supersized double chocolate chunk cookies;

You know I am always down to try a new chocolate chip cookie recipe. And when King Arthur Flour comes out with a recipe that claims to be the best chocolate chip cookie recipe, well you know I’m gonna try it. Because of course I need to take advantage of their hard work and validate that it is, in fact, the best cookie ever. And I have to say, while I made a few tweaks to get to my supersized double chocolate chunk cookies, the original recipe really did deliver.

My sister really deserves the credit for putting these cookies on my radar. She made them for me first, so I confess I was already pretty confident that they would turn out great. Big, with chunky chocolate in every bite. Of course, I had to up the ante with both milk and dark chocolate. The brown butter adds a depth of flavor. That Tangzhong seems to keep the cookies chewy (keep reading for info on what Tangzhong is and my tips for making it). And I even made my supersized double chocolate chunk cookies gluten-free.

There were a couple of variations I wanted to test for myself besides eating “the tastiest chocolate chip cookie ever”. Firstly, I knew I was going to eat them. A lot. So I wanted to use gluten-free flour. No problem, the original recipe in the footnote says you can swap bread flour 1:1 for KAF gluten-free bread flour.

I wanted to know if the bread flour made any difference over regular gluten free flour.

Secret to success

But I also wanted to know if the bread flour made any difference over regular gluten-free flour. So I just had to make two batches. And eat two batches. Don’t worry, they were both friggin delicious.

So let’s start with the chocolate for these chocolate chunk cookies. I chose a combination of dark and milk chocolate chunks for these cookies. There’s a perpetual argument over which is better in a chocolate chip cookie—so my answer? Just use both! You can’t go wrong with more chocolate.

There’s a perpetual argument over which is better in a chocolate chip cookie, milk or dark chocolate–so my answer? Just use both!

secret to success

I used Trader Joe’s 70% and milk chocolate bars. I probably used roughly 1/3 of each bar per recipe. The key to chopping your chocolate is to keep the chunks big. When you chop a chocolate bar, no matter how hard you try, you’ll get little shavings and small bits. Those are perfect, you want those. But you also want big chunks for bite and flavor. We’re talking 1/3 – 1/2 inch chunks depending on your preference.

The tangzhong seems to be a kind of roux that thickens up your cookies while still keeping them soft. When it comes to the tangzhong, I actually had some issues keeping it smooth. It ended up a little chunky. Which I actually didn’t mind in the final product—every once in a while you’d get a tiny chewy ball. It gets lost in the cookie, you wouldn’t think to ask about it, it just blends into the experience.

The tangzhong seems to be a kind of roux that thickens up your cookies while still keeping them soft. Learn from my mistakes with the tangzhong and check out these tips below.

secret to success

But my tips for you so you can learn from my mistakes: I think this happens because the pan is too hot and the flour too clumpy. So to avoid a lumpy tangzhong, I recommend a couple of things:

• You want to cool the pot down. After pouring off the brown butter, set the pan aside immediately, and flame -off to cool some while you mix the butter and sugars together.
• Keep the heat low. When you add it back to the heat and add the milk, keep the heat low to medium-low. There’s only half a cup of milk, so it’s not a crazy volume and it should heat through quickly. You don’t want the liquid to evaporate too fast or else it will mess with the final consistency.
• Add the flour slowly. Once your milk has been brought up to temp, add the flour slowly. Ideally, sift it directly into the pan to break up clumps and let it in pirate evenly. But honestly, I’m too lazy to use a sieve 9/10 times. So, alternatively, add the flour slowly. I try to do roughly 1/2 Tbsp at a time and whisk thoroughly to make sure it’s incorporated. Repeat with remaining.
• The ideal consistency is somewhat glue-like. Still creamy and runny but thick and easy to mix. Runs off your spoon. Check out the original King Arthur Flour recipe for a quick video if a visual would help.

Once you mix it in and add the remaining ingredients, then, it’s time to wait.

The original recipe says to wait 24 – 48 hours to allow the dough to rest and develop flavor. Well, I can tell you, I’ve never waited that long—I’m too impatient! I did wait 4-8 hours on each batch though. Maybe next time I’ll do another experiment and bake cookies off at intervals and see if I really can taste the difference in the flavors.

I have to say, despite my best intentions, I’m not sure that my comparison of gluten-free bread flour and gluten-free flour was really comparable. The bread flour yielded a flatter cookie, with crisper edges and a soft middle. Note: I did use KAF gluten-free bread flour but I used Namaste’s gluten-free flour.

The all-purpose gluten-free flour yielded a slightly more domed cookie, and I definitely needed to flatten the cookies down to get my desired supersized shape. However, I have a sinking feeling that I may have forgotten the half cup in the 2.5 cups of bread flour recipe.

The bread flour cookie simply looks more sugar and fat (butter) based than the regular gluten-free cookie does. Don’t get me wrong—both are amazing. But I’m not sure all my time and effort even let me compare properly! I guess I’ll need to do another round of batches, but I used up most of my gluten-free bread flour to make this batch so I need a restock.

Still, all said, I would happily chow down on either cookie. So you can use either, but I have to say I’m partial to regular gluten-free flour. It’s a staple in my kitchen, whereas gluten-free bread flour is a specialty item I don’t always stock. And gluten-free bread flour (and bread flour in general) is just more expensive. You pay more for less volume, at least on the King Arthur Flour website, and most places I’ve seen.

I still love the all-purpose flour version, and would rather save my gluten-free bread flour for recipes where it makes a bigger difference, like breads or yeasted dough. But these supersized double chocolate chunk cookies will be delicious either way you try them.

secrets to success;

Want all the best tips and tricks to make this recipe a success? Check out the blog post above to find out more!

---

more recipes;

Check out some additional cookie recipes you can find here at Best with Chocolate!

• Strawberry chunk chocolate cookies take your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe and adds a punch of strawberry flavor!
• Molasses cookies are warm, chewy, and filled with those toasty, comforting, holiday spices.
• Crinkle cookies you can make in any form, but these butter pecan ones are oh-so-toasty, and the pecan gives an added crunch.
• These cute little candy corn cookies are a sweet orange sugar cookie cut into the cutest little candy corn shapes. (This way I don’t have to eat real candy corn, but can still feel festive!)
• Soft toffee cookies are soft, pillowy, and have an uber-satisfying toffee crunch on top.
• Twix cookies — everything you love about a twix, in a homemade, delicious cookie! Or for a healthful tweak, try these healthful twix bars.