Baking the Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie: Every Ingredient, Every Decision

Baking the Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie: Every Ingredient, Every Decision | Epicurious

Рет қаралды 69,946

Күн бұрын

There are lots of things to consider when it comes to making chocolate chip cookies. Deciding which flour, sugar, leaveners, fats, and chocolate to try-hoping they all work harmoniously to produce the perfect, chewy bite. Pastry chef and cookbook author Natasha Pickowicz joins Epicurious to break down every decision she makes and every strategy she employs in elevating this classic cookie into something unforgettable.
Director: Charlie Jordan
Director of Photography: Shirley Chan
Editor: Boris Khaykin
Creative Producer: Christie Garcia
Culinary Producer: Jessica Do
Culinary Assistant: Biba Clark
Line Producer: Jen McGinity
Associate Producer: Shelby Boamah; Amy Haskour
Production Manager: Janine Dispensa
Production Coordinator: Elizabeth Hymes
Casting Producer: Vanessa Brown
Camera Operator: Erron Francis
Sound Mixer: Rachel Suffian
Production Assistant: Brianna Figueroa
Post Production Supervisor: Andrea Farr
Post Production Coordinator: Scout Alter
Supervising Editor: Eduardo Araujo
Assistant Editor: Andy Morell
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Пікірлер: 162

@KittyNinjaMew96 10 ай бұрын

Just a little too thin for me, if she chills the cookie dough balls then put them in the oven they will have a little thickness to them. It kinda defeats the purpose of a leavener.

@dantethunderstone2118 10 ай бұрын

She did chill them, but then let them warm up to room temp before baking completely defeating the purpose of chilling But at least her hands didn’t get dirty

@snakecake-mw7vw 10 ай бұрын

I would like if this was like the science cuisine videos where they explain every outcome because everyone has different tastes.

@TheRealMacSavage 9 ай бұрын

There is a tasty video that talks about the different ingredients and the effect they have on the end product on chocolate chip cookies

@hughjanis4555 10 ай бұрын

Honestly not a fan when the dough and the chocolate becomes homogeneous like that. I like a lighter dough sprinkled with chocolate not a fudgy chocolate-y mass.

@einundsiebenziger5488 7 ай бұрын

... the dough and the chocolate (two items) become* homogenous

@josephhelms2362 6 ай бұрын

Trust me the chocolate is not that homogenous with the dough. It’s probably just the buckwheat that gives it a dark color like that.

@micah1754 4 ай бұрын

I was just about to write exactly the same thing! Same - I prefer the cookie part to remain quite light and vanilla /butter flavoured, with the chocolate chunks distinct and meltys. I wouldn't cut it up with the chocolate dust like that. For my taste, they're also way too thin and the dough should have been colder and firmer when it went in the oven to keep some rise on them and a bigger variation in textures.

@firmanang9132 8 ай бұрын

I could listen to natasha talk all day

@dhbfsidfuishfnsl 10 ай бұрын

I could listen to Natasha talk about her baking choices all day. Love that she doesn't gatekeep and truly wants to share her experiences/tips! Pls do more of these! That specific brand of recommended sugar is a GAME CHANGER. Yes, it's more expensive, but it takes the structure of the cookie to another level.

@naveenmagapu4670 6 ай бұрын

I just used Bread flour and All Purpose Flour and a 70% Lindt dark chocolate bar and it turned out great. Thinking of topping with the Godiva trufle chunks next time because I do wanna see some "chips" on top of the cookie.

@Killem-Dafoe 10 ай бұрын

Seriously though, between the buckwheat flour, the organic fair trade sugar, the half pound of butter, fancy block chocolate, two different types of salt, and real vanilla extract, this is a $20 batch of cookies. That's not an exaggeration.

@PeaceRose96 10 ай бұрын

i agree lol i totally understand the unbleached flour but she lost me after that😅 organic sugar vs regular sugar is a dramatic comparison bc it has a "better texture". you can use cheaper ingredients and still get the same end product, it's the recipe itself that matters

@Mrbink01 10 ай бұрын

and they look awful

@fernandomata678 9 ай бұрын

Idk about yall but cookie shops around the us charge like 2-5 dollars a cookie so i think its worth it

@vazanere 8 ай бұрын

She's a professional baker, this isn't about the cheapest cookie you can make, it's about the perfect cookie you can make.

@Mrbink01 8 ай бұрын

@@vazanere perfect is subjective

@riverbankchristmas276 10 ай бұрын

Wheres the written recipe?

@MartinNunez-hc3gx 10 ай бұрын

in her book :D

@rachelrathman1424 10 ай бұрын

The comments on this video are heavvyyy y’all it’s not that serious. Thanks for the cool video!

@ellam3442 10 ай бұрын

no fr like bro it’s a video on baking cookies not world politics

@selina6408 10 ай бұрын

@@ellam3442 Look, I've watched dozens of choc chip cookies recipe videos using a variety of ingredients and methods, and I've never seen negative comments. Congrats to this video.

@augusts1 10 ай бұрын

I much prefer thick chewy cc cookies. Flat ones like that are not it for me. I certainly wouldn't turn hers down though since I'm sure they taste amazing!

@craigwattie6110 10 ай бұрын

Liked their choices, so why do those cookies look just… off? Roasted buckwheat maybe?

@dantethunderstone2118 10 ай бұрын

Roasted flours (specifically the buckwheat) the chocolate shavings being mixed in and instead of creaming the sugars with the butter and then adding the eggs she mixes the the eggs and the sugars then adds the butter

@vazanere 8 ай бұрын

Alright bought the ingredients and tried to follow along while using traditional chocolate chip cookie measurements since the channel hasn't provided the recipe (at least not obviously). Gotta say it got really messed up and I assume it happened with the buckwheat flour and unbleached flour. Was extremely dry and crumbly, spent an hour trying to get it back into dough while retaining it's flavor. The Buckwheat has a noticeable flavor profile. Anywho, it would be best if you guys could provide a link to the recipe, probably won't try this again otherwise.

@CRMSEagles7thGradeFootball 6 ай бұрын

Have you found the recipe, I’m still looking.

@isaiahtan7787 10 ай бұрын

Nice.

@hoangminhluu8851 9 ай бұрын

I dont know why when i melt butter it break into milk ?

@jonfuku5097 10 ай бұрын

13:20 Vanillin is literally the chemical that gives vanilla the flavor and taste and imitation vanilla is just a higher concentration of that. It's not "just kind of chemicals developed to kind of taste like vanilla", it's the main chemical in vanilla that they were able to synthetically reproduce at a lower price point.

@TianaMay2001 9 ай бұрын

Key word "synthetic"

@HT-pl8du 9 ай бұрын

It's the main flavor so you won't get all the other flavors, complexity no

@blesstyou 10 ай бұрын

Loveeeeeeeeeeee

@jamescooper1968 10 ай бұрын

Thanks for the class.

@selina6408 10 ай бұрын

The buckwheat flour I'm willing to keep an open mind about, but the misinformation about organic brown sugar and her choice of American butter over that block of European butter... nah.

@dantethunderstone2118 10 ай бұрын

Eh no reason to use European butter, you’re not really going to taste the difference

@aravindvissamsetty 9 ай бұрын

Unless you're in Europe

@abcdisaster 10 ай бұрын

Great video but where's Dan tho? 😭

@zenobiavyas9568 10 ай бұрын

Where r the ingredients list???

@danieljordan7975 10 ай бұрын

I mean I'm sure it's delicious, chef clearly knows her stuff. But I feel like the buckwheat is totally gratuitous. Just makes it way more expensive, and idk if it's the camera lighting or whatever, but I don't know how I feel about the color of the cookies

@MartinNunez-hc3gx 10 ай бұрын

i think it's either the camera lighting or color correction. i've made these a few times and they don't look so green in real life

@Daramgaria 9 ай бұрын

.. buckwheat is a cheap staple grain eaten i.e. by a lot of eastern europeans. surely buckwheat flour cannot be that expensive, whole buckwheat costs as much as rice does if not less in my area in new york. it is just a grain yk

@danieljordan7975 9 ай бұрын

I can appreciate your perspective, everywhere I've lived buckwheat has been treated as a "specialty" grain and comes at a premium compared to other grains. And with respect, just because it's a staple grain in many areas doesn't mean it has a place in the "perfect chocolate chip cookie". Corn and quinoa are both staple grains in many areas too, but they have no place in the perfect cookie.

@hoanganhphan7292 2 ай бұрын

brian largerstrom has the best chocolate chip cookies recipe imo

@ryderopals8397 4 ай бұрын

Wheels or whatever that horror movie is about killer car tires.

@GlassMunky 10 ай бұрын

I love how she thinks the organic brown sugar is somehow different when ALL brown sugar is refined and then has molasses added back into it…. Exactly like the brown sugar she didn’t like. 😂

@dantethunderstone2118 10 ай бұрын

Yeah because she doesn’t know what she’s talking about, she just knows buzzwords

@user-ji8ge1wb4k 10 ай бұрын

She chose the organic one not because it's organic but because it had a coarser texture. She acknowledged that all brown sugar has molasses added but to varying degrees.

@jondoe2960 10 ай бұрын

if she chose the organic brown sugar solely on the basis that it's organic, she wouldn't have gone with the run-of-the-mill white sugar, she would have gone with an organic white sugar also. the texture and consistency difference between the brown sugars was very apparent, even through a screen

@davidschwartzman2986 10 ай бұрын

@@dantethunderstone2118 - You really know nothing at all.

@dantethunderstone2118 10 ай бұрын

@@davidschwartzman2986 and you can’t pickup on someone trying to fool you with flashy words

@NanaCooking. 10 ай бұрын

😍

@laineyweiss864 10 ай бұрын

Yum

@johnyesjustjohn 10 ай бұрын

My go-to recipe says soften the butter and then mix it with the sugar until blended, then the eggs, then the dry ingredients. Anyone have yeas or nays for this?

@QeeqsPlays 10 ай бұрын

Yep this is perfectly fine! It's really the traditional way of making cookies. Still yields amazing cookies!

@dantethunderstone2118 10 ай бұрын

Creaming butter with sugars then adding eggs is the best start to making cookies

@greendragon0009 10 ай бұрын

My gosh that was incredible. Natasha great effort. I can't wait to try making these. :)

@roselovesmakeup 10 ай бұрын

Recipe? Thanks 😊

@findingfoodfluency 10 ай бұрын

The buckwheat addition transports me to Brittany, France... but then, it also puts me in the mood for crêpes. Interesting add!

@TTatitalks 10 ай бұрын

I never learned so much about cookies, till now!

@keys2467 10 ай бұрын

never heard of anyone saying flour has great flavor 😮

@einundsiebenziger5488 7 ай бұрын

Thought the same first, then thought she probably meant the flavor a type of flour can provide to the dough. Some flours are indeed quite bland.

@fredfromfrance6594 10 ай бұрын

I am often not convinced by recipes on Epicurious. But I love this one . 👍

@Vidar33 10 ай бұрын

Why does this feel like an advertisement for various brands of ingredients?

@dantethunderstone2118 10 ай бұрын

Because she said the brand names. I doubt it actually is but there’s definitely some bias

@robertthomas9043 10 ай бұрын

Or maybe you are just a cynic.

@dantethunderstone2118 10 ай бұрын

@@robertthomas9043 the way she was speaking definitely made it seem like there was money involved

@kha0s616 10 ай бұрын

I'd just asked for that on a video of 5y ago

@carlovincent 10 ай бұрын

Wow. Looks great.

@alexchan3932 10 ай бұрын

Super informative

@dantethunderstone2118 10 ай бұрын

Not really, she threw up a bunch of word salads and buzz words and gave you an average cookie recipe

@janetbetz2790 10 ай бұрын

I can’t wait to make these! Breaking down the decisions was exceptionally helpful. I want more videos of ingredient categories and what is the best use of each type.

@Killem-Dafoe 10 ай бұрын

Ain't nobody got money for organic fair-trade sugar.

@augusts1 10 ай бұрын

There are plenty who do. You just don't know them. Doesn't mean they don't exist.

@peachiori 9 ай бұрын

Yeah its an obvious fact that the prices of this one batch is crazy but this is more of a what to look for while picking your ingredients rather than this is the only option, there should always be the "best" way to make something, this is ofc her take

@johnselwitz5362 8 ай бұрын

Her take is pretentious and asinine.

@einundsiebenziger5488 7 ай бұрын

... the price* (...) is crazy

@rachelarnold8839 10 ай бұрын

This is great, please have Natasha Pickowicz on Epicurious again

@dantethunderstone2118 10 ай бұрын

Please do not have her on Epicurious again, especially when there’s so many other better cast members

@xanderscookingschool1497 10 ай бұрын

This video pissed me off just with one scene. She basically just poured the "brown" butter in the bowl, but kept most of the brown bits in the pot. I don't believe her when she says the cookie is nutty.

@MatthewKellerCA 7 ай бұрын

I noticed this as well, but I think that’s all in the editing. Check 14:43: when she puts the cooled brown butter back into the mixer, you can definitely see the browned bits in the solidified butter. So those little bits of gold made it into the cookie, I’m fairly certain.

@xanderscookingschool1497 7 ай бұрын

@@MatthewKellerCA Ok. Now pause at 8:50 and look at the inside of the pot and the bowl.

@loicbergeron8188 6 ай бұрын

@@xanderscookingschool1497she very well could put it back off camera

@johndough321 4 ай бұрын

😊

@lisahodges8299 10 ай бұрын

I'm so pleased that she has managed to find her perfect recipe. I wonder if anyone else likes it? Birdy

@plokiju8876 10 ай бұрын

Honestly that was too fancy for me. Not gonna lie, I did enjoy the whole explanation and science but I’m not at that level.

@ianrhile 10 ай бұрын

Hm. Baking soda requires an acidic ingredient to make the carbon dioxide. Baking powder is far more standard as it generates the carbon dioxide without added acid. So I find this very odd.

@dantethunderstone2118 10 ай бұрын

When heated sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) breaks down into sodium carbonate and releases steam and carbon dioxide On top of that some the other ingredients like the butter and the eggs are slightly acidic which could assist in the decomposition of the baking soda Baking powder would provide too much lift and make the cookies more cakey and fluffy

@KimberlyState 10 ай бұрын

Soda is always used in cookies not powder

@spacerae191 10 ай бұрын

The molasses in the brown sugar is acidic.

@mydogspillow 10 ай бұрын

Wow she knows her stuff and presented it well! I’m not sure about this recipe but Ill give it a try.

@dantethunderstone2118 10 ай бұрын

She really doesn’t know her stuff, she just knows buzz words that make it sound like she does

@davidmelgar1197 10 ай бұрын

@@dantethunderstone2118What a useless comment. What exactly indicates she doesn't know what she's talking about?

@dantethunderstone2118 10 ай бұрын

@@davidmelgar1197 you really think you notice the alcohol in any way if you use real vanilla? Artificial also uses alcohol as the solvent too and you don’t notice just like you don’t notice a flavour difference when you use vodka instead of some of the water in a pie crust. That on top of her just throwing in buzz words makes it pretty obvious

@guillermo9256 10 ай бұрын

Also toll house morsels are definitely chocolate. The word morsels is indicative only of their shape, she’s just wrong about that. She also got a few things about the fats a little wrong science wise. Still informative but not entirely accurate.

@Daramgaria 9 ай бұрын

tell me. what buzz words. talk to me. ur the expert

@oldcowbb 10 ай бұрын

the "alternative" Ingredients are so ridiculous in this one, almost like the multiple choice questions in DMV tests

@danip.3245 10 ай бұрын

It’s the perfect chocolate chip cookie, yet per this woman she doesn’t like chips. What?

@KimberlyState 10 ай бұрын

My only comment is on the assembly she never says to what or when to add the sugars

@ASZHanazaki 10 ай бұрын

Instead of showing us all the packaging and talking your head off, just show us the difference in the products...

@dianaharper3853 10 ай бұрын

Can you guys make a spaghetti pie in one of your videos?

@karachunelson4717 3 ай бұрын

I had to stop watching because of the buzzer sounds. So jarring 😂

@carolynbotkin9903 9 ай бұрын

Because I bake hundreds of cookies for Christmas gifts, chocolate chip is the favorite. That is the one that I make the most of. I love giving delicious cookies but won’t this chocolate break me?

@Lhikan634 10 ай бұрын

Prompt: Chocolate chip cookies. Chef: So, I'm going to ignore that and not use chocolate chips.

@VIP-ry6vv 10 ай бұрын

Nestle and betty crocker fans better run cuz this vid is controversial af, but I love buckwheat so let's goooo!

@dominicsondrini3099 5 ай бұрын

Will you go out with me?

@Crayfish- 10 ай бұрын

I would like to try that with a Top Flight Milk-Chocolate Ingredient such as Cadberry's or Hershey's Symphony bars ! I don't know if That would be Practical in the Cooking, but if it worked out THAT would be a " Fantastic Chocolate Chip Cookie " !

@Crayfish- 10 ай бұрын

A head's up to this Pastry Chef; I would Never use ANY PAN SPRAY because if you Smell the Propellent you will Notice That It Smells Like " Propane " ! I would Never " want to Ingest " Any " Petroleum Product " into my System !

@dantethunderstone2118 10 ай бұрын

Relax bud you inhale more petroleum products going to the gas station

@birdmasterthecaffeinatedowl 3 ай бұрын

Ave to say tasty 101 does it better

@kashmirichai123 5 ай бұрын

those are some flat cookies

@dantethunderstone2118 10 ай бұрын

Organic does not make a difference, ingredient quality does. Higher quality ingredients will be better and usually organic ingredients are higher quality but not because they’re organic but simply because they’re smaller operations that can focus more on quality than quantity. That whole spiel was just economic discrimination, same with the vanilla bit because unless it’s a very dominant flavour in whatever you’re making(which it’s not in chocolate chip cookies) then you will not notice a difference. If you’re going to make a “how to make a perfect ___” series then consider switching to a format more like Benjamin the baker where instead of having a guest throw their (often times bad) opinions at us, you have someone knowledgeable show how different ingredients or methods will effect the final outcome and then give suggestions on what will actually give you the best results instead of the most buzz words like ms chemicals here

@rjmari 10 ай бұрын

I don't understand how that's your takeaway. I don't think she once said that an ingredient is better simply because it was organic. She gave her specific reasons why some of the organic options were better for this recipe, mainly texture and moisture. She explained how each ingredient would affect the final result exactly the way you're asking. It sounds like you agree with her, but wanted to say she's wrong anyway.

@dantethunderstone2118 10 ай бұрын

@@rjmari the reason that brown sugar was better had nothing to do with it being organic but simply the quality of it but she was implying that it was superior because it’s organic

@rjmari 10 ай бұрын

@@dantethunderstone2118 Yes she mentioned to get that specific organic brown sugar because it is better. But she pointed out the specific traits that made this specific product better. And if you want to go out and try to find a non-organic ingredient that has the same traits, then you're now equipped with the reasoning behind it. You're purposely being dense if you're interpreting her overall message as "only use organic ingredients because they're better than non-organic".

@selina6408 10 ай бұрын

@@rjmari You need to watch the video. She said: "People love to debate if organic is really necessary when you're shopping for your ingredients. When it comes to dark brown sugar, it matters a ton." At 3:55

@rjmari 10 ай бұрын

@@selina6408 Yea and then she explained what the properties were that made it better. If you can find a non-organic version that has the same properties, feel free to share with the class. Please stop trying to jump down her throat about her phrasing while conveniently ignoring her overall message and explanation. It's not helpful.

@clearmenser 8 ай бұрын

Nothing about baking powder? 😢

@mommyofkittens4809 10 ай бұрын

I use generic products and make fantastic cookie. Smug is an ingredient you need to leave out.

@margeoconnor166 10 ай бұрын

Well said!

@augusts1 10 ай бұрын

Quit projecting. She wasn't smug at all but you definitely are.

@jamesm5148 10 ай бұрын

😍😍😍 she's amazing, and beautiful 🤭🖤

@cambooj 7 ай бұрын

How to spend too much on simple recipes.

@winscho2014 10 ай бұрын

Still the Marketing will never approve this recipe, the look is not even acceptable. I'm thinking of a restaurant called Epicourious where you can serve all of these fancy and posh recipes ❤

@beachforestmountain4269 10 ай бұрын

To get a chewy cookie using almond flour, just add gelatine to the recipe. That way you have a chewy cookie that is low carb, but you also need to swap out the sugar for either erythritol, allulose or monkfruit sweetener to make it low carb. Just add 1 tablespoon of gelatine for every 1.5 cups of almond flour.

@dantethunderstone2118 10 ай бұрын

No reason to go low carb on a cookie, just learn moderation and use the cookie to your advantage

@likewhatizzy1323 10 ай бұрын

@@dantethunderstone2118some people have diabetes

@dantethunderstone2118 10 ай бұрын

@@likewhatizzy1323 please, we all know that’s not the intended audience of low carb recipes Its people who don’t understand how weight loss works so they seek fad diets

@CMarkem 10 ай бұрын

Guranteed nobody will be wanting to rush over to try a cookie like that, rather eat me a chips-a-hoy.

@XxKingCraZyxX 9 ай бұрын

Wow the comments are awful. Most people seem to have shut their brain off after reading organic on one of the packages lmao

@novariverstone8973 10 ай бұрын

I'm sorry but this seems to be really unfair against people that are poor all those ingredients are organic or branded and I'm sorry but I've made plenty of great foods without all the brands and organic produce since I can't afford that neither has my family so we learned how to build flavor with what we had

@monsterb0x 10 ай бұрын

Great, post your video with your recipes

@ellam3442 10 ай бұрын

bro no one said you had to do it this way it’s just her interpretation and she’s giving some science info too

@chrisfreemesser5707 10 ай бұрын

No doubt there are quality differences between various brands of a product but having the skill to use the products you have to their maximum is just as important. Case in point, browning your store-brand unsalted butter instead of using it as-is greatly improves the flavor of a chocolate chip cookie. Same inexpensive butter, different outcomes based on how you use it

@dantethunderstone2118 10 ай бұрын

@@ellam3442 none of what she said was science based

@spacerae191 10 ай бұрын

She’s breaking down the decisions behind why she chose the ingredients for the recipe she developed for her book. No one is forcing you to make this lol.

@danip.3245 10 ай бұрын

This woman is clueless. Seriously, vanilla extract with alcohol to get that alcohol burn in the cookie dough? Seriously??

@MaddieGracep 10 ай бұрын

Literally all vanilla extract contains alcohol. That's how vanilla essence is EXTRACTED.

@danip.3245 10 ай бұрын

@@MaddieGracep I don’t know if your agreeing or arguing, but vanilla extract does not carry over any alcohol burn or flavor in the finished baked product. No one is arguing that it’s in there.

@auburok 7 ай бұрын

@@MaddieGracep Cool your jets. At-14:00 She has no clue what she is talking about. The alcohol evaporates out. Not sure why you're defending this garbage.

@StingBear 10 ай бұрын

lol so many whiny comments here

@NomaD_203 10 ай бұрын

I'm disappointed Epicurious. Don't cloak an organic agenda with pseudo-expertise. That was a lot of words to say nothing substantive or verifiable.

@TheTink54 10 ай бұрын

No offense to this presenter but I did not like this video. Part of the reason I like Epicurus videos is because they don’t judge or moralize. This felt like it was moralizing “clean” “organic” bs buzz word ingredients that are so expensive that this recipe isn’t even accessible to the average American. No thank you.