I wrote the other day about how much I loved the Netflix movie To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, and this summer I also read the book, plus it’s two sequels. You don’t really see it too much in the movie, but in the books, a huge part of Lara Jean’s life is that she LOVES to bake. She bakes to de-stress (I can relate) and when she wants to show someone she cares about them (ditto), and of course this made me love her even more.

This is why, despite my love for the movie and having watched it half a dozen times so far, I have to address one particular problem I have with it. In the scene where Lara Jean is baking cupcakes for Kitty’s bake sale (before Peter Kavinsky stops by to try to take her to a party), Lara Jean commits the following egregious baking sins:

1. She is measuring her flour with a LIQUID MEASURING CUP (the horror!)
2. She is spooning the flour into said liquid measuring cup, when we all know she should be using the STIR, SCOOP, SWEEP method (as taught by the goddess, Ina Garten)

Clearly a baking consultant wasn’t on set to prevent these mistakes, so I’ll let it go, but they definitely need one for the sequels, and here’s why:

In the third book of the trilogy, Lara Jean is on a quest to make the perfect chocolate chip cookie. I can also relate. I’ve tried a few different recipes over the past few years, but the one I always put off was The New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookie, the white whale of all chocolate chip cookie recipes. This is one of the recipes that Lara Jean tries in the book, and although it’s not named, the author mentions all of this recipe’s trademarks: the expensive chocolate, the huge size, and the resting period. With the movie coming out, I took it as a sign that it was finally time for me to make these too!*

I first heard about this recipe on Smitten Kitchen about 10 years ago, but I was intimidated by the three traits as outlined above: what are, and where does one find, chocolate fèves? Why are the cookies so gigantic? How am I supposed to wait 72 hours to bake them? I just wasn’t sure if it all was worth it. Then Deb revisited the recipe in 2016 and streamlined it to make it a little bit more approachable, plus I also found a little vendor in the basement of St. Lawrence Market where you can buy Valrhona chocolate discs (also known as fèves).  I guess all I needed was a good excuse to make these, and celebrating a NEW JOB sure seemed like a reason to finally take this on.

So what’s the verdict? Much like Christina Tosi’s Compost Cookies, these bake up to be very large, flat cookies, yet they aren’t crunchy at all. The large size gives you a crisp ring of cookie around the edge, but a soft chewy centre, with huge puddles of the most delicious (read: expensive) chocolate throughout. The aging process makes for an excruciating wait, but I wouldn’t skip it, as it enhances the flavour of the dough, giving it even more caramel undertones. These are definitely a special occasion/hoard them for yourself/share only with loved ones type of cookie, and they were worth absolutely worth the wait.

*Do I have the same goals as a fictional 17 year-old? Sure do! I also have the pop culture tastes of one as well.

The New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookie

Source: The New York Times via Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) butter, room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups brown sugar (light brown sugar if you want to follow the recipe exactly // dark if, like me, you aren’t that fussy)
• 1 cup + 2 tbsp sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 1/2 cups + 2 tsp flour
• 1 1/4 lbs bittersweet chocolate discs or fèves, at least 60% (this is a special occasion cookie, so I splurged on Valrhona 70% and this chocolate is almost too sinful for words)
• flaky sea salt for sprinkling

Directions

1. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars together until nice and fluffy, 3-4 minutes.
2. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix to combine. Mix in the vanilla.
3. Sprinkle baking powder, baking soda and salt over the dough and mix until fully incorporated.
4. Add the flour, and mix until just incorporated.
5. Fold in the chocolate fèves.
6. Line a plate or baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a kitchen scale, form balls of dough that weigh 3 1/2 oz (100g) and place on the parchment paper. If any fèves are sticking out, try to gently push them inside the dough ball. Wrap the whole plate/sheet in plastic wrap and place in the fridge to chill for 72 hours (if you can wait that long).
7. When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350° and line a fresh baking sheet with parchment paper. Place a few dough balls on the baking sheet, very far apart, because these cookies will end up huge (~5″ across). Sprinkle with a little bit of flaky sea salt and bake for 12-17 until golden brown.