Grand Marnier Chocolate Chip Cookies

Cookie porn! Cookie porn! Frankly, these suckers were so good, so I feel the need to add as many pictures as I can.

I made these cookies after reading about them in the NY Times. Apparently, they had perfected the chocolate chip cookie recipe, and printed their outcome. The story of how they came to perfect the recipe is pretty interesting in and of itself, so you should totally read it if you have a few minutes.

I wanted to mix things up a bit, so added some orange zest and Grand Marnier to the mix. Oh, so good! As the recipe promised, the cookies were the best - pretty cookies, that were crunchy on the outside and soft/chewy in the middle. The dough chilling also added a caramel-toffee type of flavor to the cookies. And the Grand Marnier gives just the right sweet orange taste, a perfect pairing with the huge chunks of deep chocolate. Mmmm.

Grand Marnier Chocolate Chip Cookies

(adapted from The New York Times, July 9, 2008)

Ingredients:
2 c. minus 2 Tbsp. cake flour
1 2/3 c. bread flour
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. coarse salt
2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 c. light brown sugar
1 c. plus 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar

Zest of 1 orange
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/2 tsp. Grand Marnier orange liqueur
1 1/4 lbs. bittersweet chocolate, 60% cocao content, chopped into chunks (I used Ghiradelli)

Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.

Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter, sugars, and zest together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla and Grand Marnier. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them into dough. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 12 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.

Scoop six 3 1/2-ounce mounds of dough (the size of generous golf balls; about 1/3 c.) onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more.

Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day. Eat warm, with a big napkin (and gigantic glass of milk).

Yield: 1 1/2 dozen 5-inch cookies.