Jacques Torres' Chocolate Chip Cookies

There are so many different types of chocolate chip cookies -- flat and crisp, puffy and cakey, the kinds you find in Italian bakeries, the kinds you get in cafeterias, the kinds you eat in your Mom's kitchen.

This is a cookie you might find in a coffee house, or more likely, Jacques Torres' retail shop.

What drew me to Torres' recipe was the unusual blend of flour in the recipe; it combines pastry and bread flour, resulting in a nicely chewy cookie. Additionally, the cookie has a good deal of butter, is slightly salty, and of course, is studded with quality chocolate chips.

It is a cookie that will have you going back to the cookie jar over and over again.

For a really impressive presentation, use a 1/4-cup measuring cup to scoop out the dough and press it into 1/4-inch thick disks. You can fit four of these on a standard baking sheet.

Jacqures Torres' Chocolate Chip Cookies (via MarthaStewart.com, slightly adapted)

1 pound unsalted butter
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
2 1/4 cups packed light-brown sugar
4 large eggs
3 cups plus 2 tablespoons pastry flour
3 cups bread flour
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 pounds 60-percent cocoa chocolate or other best-quality semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 350-degrees F; line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Reduce speed to low and add both flours, baking powder, baking soda and vanilla; mix until well combined. Fold in chocolate, making sure to distribute well.

Using a 4-ounce scoop for larger cookies or a 1-ounce scoop for smaller cookies, scoop cookie dough onto prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake until lightly browned, but still soft, about 20 minutes for larger cookies and about 15 minutes for smaller cookies. Cool slightly on baking sheets before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Yields 26, 5-inch cookies or 100, 1 1/4-inch cookies.