Buzz

If there’s one thing we know for sure, it’s that we’ll never turn down chocolate chip cookies. There’s something so comforting about the mixture of buttery dough and melty chocolate, especially when it’s right out of the oven. In honor of National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day today (August 4th), we wanted to give you a glimpse into chocolatier Jacques Torres‘ method for making the best cookies ever.

Torres has been famous for his chocolate creations loooong before his turn as a judge on the hit Netflix show Nailed It!. The French chef produces some of the most sought-after gourmet chocolates in the world, so we had to know his version of an American classic: chocolate chip cookies.

When we interviewed him at one of his New York chocolate shops, he told us he had quite the story behind this recipe. “I tried to make French pastries — things that are a bit more complicated — but when I talked to my customers, the word ‘cookies’ came back a lot. But I’m French. I didn’t grow up with [American-style] cookies. I grew up with shortbread.”

That didn’t stop him from investigating how he could deliver for his customers. “I didn’t know how to make chocolate chip cookies, so I went to a grocery store not too far from here and I bought the Toll House Morsels. I opened the bag — and put all the chocolate in the garbage. It’s a true story!” What he wanted, after all, wasn’t the chocolate: it was the classic recipe for chocolate chip cookies on the back. “I took that recipe and translated it into grams and rebalanced it the way I think the recipe should be. Of course, I [used] the chocolate I use for bonbons [because] it has more cocoa butter,” he added.

The success of his cookies escalated quickly. “We arrived at a point where we could not scoop the cookies fast enough, so we bought a machine that cuts the dough. It now extrudes 80 cookies a minute. We sell thousands every week!” You can buy the world-famous chocolate chip cookies on his website for $24 (for six cookies) OR you can whip up a homemade batch with the recipe provided. Just don’t forget his tips for what makes his cookies extra-special. Torres says, “Baking is simple. What’s not simple is to find the best ingredients possible.” Luckily, he shared many *key* ingredients below.