This past summer, Sarah Kieffer’s pan-banging chocolate chip cookies took the internet by storm, especially since it hit the New York Times. Imagine a giant, gooey chocolate chip cookie that is so big, you almost have to eat with two hands.
Sarah’s secret, as it turns out, is that she freezes the dough beforehand for some extra crispy edges, and then BANGS the pan down on the counter a few times before the cookies are done. The impact of the cookie hitting the surface flattens the dough and causes the beautiful ripples from the center, ensuring a crispy crust on the outside, and deliciously gooey center on the inside. I gave it a try myself and can personally attest to the fact that these were the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever made – and trust me, I’ve been baking during this pandemic!
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 10-15 minutes
Ingredients
227g unsalted butter (room temperature)
1½ cups granulated sugar
¼ cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg (room temperature)
1½ tsp vanilla extract
1 tablespoon water
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp baking soda
¾ tsp salt
170g bittersweet chocolate bar (chopped into pieces,) –
OR 227g bittersweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 175°C. Line a large baking pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil, dull side up.
- Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl.
- In another large bowl, cream the softened butter, brown sugar, and white sugar together (or cream with a hand mixer).
- Add the egg, vanilla, and water until thoroughly combined.
- Then add the flour mixture and the chocolate.
- Roll the dough into balls of about ⅓ cups or 100g each. Place 4 (at most 6) balls at an equal distance apart on the baking sheet, and freeze for 15 minutes. This will ensure that will not spread too much, and that you will get a crinkled outer layer.
- In the meantime, prepare a second tray. Then remove the first tray from the freezer, and bake for 10 minutes. The trick here is to rotate your baking sheets: freeze one tray, while baking the other.
- After 10 minutes when our cookies are slightly puffy in the middle, lift the side of the baking sheet up 4 inches, and let it drop against the tray a few times. You should start to see ripples form in the middle of the cookie, and the dough begin to spread even more. Repeat a few times every 2-3 minutes until you have baked the cookies for 16-18 minutes total. The edges should be golden brown, but the centers should still be quite soft and not fully cookies.
- Let the cool completely on a wire rack (so it stops cooking on the tray) before serving. Enjoy your giant chocolate chip cookies!
