Toll House Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is what happens when a chocolate chip cookie goes all the way. Half the chips get melted right into the batter, so the dough itself turns into chocolate, dark and fudgy, before a second wave of whole chips even joins the party. The result eats like the lovechild of a cookie and a pan of brownies.

Melting the chocolate is the step to take slow. Low heat, off and on, stirring until just smooth, so it doesn’t seize or scorch into bitterness. Once it’s beaten into the butter, sugars, and eggs, the dough comes together deep brown and glossy.

Here’s the part bakers get wrong: don’t wait for them to look ‘done.' Pull them at 8 to 9 minutes, when they’re puffed but the centers still look soft. A chocolate dough hides browning, so going by color leads straight to dry, overbaked cookies. They set as they cool.

Chef Tips

• Melt the chocolate low and slow, pulling it off the heat and stirring so it stays smooth instead of seizing.
• Beat the eggs in one at a time so the batter stays emulsified and the cookies bake up even.
• Pull them while puffed and still soft in the center; the dark dough hides browning, so don’t bake by color.

Variations

• Use a mix of dark and semisweet chips, or swap in chocolate chunks for bigger melty pockets.
• Add a cup of toasted pecans or walnuts for crunch against the fudgy crumb.