Otoro's Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies

This recipe has been adapted from 'The Essence of Chocolate' by Robert Steinberg and John Scharffen-Berger. Don't skimp on the chocolate, use Ghirardelli or Scharffen-Berger, the guy that put together the book also makes some of the best chocolate you can find in many gourmet stores, I've even seen it at the supermarket on occasion. For fancier cookies, use chocolate chunks. Because bread flour is a high-protein flour it adds a nice, chewy texture to these cookies. You may wish to substitute your favorite nuts or omit them all together but I love the combination of chocolate and pecans. I also recommend using a cookie scoop as it will provide more uniform sized cookies that bake more evenly.

• Ready In: 15 mins
• Yields: 30-40 cookies

Ingredients

• 1 1⁄4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1  cup bread flour
• 1  teaspoon baking soda
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 8  ounces unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3⁄4 cup granulated sugar
• 3⁄4 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
• 2  eggs
• 1⁄2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 11 1⁄2 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips
• 1  cup  chopped pecans

Directions

1. Position the racks in the lower and upper thirds of the oven and preheat oven to 350ºF. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Sift together both flours, the baking soda and salt into a medium bowl. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and both sugars on medium speed for about 5 minutes, or until pale, light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until thoroughly combined. Reduce the speed to low, add the dry ingredients, and mix until the flour is completely blended, scraping the bowl as necessary.
4. Remove the bowl from the mixer and fold in the chocolate and nuts until evenly distributed. (The dough can be refrigerated, well wrapped, up to a week or frozen for up to one month).
5. Drop the dough by heaping tablespoon (or use a cookie scoop), 2 inches apart, onto the prepared pans, I usually can fit 8 on a half sheet pan. Flatten each cookie slightly. Bake for 11-15 minutes (depending on your oven), or until golden, rotating the pans halfway through baking. Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack and cool completely, if you can wait that long. Bon Appetito.