1000 Layer Chocolate Chip Cookies {a thousand layers of love...}

It seems to me that January is a cookie baking month. That is why I am really, really, REALLY excited about sharing my recipe for Thousand-Layer Chocolate Chip Cookies. This is is 30 years of chocolate chip cookie research baked and stacked, for your pleasure. Head over the to Chronicle Books' Blog today for the story behind how it came to be, and for a chance to win a free copy of my book, The Newlywed Cookbook. 

When you make these, be sure to fold in extra layers of love. And come back to tell me what you think, pretty please. 

x

Sarah  

~

Thousand-Layer Chocolate Chip Cookies

from The Newlywed Cookbook 

Imagine the countertop of your favorite bakery piled high with generous stacks of crunchy cookies marbled with sheets of chocolate. Now imagine that in your very own kitchen. These beauties are worth the extra effort you put into them. The layered chocolate provides unparalleled texture, flavor, and a bakery-style finish that will make you very proud to call these your chocolate chip cookie.

Makes 20 cookies/biscuits

1 cup/ 225 g unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup/150 g packed dark brown sugar

3/4 cup/150 g granulated sugar

4 egg yolks, at room temperature, plus 1 large egg, lightly beaten, for brushing

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 1/4 cups/ 280 g all-purpose/plain flour, plus more for dusting

3/4 tsp baking soda/bicarbonate of soda

3/4 tsp fine sea salt or table salt

9 oz/255 g high-quality bittersweet chocolate

1/4 tsp fleur de sel {optional}

Preheat the oven to 375˚F/190°C/gas 5. Line two baking sheet/trays with parchment/baking paper.

Cream butter and both sugars together with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in egg yolks, two at a time, followed by vanilla.

Whisk together the flour, baking soda/bicarbonate of soda, and salt. Stir dry ingredients into butter mixture on low speed until just mixed. Stop and scrape down the bowl to make sure all the butter is evenly incorporated and give the dough a final mix.

Divide the dough into 3 portions. Put each dough portion on large piece of plastic wrap/cling film, and pat into a 4-by-6-in/10-by-15-cm rectangle. Wrap and refrigerate on a flat shelf in the fridge until well chilled, about 30 minutes. {This helps to set the butter and make the dough easier to work with. Chilling cookie dough also helps cookies/biscuits keep their shape when they bake, the secret of most fine bakeries!}

Meanwhile, coarsely chop the chocolate into thin shards using a serrated knife. Set aside.

When the dough is chilled, lay one portion on a lightly floured countertop. Sprinkle with half of the chocolate and top with another piece of dough. Repeat with remaining chocolate and dough until you have a slab of dough with two layers of chocolate. Dust lightly and evenly with flour and roll gently with a rolling pin into a large 9-by 6-in/23-by-15-cm rectangle that’s about 1 1/2 in/ 4 cm thick.

Using a 2-in/5-cm round cookie or biscuit cutter or a thin rimmed glass, cut out ten rounds of dough. Gather the scraps together, pat lightly, and cut out remaining cookies.

Divide half of the cookies/biscuits between the 2 prepared baking sheet/trays, leaving about 3 in/7.5 cm between cookies/biscuits since they will spread. Brush the tops of each cookie with the beaten egg, and with a light hand, sprinkle with a few grains of sea salt, or leave plain.

Bake until the cookies are set, 12 to 15 minutes, switching the sheets halfway through top to bottom if you’re baking two sheets at a time. Let cookies/biscuits cool slightly, about 3 minutes, then transfer the cookies with a thin spatula to a wire rack to cool completely {or, just slide the parchment/baking paper directly onto the cooling rack}. Let the baking sheets/trays cool completely before using to bake the remaining dough (lining with more parchment/baking paper if needed). Bake as directed, switching sheets top to bottom half way through baking, and cool.

Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.