Thin Crisp Chocolate Chip Cookies (a recipe without eggs) is originally from The New York Times. And things didn't go so well the first time I made them. Since then I've made these egg-free cookies multiple times and the recipe is now one of my favorites. So what's the story?
Salt
The cookies in the first batch were thin and crisp, but WAY too salty. The recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of kosher salt, but when I first made the cookies I didn't realize they were talking about very coarse kosher crystals -- specifically, Diamond brand, which is easier to find in some cities than others. I used Morton Kosher (which measures like table salt) and the cookies were inedible.
Ah, but it was a learning moment. I now know that kosher salt brands have different size granules and when any recipe calls for kosher salt, you need to try to figure out if the author is using coarse Diamond crystals or everyday brand of kosher salt like Morton. These days, when I get a feeling the author is using coarse salt (though awareness is higher and usually authors tell you) I just use about ⅓ of the amount.
So long story short, these cookies are the Thin and Crisp Cookies from The New York Times, but they are made with only 1 scant teaspoon of salt and most importantly, 1 ¾ cup flour (note, the original recipe has an asterisk where the ¾ cup should be!). So here's how I now make these cookies, and they are indeed thin and crispy and egg-free.
Thin Crisp Cookies Stay Fresh!
Update: Another bonus with these cookies is they stay fresh for up to 5 days in a closed tin. I also updated the recipe to make the cookies smaller.
Recipe
Thin and Crisp Chocolate Chip
Ingredients
- 14 tablespoons unsalted butter melted (196 grams)
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour 245 grams
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt ½ teaspoon if using salted butter
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar 100 grams
- ½ cup sugar 100 grams
- 2 tablespoons light corn syrup 36 grams
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 ½ cups chopped bittersweet chocolate pea size pieces and shavings
- Generous 1 cup chopped toasted walnuts
Instructions
- Melt the butter in the microwave or over the stove, then set it aside to cool.
- While butter is cooling, mix the flour, baking soda and salt for 1 minute to ensure that dry ingredients are fully blended.
- With an electric mixer, cream the melted butter, sugars and corn syrup until fluffy, 3 minutes. Stir in the vanilla, then the milk. Add the flour mixture all at once and blend just until a dough forms. Fold in the chocolate and walnuts. Chill the dough for about an hour.
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line two baking sheets with foil or if you prefer, just leave them unlined and ungreased.
- Scoop up small cookie scoop size or tablespoon size balls. Place on the baking sheet and flatten to ¼ inch-thick disks spaced 2 inches apart. Chill the dough between batches. Bake until the edges are dark golden brown, 14 to 17 minutes. Let cool slightly on the baking sheet, then transfer to a baking rack.
Ms. Chevious says
Trying to bribe the teacher on the very first day? 😛
tg says
look at stephanie, uncovering all that cool sciencey research!
Stephanie says
I remember reading in Cooks Illustrated (I think) that Morton kosher salt is saltier than Diamond kosher. Maybe the brand accounts for the difference in saltiness versus NYT and your cookies.
This link http://new.cbbqa.com/articles/Salt/index.html
says that you should use 1 and 1/3 t. for every one teaspoon of table salt if you are using Morton. If using Diamond, use 2 t. for every one teaspoon table salt.
penguin says
Sorry, just saw your link. Oops!
penguin says
That salt thing does seems really odd. I'm going to check out the NYT website to see if the recipes are on there. If not, can you post a link?
carole says
Hope Fuzz enjoyed her first day of school.
Anna says
Hi Amy!
I'm getting ready (or "fixin' to") as we Texans like to say, go pick Fuzz up. I'm kind of nervous.
As for the recipes, I really think that it should be 1 tsp in the first two recipes, but I can't understand why the other one would have 2 teaspoons, which is still A LOT of salt. It's almost as if she's using some special, lightweight, poofy, bouffantesque salt.
Amy says
p.s. Happy First Day of Kindergarten, Fuzz!!
Amy says
I think it's especially strange that the first two recipes clearly say "1 tablespoon" and the third says "2 teaspoons". I can't wait to see what kind of response you get.
I cook with kosher salt all the time. But I have never baked with it.