugar, and sugar until light and fluffy (about 5 minutes). Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla.
- Reduce mixer speed to low. Add the flour mixture, mixing just until combined (about 10 seconds). Stir in the chocolate discs, trying not to break them.
- Cover the dough with plastic wrap, pressing the plastic directly against the dough. Chill for 24 to 72 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone liner.
- Divide the dough into 3 & 1/2 ounce (99g) portions. (Use a #14 or #16 scoop to get about 1/4 cup of dough and use your scale to adjust.) Place the mounds of dough on the prepared pans. (You can get about 6 cookies on a pan, but I often just bake 4 at a time to give them a little more space to spread.) Sprinkle the top of each cookie with a pinch of sea salt.
- Bake 18 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown but still soft.
- Cool on the pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Then transfer the cookies to a rack to cool completely.
Notes
The Imperial measurements in the original recipe don't exactly line up with my weight conversions. That's actually an issue you'll find among different recipe sources and why weight is the better way to measure. I only make these cookies using metric weights, and I very highly encourage you to do so. I have adjusted the Imperial (cup) measurements to be more in line with my experience of measuring and to be consistent in how I present these measurements in my recipes. Please see the original recipe at The New York Times to compare Imperial measurements if you are unable to weigh your ingredients.
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20 Comments on “Jacques Torres Chocolate Chip Cookies”
I have been baking these Chocolate Chip Cookies for years…actually the only Chocolate Chip Cookie I will bake now. First saw it on the show The Chew. This recipe and Julia Baker’s German Chocolate Souffle Cake. If you have not tried that yet it is beyond words!. I do omit the “toppings or garnish” I do not think it needs whipped Coconut milk or ganache! Rich enough on it’s own!
I’ll definitely look up that cake recipe. Thanks, Nikki!
I’ve made Levain chocolate chip cookies, also huge with various flours. Can you compare? Thanks.
Hi, Janet. I’ve not made any of the Levain copycat recipes. I guess I’m hoping Levain will share their official recipe one of these days! I have eaten them, though, and they’re really, really good. I’d say they’re fairly different from the Jacques Torres cookies. The Levain cookies are thick and dense, whereas the Jacques Torres cookies are thinner and softer. I think the Levain cookies also have nuts. I hope that helps!
Great!!
The only chocolate chip cookies we make at our home. Well worth the time and baking, after the dough chills for three days.
They so are! It just takes a little planning ahead to allow for the chilling time.
Mmmm.. looks delicious! I’ve never tried the chilling technique but I’m planning on giving it a try. Thanks for sharing!
I hope you get the chance to try them. What a cookie!
I have tried this recipe several times and have always wondered if I thaw or soften the dough before scooping and baking or leave it firm.
I find my cookies, while delicious are more plump and less spread. In fact, the last version I made, I actually flattened them a little, but I actually thought they didn’t taste quite as good.
Thoughts on this?
Hi, Elizabeth. The dough can be tough to scoop after a long time chilling. Often, I will let chilled cookie doughs sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes to make it easier to scoop. You can do all of your scooping at once and just put the scooped dough back into the refrigerator to use later. As for not spreading, that could be a few things. First, I’d make sure there’s not too much flour (see How to Measure Flour if you need a refresher). After that, it could be your oven temperature or the type of pan you’re using. I highly recommend an oven thermometer to check your oven’s temperature and baking on light, non-shiny pans. Those are the most common culprits in my experience.
Great tips. I will go back and check my measurements! Thank you 🙂
We had these last night, and there are not enough raves we can give. I had tried them some years ago and liked them very much, but this time following Jennifer’s weights, my cookies came out spectacular!
That’s great, Jeff! Weighing the ingredients makes all the difference with these cookies.
Bom dia, sou do Brasil, gostaria de saber que farinha de bolo é essa, acho que não seria a nossa farinha de trigo né????? Tem diferença??? Farinha de pão seria a nossa farinha de rosca???? Essa quantidade libra de chocolate seria quantas gramas????? Essas seriam minhas dúvidas, afinal os produtos interferem muito no resultado final né? Agradeço se puder me responder. Um abraço
Cake flour is a wheat flour that has a lower protein content than standard flour. If your flours have protein percentages listed, look for something in the 7-9% range. Bread flour has a higher protein percentage, usually 12 -15%. If you can’t find those, then a standard all-purpose flour will work similarly for the total amount of flour. The total amount of chocolate is 567g, which I’ve listed in the ingredients.
Hi Jennifer, I just followed you and I love your recipes and tips. Great job!
I need help Jennifer, what is the effect that salted butter causes in the batter of the cookies? Not only in these recipe, in every recipe of cookies in general, can I use salted butter and not add the salt? Please tell me. Another doubt that I have… The cake flour is the same that Leavening Flour?
Hi, Amanda. I’m glad you found me! There’s no standard for how much salt is in salted butter, so I always recommend using unsalted butter so you can control the amount of salt in the recipe. That being said, many people bake with salted butter and omit the salt when that’s what they have on hand. Just know that the final product will likely be more or less salty than intended, depending on the butter you used. Leavening flour sounds like self-rising flour, which has leavening agents added to it. Cake flour doesn’t have any leavening agents added and has less protein than a standard all-purpose flour. That makes for lighter, fluffier baked goods. The combination of flours in this recipe work together to create the trademark texture of these cookies.
Thank you for the recipe! Wondering what happens if I let the dough chill for over 72 hours?
Hi, Lorraine. Longer times start getting into freshness issues. If you want to make it that far in advance, I’d recommend portioning and freezing the dough.