Super Secret Chocolate Chip Cookies

Today, I packed up 4 years worth of stuff into 5 moving boxes. It's the end of the school year you see. Usually, I'd pack light (a few speech pathology books and some communication books I could work on over the summer), and wave a little goodbye to my work buddies knowing I would see them again in a couple months. But some won't be back in the Fall. One of them is me.
While everyone was celebrating surviving the school year, for me it was bittersweet. I'll be leaving the place that I've known since becoming a speech pathologist and starting brand new, not in one, but two schools of my own.

One thing you should know about me is that I'm no good at the mushy stuff. I'm awful at it. I'm equally as awful at saying goodbye. I get emotional, the waterworks start and I get the ugly cries. You know when your facial features contort and fluids spew from the eyes and nose simultaneously? Yeah. Not pretty. I managed to do that only 3 times today.



I came home this afternoon in need of some comforting. Two things immediately came to mind. One...The Peanuts cartoons. I don't know why, but watching them dance gives me the giggles.

Two...Chocolate chip cookies. It uses a combination of all purpose flour and bread flour making the cookies slightly crispy and chewy. These cookies soothe the soul and feel like a good hug. The genuine kind of hug that says, "Hey, you're family."




Jacques Torres' Secret Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes twenty-six 5-inch cookies or 8 1/2 dozen 1 1/4-inch cookies

• 1 pound unsalted butter
• 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 2 1/4 cups packed light-brown sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 3 cups plus 2 tablespoons pastry flour
• 3 cups bread flour
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 pounds Jacques Torres House (60 percent cocoa) Chocolate or other best-quality semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Directions 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats; set aside. 

 In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Reduce speed to low and add both flours, baking powder, baking soda, vanilla, and chocolate; mix until well combined.

Using a 4-ounce scoop for larger cookies or a 1-ounce scoop for smaller cookies, scoop cookie dough onto prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake until lightly browned, but still soft, about 20 minutes for larger cookies and about 15 minutes for smaller cookies. Cool slightly on baking sheets before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.