Claire Ptak’s The Violet Bakery Cookbook includes recipes from the London bakery, sharing their delectable confections.
Somewhere between crisp and gooey, and made with plenty of dark chocolate and just enough salt to bring out the flavor, for me this is the perfect chocolate chip cookie. Nearly everyone has their own recipe for chocolate chip cookies, but when taking a course run by French pastry chef Pierre Hermé in Paris in 2006, I learned the technique of using egg yolks to dramatically change the texture of a dish. Pierre made a cookie using egg yolks that was rich and delicious and had a beautiful texture. His cookies were fancier and more elaborate than mine, but I realized the same technique could be applied to the traditional chocolate chip cookie to good effect. It’s also a great way for us to use up all the egg yolks we have left over at Violet after making hundreds of coconut macaroons every week.
NOTE. At Violet, we use an ice cream scoop to portion the cookies perfectly, but at home you can use two dessert spoons.
Directions
- Line a small baking sheet or pan (one that will fit inside your freezer) with parchment paper.
- Beat the butter and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer until combined but not too creamy—you are not aiming for light and fluffy here, as that would make the cookies too cakey. Add the vanilla and the egg yolks and mix well.
- In another bowl combine the flour, salt, and baking soda and whisk together well. Add this to the butter and egg mixture along with the chocolate, and mix until combined.
- Scoop individual portions of cookie dough onto the lined baking sheet or pan. If using spoons, pat each portion into a little ball. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 1 hour, or up to a month. If you are pushed for time, or simply impatient, you can bake them right away, but the cookies will be slightly flatter and less even than the ones here.
- When ready to bake, preheat your oven to 355°F (320°F convection). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and arrange the cookies evenly on the pan, leaving enough space between each one so they have room to expand during baking (when they will almost double in size). If you are baking from frozen, allow the cookies 5 to 10 minutes out of the freezer before placing in the oven.
- Bake for 18 minutes, until the center of each cookie is slightly soft and underbaked, but the edges are crispy and golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the tray for 10 minutes before serving. These cookies will keep for up to 5 days in an airtight container.
Reprinted with permission from The Violet Bakery Cookbook, copyright © 2015 by Claire Ptak. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.
