I crave healthy meals all the time, but today I’m taking a break. During the holidays my sweet tooth desires a little indulgence, doesn’t yours? A freshly baked tray of warm chocolate chip cookies is certainly one of my weaknesses, plus I love that baked cookies smell that fills the house.
Since I’m going all out, I decided to add a little extra oomph to the traditional recipe. These tasty sweets have not one, or two, but THREE types of chocolate in the dough. Oh yeah! Each chip gives a unique flavor, so please forgive me if you can’t resist eating multiple servings.
What kind of chocolate do you prefer? Over the years my choices have moved towards the darker, bittersweet varieties, but I honestly like them all for different reasons.
Difference Between White and Dark Chocolate
- White Chocolate: It contains a minimum of 20% cocoa butter, a minimum of 14% of total milk solids, a minimum of 3.5% milkfat, and a maximum of 55% sweetener. It’s got a sweet milky vanilla flavor and can be found as chips, bars or melted coatings. Not technically a “chocolate” because there is no chocolate liquor but still tasty for various sweet applications.
- Semi-Sweet/Bittersweet/Dark Chocolate: Must contain no less than 35 percent by weight of chocolate liquor with added cocoa butter, sweetener and sometimes flavorings or emulsifiers. The more cocoa liquor added, the darker, more bitter and less sweet the chocolate. The majority of dark chocolate or bittersweet chocolate is between 50-80% cocoa liquor/mass. Semi-sweet and bittersweet naming is used interchangeably, however, bittersweet tends to be less sweet but there is no precise definition and also depends on the brand. Ideal for baking, eating, truffles, candies, and coatings.
In this recipe, I used an equal mixture white chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate, and 60% cacao bittersweet chips . The variety ranges from very sweet white chocolate to the rich and slight bitterness from the darker chips. The best of both worlds!
To get a more rustic appearance on the surface of the cookie, I use a shaping method. You simply roll cookie dough into a ball, break it in half, and stick the two pieces back together with the crackled surface facing up. You can see more detailed instructions in my chocolate chip pecan cookie recipe.
To achieve golden brown crunchy edges and soft centers, I use a very specific mixing method that I found from America’s Test Kitchen. It’s all about doing multiple whisking and resting steps of the butter, sugar, and eggs in the cookie dough batter. You’ll see the sugar, butter, and eggs transform into this fluffy and thick mixture in just a matter of minutes. It takes the taste and texture of the triple chocolate chip cookies to the next level!
Taking the time to perform this step allows the sugars to dissolve into the liquid from the eggs and butter slowly. This allows the sugars to caramelize at baking lower temperatures, creating toffee like flavors, crispy edges, and a chewy center.
Voila! Like little pieces of golden sunshine, these soft triple chocolate chip cookies will make your day a little brighter.
All that’s missing is you and a big glass of cold milk to dip. So good!
Are you looking for some stellar sweets to share this holiday? Give the gift of edible presents. These soft triple chocolate chip cookies are going to make your friends, family, or Santa very happy!
In fact, I recently made some for our friends to take with us to see Santa. I portioned out each cookie dough ball and refrigerated them ahead of time, then just popped them into the oven and baked them right before we left the house. Warm cookies paired with some hot chocolate is always a big win on a cold night!
How do the sugars in the recipe affect cookie texture?
The type of sugar you add, and how much, will change the texture of your chocolate chip cookies. Since we are going for crispier edges and with soft middles, I use a combination of granulated and dark brown sugar. Granulated sugar adds the crispiness and dark brown sugar adds the chew. Because brown sugar is a humectant, it’s ability to bind water adds moistness and chewiness to the cookie once it’s baked. The ratio of brown sugar is slightly higher than granulated sugar in this recipe so that the balance of soft to crunchy is higher.
Soft Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 14 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips, (I used 60% cacao)
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375°F.
- Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Whisk flour and baking soda together in medium bowl; set aside.
- Heat 10 tablespoons butter in small skillet over medium heat until melted, about 2 minutes. You do not want the butter to get too hot, just melted. Remove skillet from heat. Stir remaining four tablespoons butter into warm butter until completely melted. Transfer to a mixing bowl.
- Add both sugars, salt, and vanilla to bowl with the butter and whisk until fully incorporated. Add egg and yolk and whisk on medium-high speed until mixture is smooth with no sugar lumps remaining, about 30 seconds. Let mixture stand 3 minutes. Whisk for 30 seconds and let stand another 3 minutes. Repeat the process of whisking and resting two more times until mixture is thick, smooth and shiny (4 times total).
- Using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir in flour mixture until just combined, about 1 minute. Stir in white, semi-sweet and bittersweet chocolate chips, giving the dough a final stir to ensure no flour pockets remain. Transfer mixing bowl to refrigerator and allow to chill for 15 to 30 minutes, or until dough is chilled and is easy to scoop and roll in your hands. The dough should not feel overly sticky.
- Divide dough into 16 portions, each about three tablespoons and roll into a ball. If the dough starts to warm and get sticky as you roll, place the dough balls on a sheet tray and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
- Tear the dough balls in half by pulling gently from both sides. Press the two halves together again, with the lumpy torn sides facing upward to expose the chips and give a more rustic appearance. Add a few more chips on top if desired so they pop out more after baking and look prettier. Allow portioned dough to chill covered and refrigerated for an hour or longer on a sheet tray. Arrange dough 2 inches apart on lined baking sheets, eight dough balls per sheet. Smaller baking sheets can be used but will require baking three batches.
- Bake cookies one tray at a time until cookies are golden brown and still puffy, and edges have begun to set, but centers are still soft, 10 to 14 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking. The cookies will look slightly underdone in the center; they will deepen in color and deflate slightly once cooled. Let cookies cool for 3 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Cookies can be stored in an air tight container for up to 5 days.
Notes
- I've found that the cookie spread less the longer you can chill the cookie dough balls. Overnight is ideal!
- Cookie dough can be shaped into balls and refrigerated in a resealable plastic bag for up to 1 week before baking. Just do the breaking apart step right before baking for a more rustic surface.
I made these cookies couple nights ago, meant to leave a reply, but forgot. So, here I am. I have made many different chocolate chip cookies and the triple variety. I must say, for me, this is my favorite. They are soft and chewy in the center with crispy edge. I highly recommend you to give this recipe a try.
I wanted to try since I read about Jessica. I also love the tips she leaves. Culinary Chef with food Scuence background. That interested me.
Anyway, Thanks Jessica, I got 14 and a quarter cookies! Lol. I have a cookie scoop of three tablespoon from King Arthur.
Whoo hoo! I’m so happy that you had success with the recipe and enjoy it, especially since you are a cookie connoisseur 🙂 Thank you for your feedback and kind words. Happy baking Bonnie!