Gooey Deep Dish Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is one of the most difficult posts I've had to write here on carlyklock, for 2 reasons:

1. Looking at these pictures right now and thinking about this dessert again is excruciating without having one to blissfully enjoy at the same time.
2. This is one of the first times I've been rendered speechless; it was that good.  The French Toast and Bacon Cupcakes are the only other dish that comes to mind right now that was just about as mind-blowing and difficult to put into words.

So, you know what that means, right?  You just have to go and make them yourselves in order to understand.

Honestly, this dessert should be served along with a warning.

That your self control will go out the window.

That you will be overwhelmed with divine bliss.

That you might fall in love with the person that gave it to you.  This could create and/or destroy marriages.

That your life will never be the same.  You'll never look at another regular chocolate chip cookie with the same fondness again.

You can use any cookie dough you'd like.  It can be refrigerated, from your grandmother, or the New York Times voted best chocolate chip cookie recipe.  Which is what I used, naturally.  It's Jacque Torres' super duper secret awesome cookie dough recipe that has a higher chocolate to dough ratio than your typical dough.

You must serve these guys with vanilla ice cream.  To not would be sacrilegious.  Also sacrileg?  Eating these at room temperature or cold.

Gooey Deep Dish Chocolate Chip Cookies
Dough recipe by Jacques Torres

Makes 12

1 pound unsalted butter
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
2 1/4 cups packed light-brown sugar
4 large eggs
3 cups plus 2 tablespoons pastry flour
3 cups bread flour
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 pounds bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars.
- Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
- Reduce speed to low and add both flours, baking powder, baking soda, vanilla, and chocolate; mix until well combined.
- Fill ramekins or a baking dish with the cookie dough and bake for 20 minutes, or until the top turns golden brown (cooking time will vary based on size of baking dish).  The center will be gooey and not set like a typical chocolate chip cookie (aka divinity).

Notes:

• If you're using a big hunk of chocolate, microwaving it for 15 seconds or so will make it much easier to chop.  You can always use bittersweet chips, but the variation in size and the small shavings that result from chopping the chocolate are a big part of the recipe.  (I mean, I'm not Jacques Torres, but that's my speculation)