Multiple Layered Chocolate Chip Cookies

Try this unique way of making chocolate chip cookies. Pile up a few parts of dough with layers of shard pieces of chocolate in between them and roll out this lofty stack of dough and chocolate. Honestly, doing this is a little bit complicated compared to the usual way but trust me, the results are divine worth it! The chocolate flavors are rooted so deeply in the dough. So yummy! Chocoholics will definitely love the richness of chocolate in these cookies.

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups (280 g) all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup (150 g) packed dark brown sugar
• 3/4 cup (150 g) granulated sugar
• 4 large egg yolks, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 6 oz semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped into shards
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten (for egg wash)
• 1/4 teaspoon fleur de sel (optional)

Procedure:

In a medium-sized bowl, stir together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside. Beat together butter and both sugars in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed for about 3-4 minutes until light and fluffy. Stop once or twice to scrape down the corners of the bowl and then continue beating. Beat in egg yolks, two at a time, until blended. Stir in vanilla. Set the mixer on low speed, and then slowly pour in the dry ingredients, beating just until combined or until a nice dough is formed.

Divide dough into three equal parts or weigh each part to make sure the dough is equally divided. Form each into a 4x6-inch rectangle. With a plastic wrap, wrap each rectangular dough and chill in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Remove dough from refrigerator and unwrap them. Place one dough over a lightly floured countertop and then spread half of the chocolate evenly over the dough. Lay the second piece of dough on top of the chocolate layer. Top this second layer by sprinkling with the remaining chocolate, and then lastly lay the third piece of dough to finish.

You will form lofty layers of dough and chocolate. Lightly brush the topmost layer of dough with flour. With your rolling pin, smoothly roll the pile of dough and chocolate, forming it into a 9x6-inch rectangle with 1 1/2 inches thickness. Cut up your rolled out dough with your 2-inch round cutter to as many rounded portions as possible. Brush the cutter with flour if dough sticks to it.

Assemble these cut up rounded portions of dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Gather the scraps of dough together as many as you can and form them into a 1 1/2-inch thick heap and cut our more cookies. Don’t mind how the heap of scraps looks like, cookies will still taste good. Place cookie cut outs onto baking sheet and wrap loosely with plastic wrap. Put these unbaked cookies in refrigerator for at least an hour or two or even up to 1-2 days if you want thick deeply-flavored cookies.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. If baking all the cookies at once, make sure each cookie is placed at least 2-3 inches apart from another cookie on the baking sheet. You may use a few baking sheets to separate some of the cookies. Brush the surface of the unbaked cookies with the stiffly beaten egg. If desired, dust with a few grains of fleur de sel.

Bake in preheated oven for 14-15 minutes, or until cookie edges are set. Rotate the baking sheets halfway through if you're baking the cookies in few baking sheets. Put the baking sheet(s) onto wire rack(s) and let newly-baked cookies cool for about 5 minutes. Take out cookies from baking sheets and move into the racks for complete cooling.

Serve warm or at room temperature!

Keep the leftover cookies in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

An All-Time Favorite!

The chocolate chip cookies’ reputation of being not just a children’s favorite, but an all-time favorite cookie has never been surpassed.  Perhaps that is because the chocolate chip cookie is way more delicious than any other cookie or maybe some cookies just don’t have that much appeal to people unlike chocolate chip cookies do.  Making chocolate chip cookies with your kids are also one way of bonding with them in a fun, productive way.

These cookies remind us of how much we demanded them back when we were younger.  We would plead to our mothers with those round puppy eyes and beg them to bake chocolate chip cookies, and of course we knew our mothers couldn’t ignore the look on their children’s faces and doesn’t have any choice but to surrender to their kids’ favor. Chocolate chip cookies remind us of how much we loved to steal from the cookie jar for a quick midnight snack with a glass of milk.  Mostly, chocolate chip cookies make us reminisce back to our childhood years.  Until now, although teenagers and adults don’t demand for these cookies that much, yet we still know that there’s always a special place for chocolate chip cookies in their hearts. It’ll always be their favorite. (see vegan chocolate chip cookie recipe)

A Better Look on its Ingredients

There’s no question about the chocolate chip cookies’ being an all-time favorite, but the real question is: Why?  The secret lies behind its ingredients, so let us look deeper into its ingredients and know the reason behind the cookies’ success.

Flour

Flour is an essential ingredient in making bread, cookies, cakes, muffins, and cupcakes. It is the core of every pastry. It gives density to the chocolate chip cookies, and is mainly responsible for the body and structure of baked goods.  Flour also determines the flavor and texture of what you are baking; it is a binding agent that helps other ingredients in chocolate chip cookies harmoniously mix together. Without flour, your cookies would be utterly lifeless.

Chocolate chips

The life of the chocolate chip cookies are of course its chocolates.  It is the main reason for its stardom and reputation.  The chocolate adds a unique flavor and style to the cookies.  Chocolate chip cookies are in fact so famous because of the chocolate itself.  While some mothers doesn’t like their kids eating too much chocolates and other sweets, studies showed that eating chocolates and sweets are good for children as it may actually stop them from getting fat in later life. Well, chocolates do have benefits as well, it actually contains flavonoids that act as antioxidants and chocolates are known to help relax a person in times of depression.

Brown Sugar

Brown sugar got its color because of the presence of molasses in its granules which also make its texture smoother. Its main purpose is to add sweetness to the chocolate chip cookies depending on your preference. But sugar isn’t just a sweetener, when used in baking, brown sugar adds volume, texture, tenderness, color, and serves as a preservative.

Eggs

 Chocolate chip cookie recipe requires beaten eggs in it to fulfill its perfect state.  Eggs provide structure and richness to the cookies.  Just as flour, eggs also help binds the ingredients together making them perfectly at harmony with each other. It also acts as a leavening, thickening, and adds color to the baked goods.

Baking Soda

Baking soda is a chemical leavening agent (see more leavening agents)together with baking powder which is responsible for the rising of the batter during baking. Baking soda is about four times as strong as baking powder, which is the reason why most prefer using baking soda.  In chocolate chip cookies, baking soda is used because baking powder doesn’t react with chocolate due to the fact that chocolate is an acidic ingredient.

Vanilla Extract

Vanilla is the secret for an enticingly aromatic chocolate chip cookie.  It is also used as a flavoring in almost all desserts and pastries.

Salt

Salt in cookie ingredients seemed pretty much out of place, right? But there’s always a reason for this.  A cookie isn’t perfect without a little bit of flavor twist.  Using just the right quantity of salt emphasizes the flavors of all other ingredients in cookies and pastries. You might be surprise to know that without salt in cookies, the cookie just wouldn’t taste right, a good chef would know that.

Butter

The main function of butter is to add flavor and texture to the baked goods.  Make sure to follow the directions in a recipe whether butter should be melted or cold because temperature of butter is very important in baking. 

Nuts

In chocolate chip cookies, pecans and walnuts are the usual nuts used for the recipe.  Nuts simply add flavor to the cookies especially when you’re chewing the baked product already. You can feel and taste the nuts’ flavor in your mouth and it blends perfectly with chocolates. 

How to Make Chocolate Chip Cookies

David, the host of One Pot Chef, shows the proper way on preparing and baking your chocolate chip cookies.  According to him, chocolate chip cookies is one of the most messy recipes mainly because of its ingredients.  He also gives tips on how to add the eggs, flour, and vanilla while beating. He shows his viewers how to distance the cookie ball batter properly to make sure the cookies doesn’t stick together after baking.  David surely has a way on making the cookies easy to bake.