SOFT-BAKED CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES makes 26 cookies · total 1 hour 30 minutes · tested Soft all the way through, chewy in the center, and packed with chocolate. Cream cheese, cornstarch, an extra egg yolk, and mostly brown sugar keep the cookies tender and moist. The dough is portioned precisely into 40-gram balls and decorated with reserved chocolate chips so every finished cookie looks uniform and polished. A tiny amount of Accent seasoning is optional but helps round out and deepen the chocolate flavor without making the cookies taste savory. The baker's percentages use the flour weight as the base: ```text 280 g flour = 100% ``` INGREDIENTS -- Cookie Dough -- 280 g Hudson Cream all-purpose flour (Base flour weight) 170 g salted butter (softened but still cool; Do not let it become greasy or melted) 150 g brown sugar (packed; Provides moisture and chew) 70 g granulated sugar 50 g large egg (room temperature; Approximately 1 large egg without shell) 30 g cream cheese (softened; Full-fat preferred) 18 g egg yolk (room temperature; From approximately 1 additional large egg) 10 g cornstarch (Keeps the cookies tender) 8 g Madagascar vanilla extract 3 g baking soda (Tested amount) 2 g kosher salt (Reduced because the butter is salted) 1 g almond extract (Optional; enhances the vanilla) 1 g Accent seasoning (Optional; rounds out the chocolate flavor) 260 g Hershey's chocolate chips (Fold into the dough) -- Topping -- 60 g Hershey's chocolate chips (reserved; Press 4–5 chips into each cookie top) STEPS Cream the Butter and Sugars 1. Place the softened salted butter, cream cheese, brown sugar, and granulated sugar in a large mixing bowl. 2. Beat for 2–3 minutes, until lighter in color and fluffy. 3. Scrape the bowl once halfway through mixing. 4. The butter should remain cool and creamy. If the mixture looks greasy or shiny, the butter is too warm. Add the Wet Ingredients 1. Add the whole egg, egg yolk, vanilla extract, and optional almond extract. 2. Beat only until the mixture is smooth and glossy. 3. Do not continue whipping after the eggs are incorporated. Excess air can make the cookies puffy rather than dense and chewy. Mix the Dry Ingredients 1. In a separate bowl, whisk together: 2. 280 grams flour 3. 10 grams cornstarch 4. 3 grams baking soda 5. 2 grams kosher salt 6. 1 gram Accent seasoning, if using 7. Whisk until the baking soda, salt, cornstarch, and optional Accent seasoning are evenly distributed through the flour. Combine and Add Chocolate 1. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture. 2. Stir only until no dry flour streaks remain. 3. Fold in the 260 grams of chocolate chips. 4. Stop mixing as soon as the dough is uniform. 5. Do not overmix. Excess mixing develops gluten and can make the cookies tougher. Chill the Dough 1. Cover the bowl. 2. Refrigerate the dough for 45 minutes. 3. Do not skip the chilling period. Chilled dough spreads less and produces thicker cookies with softer edges. Portion and Decorate 1. Heat a conventional oven to 350°F, or approximately 177°C. 2. Position a rack in the middle of the oven. 3. Line a light-colored baking sheet with parchment paper. 4. Weigh the dough into 40-gram portions. 5. Roll each portion gently into a smooth ball. 6. Arrange the dough balls at least 5 centimeters apart. 7. Press each dough ball down very slightly. Do not flatten it into a disc. 8. Press 4–5 of the reserved chocolate chips into the top of each portion. 9. Position the chips with their points facing upward where possible so they remain visible after baking. Bake 1. Bake one tray at a time for 9 minutes to 9 minutes 30 seconds. 2. Remove the cookies when the outer edges are set but still pale. 3. The centers should appear slightly underdone, soft, and faintly shiny. 4. Do not wait for the centers to look completely baked. 5. The cookies will continue cooking from residual heat on the baking sheet. Shape and Cool 1. Immediately after removing the tray from the oven, place a round biscuit cutter, cookie cutter, or wide drinking glass over any misshapen cookie. 2. Move the cutter in a gentle circular motion to nudge the cookie into a uniform round shape. 3. Leave the cookies on the hot baking sheet for 5 minutes. 4. Transfer them carefully to a cooling rack. 5. Cool completely before placing them in an airtight container. EQUIPMENT - Digital kitchen scale - Large mixing bowl - Medium mixing bowl - Electric hand mixer or stand mixer - Silicone spatula - Whisk - Light-colored baking sheets - Parchment paper - Cooling rack - 2½- to 3-inch round cutter or wide drinking glass - Airtight storage container FOOD SAFETY - Keep raw dough refrigerated because it contains raw egg and untreated flour. - Do not eat the raw dough. - Wash hands and utensils after handling raw dough. - Cool cookies completely before sealing them in a container to prevent condensation. STORAGE Store completely cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. For competition storage, place a fresh slice of sandwich bread in the container beside the cookies. The bread will gradually dry out while helping the cookies retain moisture. Do not place the bread directly on top of the cookies. Replace the bread if storing the cookies for more than two days. For the best texture, bake the cookies the evening before they are needed or early the same day. LICENSE CC BY 4.0: share and adapt freely, credit longproof and link to https://longproof.duckdns.org/recipes/soft-baked-chocolate-chip-cookies.txt https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/