When I first saw Kelly Fields' recipe for "Willa Jean Chocolate Chip Cookies," it reminded me quite a bit of Jacques Torres' chocolate chip cookie recipe that was published in The New York Times. The Willa Jean recipe (Willa Jean is the name of Fields' restaurant in New Orleans and Fields says they sell thousands of the cookies there every week) calls for both pastry flour and bread flour and requires at least 24 hours in the freezer before baking. The Jacques Torres recipe calls for both cake flour and bread flour and requires at least 24 hours in the fridge before baking. One major difference is that Fields' cookie calls for three types of chocolate: dark chocolate, caramelized milk chocolate, and caramelized white chocolate. I'm usually hesitant to try new chocolate chip cookie recipes because I think the Jacques Torres recipe is perfection -- but I happened to have both caramelized milk chocolate and caramelized white chocolate on hand, and figured I should give the Willa Jean recipe a try.
Except for the freezing step, the recipe is straightforward. You cream room temperature butter with brown sugar, granulated sugar, and salt until light and fluffy; add eggs and vanilla; gradually incorporate the dry ingredients (pastry flour, bread flour, baking powder, and baking soda); and fold in the three types of chocolate (I used Cacao Barry Guayaquil Extra Bitter 64%, Valrhona Caramélia 36%, and Callebaut Gold 30.4%). I don't keep pastry flour on hand, so I used White Lily all-purpose flour instead; it has a low 9% protein content that is about the same as pastry flour. I used a #40 scoop to portion out the dough, getting 27 cookies from a batch. I put the cookies in the freezer for a few days before baking.
Even though the cookies were on the thin side, they had a substantial texture. I thought these cookies were definitely above average, and I loved the combination of the three chocolates, especially the caramel notes from the caramelized chocolates. However, I thought the cookie itself could have had a deeper, more well-developed flavor. I still prefer the Jacques Torres cookie, both for its superior flavor and for its heft. But I wouldn't turn down a Willa Jean cookie. And Fields says that at the restaurant, the cookie plate includes three warm chocolate chip cookies, an egg beater of raw cookie dough (!), and a glass of cold Tahitian vanilla milk (whole milk with a little sugar and vanilla bean seeds). She says it's the bomb, and I believe her!
Recipe: "Willa Jean Chocolate Chip Cookies" from The Good Book of Southern Baking by Kelly Fields, recipe available here from Vanity Fair or here from Valrhona.
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