Mollie Bakes: Secret Ingredient Chocolate Chip Cookies
Let’s just get this out of the way first: I am an impatient person. I like quick results, instant gratification, and cookies that don’t require a long time to “chill” before baking. Of course, there are recipes that require “chill the dough” time, and I oblige, but if there is a recipe that can give me the cookies I’m craving that very same night, then all the better.
The best part of baking cookies, to me, is that they will be ready soon after you make the dough; eating a freshly-baked cookie hot out of the oven is one of life’s purest (and most delicious) joys.
One day while I was scrolling the never-ending commercial that is Instagram, I came across a photo of awesome-looking cookies (this happens often). I stopped, mid-scroll, to read the caption. Much to my surprise, and delight, the cookies were from a recipe in a cookbook I already owned. How convenient! And even better than that, the caption mentioned how easy/quick they would be to bake. Sweet!
I skipped over to my bookcase, pulled the cookbook, and found the recipe. I read the heading, realized I had all of the ingredients, and was basically ready to bake when I saw that the dough did not need time to chill. And I could make the dough in one bowl, no mixer required. Yes. Please. These cookies could not get any better. Until they did…
Oh, right. You’re probably wondering about the secret ingredient. I won’t hold it back any longer. It turns out that my usual “hope for the best” mentality for cookies to come out of the oven with chewy centers and crisp edges isn’t enough for that to always happen. Apparently, the secret to chewy-center cookies, and those crisp edges, is…nonfat milk powder! Who knew?! I most certainly did not. And now we all know this glorious cooking-baking secret.
Of note: these cookies are also made with melted butter, which is another contributor to the chewy/soft centers. You’re welcome. Now, continue…
Thankfully, the cookie-genius herself, Christina Tosi, has got it covered. I owe my new baking knowledge to her and I will, from now on, always use nonfat milk powder when baking cookies. Or rather, goat milk powder, because that’s what I had in my pantry and we just used it and hoped for the best! Turns out we didn’t need hope this time around. These chocolate chip cookies were simply perfect.
Here are the details…
Recipe and Source
Make It Gluten Free + Baking Tips
For this recipe, I substituted Cup4Cup Gluten Free Flour (find it in The Market) in place of regular flour. This was the only necessary change to make the cookies gluten free.
As mentioned, the recipe required nonfat milk powder for the dough. I had goat milk powder in the cabinet (not sure why) and used that instead (this is a gluten free ingredient).
Also, instead of using 2 sticks of unsalted butter, I used one stick of unsalted and one stick of salted since that’s what I had available. Sure, that was a risky move (I’m not much of a rule-breaker), but the idea of a salty chocolate chip cookie was awesome and I wasn’t about to not bake these simply due to the current butter situation in the fridge.
The cookies were quick to prepare since they’re made in a single bowl, and you mix everything by hand. Find your muscles! I find baking without a mixer extremely satisfying even if it’s a little more “work” along the way. Be proud of those cookies - you really did make them by hand.
Final Review
I think these were some of the most delicious cookies I’ve ever baked. Goat milk powder, salted butter, and a fairly short baking time resulted in such a scrumptious cookie we barely allowed the batch to live in the kitchen for more than six days (oops). To be fair, gluten free baked goods have a relatively short shelf life. ;)
The goat milk powder allowed the center of each cookie to be the perfect level of chewiness. That salted butter made for an even richer cookie, which makes me think I should take this risk again on my next batch.
On another positive note, I’ve finally (almost) mastered the art of not over-baking cookies. They may look fairly underdone when taking them out of the oven, but they continue to bake as they set, and then when they’re transferred to a cooling rack (many minutes later) the color is perfectly golden. You can always add time to cookies baking in the oven, but you cannot subtract it. Fact.
I’m often on the hunt for quick-to-bake, low-effort, high-impact cookies and I think these are my new favorite. There is a chance I would try them again using the originally requested nonfat milk powder and unsalted butter; however, I was so thrilled with the result that I’ll probably stick to this “version” for the next batch that I bake. I cannot wait!
Take it from me: buy this colorful cookbook (link above) and bake these cookies (and everything else in it). I have a feeling they will also be your unofficial “cookie of summer.”
Enjoy!
