Colossal Cookie Recipe

Thar she blows!  That's one whopper of a cookie, but it's not your everyday chocolate chip variety - this one's full of almond milk chocolate and dark chocolate with almond toffee.

Adapted from Jacques Torres's Secret Chocolate Chip Cookie

This recipe is equivalent to about 3 regular batches of cookie dough.  You'll only need 1/3 of the dough to make one giant cookie  (12" size). Since it was my first time making this recipe (and I was adapting it to boot), I didn't cut it down.  I split the dough into 3 equal portions before adding the chocolate, and plan to make different versions with the remaining dough, using different flavors of chocolate and a different baking method (you'll see that in a future post).  You can make several giant cookies with the entire batch of dough, or if you would like to make individual cookies:  once the dough is chilled, you can scoop it into balls and store it in the freezer, sealed in a ziploc bag, for up to 1 month (be sure to squeeze the air out before sealing).  So when that cookie craving strikes, you can pull out just as many cookies as you want and enjoy them freshly baked.   For 5 inch size cookies use a 4 oz. scoop and bake for about 20 minutes; for 1 1/4" cookies use a 1 oz. scoop and bake for about 15 minutes.

a little drizzle of semisweet chocolate and caramel, and you're ready to dig in.

Ingredients:
1 lb. unsalted vanilla bean butter, browned, cooled, and chilled* (or if you prefer, use 1 lb. unsalted butter, softened at room temperature) - If you've viewed any of my other cookie or bar recipes, you know I'm partial to brown butter because it's deliciously different and really gives your cookies a special touch.

seeds from 1 vanilla bean

1 3/4 cups granulated sugar

2 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar

4 large eggs, room temperature

3 cups plus 2 tablespoons pastry flour* - the original recipe called for pastry flour, but I didn't have any on hand so I substituted a blend of cake flour and all purpose flour, which approximates the protein/gluten ratio of pastry flour.  To make 4 cups of pastry flour whisk 2 2/3 cups all purpose flour + 1 1/3 cups cake flour together.  You'll have about 3/4 cup more than you need for this recipe, so save the remainder for another use.

3 cups bread flour

1 tablespoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

2 pounds of high quality chocolate chips, wafers, or chunks - semisweet, milk, dark, or whatever combination you like.  I recommend using Scharffen Berger, Callebaut, or Valrhona chocolate if you can get your hands on them.  I used what I had on hand: Green & Black milk chocolate with almond, along with Ghirardelli dark chocolate with almond toffee.

For Topping:


1 1/2 oz. semisweet bar chocolate
12 Kraft caramels, unwrapped
2 tablespoons evaporated milk

As if this needed more adornment...  But that didn't stop me from adding a little vanilla bean ice cream on top!

How To:

1.  If you're using vanilla bean brown butter, start here.  Otherwise proceed to step 2 to start.  Cut each stick of unsalted butter into quarters.  Add butter, 1 vanilla bean and the seeds to a medium saucepan. Heat on medium, stirring occasionally, until the butter turns golden and smells nutty.  If will foam and then begin to clear when it is almost ready.  Remove butter from the heat and cool it slightly.  Remove the vanilla bean, then cover and place it in the fridge for about 20-30 minutes, until it's the consistency of softened butter.

2.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Lightly grease a 12" cast iron skillet with canola oil.

3.  In the bowl of your stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars on medium speed.  Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well before adding each one.

4.  Add vanilla to the egg mixture and beat until well blended.

5.  In a separate bowl, whisk flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until well blended.

6.  Add 1/3 of flour mixture at a time to the batter, using an on/off pulsing motion until just about incorporated.   After you add the last 1/3 of the flour, stop mixing just before it's all incorporated.  Add the chocolate, a little at a time, mixing on low speed just until incorporated.

7.  Spread 1/3 of the dough into the prepared cast iron skillet.  Bake for about 25-30 minutes on the center rack, just until golden on the edges but still soft in the center.  Don't over bake!!  It will continue to bake in the skillet when you remove it from the oven.

8.  Cool on a baking rack for about 10 minutes, then drizzle with chocolate and caramel if desired. Place chopped semisweet chocolate in a loosely closed ziploc bag, and microwave on medium power for about 1 1/2 minutes, just until the chocolate is melted.  Snip off one corner of the bag and squeeze to drizzle chocolate over the top of the cookie.  Make the caramel drizzle:  place unwrapped caramels and evaporated milk in a microwaveable bowl.  Microwave on high for about 1 1/2 minutes, stopping every 30 seconds to stir, until caramel is melted and smooth.  Drizzle over the cookie with a spoon or fork.

9.  Enjoy the cookie warm, or once it's cool, cover it with plastic wrap and keep it for up to 2 days at room temperature.  You can also flip the cookie out of the skillet after it's cooled about 20 minutes:  place a plate upside down on top of the skillet, then turn the skillet over.  The cookie should pop right out.  Decorate your cookie cake with a butter cream frosting or as desired.