Alton Brown’s “The Chewy”
For those of you who don’t know, I love Alton Brown (aka AB). I DVR his show Good Eats and I really dig all the science behind the magic that happens in the kitchen.
One of my favorite episodes is “Cookies for Sister Marsha“. In that episode, AB takes the Nestle Tollhouse chocolate chip cookie recipe and makes minor adjustments to the ingredients to make 3 very different cookies, The Thin, The Puffy, and The Chewy. It was very informative episode that stuck in the back of my mind for quite some time. I don’t like thin cookies, but I’ve wanted to try The Puffy and The Chewy since I first saw that episode…
Then, late last year, I saw a chocolate chip cookie comparison on The Way the Cookie Crumbles. (btw, I love comparison posts!) I won’t go into the details here, but Bridget compared 4 highly rated chocolate chip cookie recipes, including AB’s “The Chewy”. And after baking 4 different kinds of chocolate chip cookies and comparing them, she recommended “The Chewy”! I knew it was a sign. With all the holiday cookie baking I did, I haven’t had a chance to get to this cookie until now.
I doubled the recipe and use 1 bag of chocolate chips and 1 bag of chocolate chunks. Hubby thought the cookies were a bit too chocolatey. I say there’s no such thing.
Also, AB uses a #20 portion disher. After some research, I found that is 1.6 oz or about 3 Tbsp of batter. I just used my cookie scoop which is no where near 3 Tbsp of batter. I couldn’t find any markings on my cookie scoop to indicate the portion size (FYI, the portion size indicated the number of portions per quart). Since my cookie scoop was small, I had to watch my cookies very carefully to find their appropriate baking time. After a few underbaked cookies, I decided to bake for 9 minutes at 350 degrees.
I also chilled my dough for 24 hours. No reason specific reason for this, but something came up right after I mixed up the batter so I didn’t get around to baking them until 24 hours later. (In case you also enjoy comparison posts, check out this one from For the Love of Food about chilling chocolate chip cookie dough for 0, 12, 24, and 36 hours – it was prompted by the NY Time chocolate chip article about the search for the perfect chocolate chip recipe.)
These cookies are VERY good. I could eat 10 without even realizing it. I think they were better the second day. I will definitely be making these again and again.
“The Chewy” – from Alton Brown – I made a double batch and got 8 dozen cookies using my cookie scoop
2 sticks unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
Heat oven to 375 degrees F (I baked at 350).
Melt the butter in a heavy-bottom medium saucepan over low heat. Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda and set aside.
Pour the melted butter in the mixer’s work bowl. Add the sugar and brown sugar. Cream the butter and sugars on medium speed (it should look like very thin peanut butter).
Add the egg, yolk, 2 tablespoons milk and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture until thoroughly combined (it will look like peanut butter at this point).
Stir in the chocolate chips (I used chips and chunks).
Chill the dough, then scoop onto parchment-lined baking sheets, 6 cookies per sheet (12 for me since I was using a small cookie scoop). Bake for 14 minutes or until golden brown (9 minutes for me), checking the cookies after 5 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet for even browning. Cool completely and store in an airtight container.
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
What an awesome way to feature goat cheese in a dessert! I never thought of turning it into a chocolate mousse – sounds like I need to try this soon. 🙂
beantownbaker — June 7th, 2013 @ 8:51 am
You definitely should. I know goat cheese isn’t for everyone, but we really enjoyed the subtle flavor in the mousse.
Jen, I love everything about this tart – from the chocolate crust to the mousse and the pretty strawberries on top. Yum! Enjoy your birthday month 🙂
beantownbaker — June 7th, 2013 @ 8:52 am
Thanks for humoring me on the whole birthday month thing 🙂
Ohhh lalalalala, I totally dig this dessert even more because it has goat cheese and strawberries…some of my fave foods!! Happy Birthday month…you better party and eat like it’s your birthday!!
beantownbaker — June 7th, 2013 @ 1:52 pm
Oh I’m definitely going to party like it’s my birthday! All month long 🙂
oh yes to the goat cheese in this tart! fabulous. happy birthday month 🙂 you might need to make this a few more times to celebrate?!
beantownbaker — June 10th, 2013 @ 12:09 pm
Oh I have been baking plenty of deliciousness this month to celebrate 🙂 You know how hard it is to repeat recipes…
Love the idea of incorporating goat cheese in a dessert- I have never seen it down with chocolate before. I will definitely be trying this soon as I have some goat cheese in my fridge waiting to be used 🙂
beantownbaker — June 11th, 2013 @ 7:20 am
Oh yea, goat cheese and chocolate go really well together.
Oh my, the use of goat cheese in this is phenomenal! I would love to try it!
beantownbaker — June 11th, 2013 @ 8:46 am
Definitely do! And you could top it with any fruit you like. I think raspberries would be good too.
Chocolate must work great with goat cheese since they’re both utterly delicious!! This recipe looks magnificent omg I think I would be able to eat the whole tart by myself *-*
Goat cheese is one of my favorite ingredients to use in desserts, and your tart looks soooo delicious! Thanks for sharing =) Definitely a must try this summer.
Oh wow this is gorgeous! I love this recipe, I bet it tastes heavenly!
I just finished making my second one for this week…we love it…it is so smooth and rich and well D E L I C I O U S!!!…my grandson requested the second one but truth be told I was gonna make it anyway…the bittersweet chocolate and the cocoa in the crust are what make it….if anyone out there hasn’t tried it do so you will be in love….
beantownbaker — June 25th, 2013 @ 5:38 pm
So glad you’ve enjoyed it! I definitely need to make this again. I have already made it with raspberries but want to try blackberries next.
you wont believe it but I made this AGAIN yesterday…I did a play on bananas foster on the top…it was a hit with my company…and good recipes for sweets for the 4th?..lol….
beantownbaker — July 3rd, 2013 @ 5:02 pm
Wow – bananas foster on top. I would never have thought of that! I am making this tart and this strawberry shortcake for the 4th.
So sinful and delicious looking 🙂
Holy yumminess. I never thought of putting goat cheese in. My mouth is watering at the thought. Strawberries are my absolute favorite berry of all time. I will have to for sure try this recipe, Got it saved to my personal file. thank you.
I love chocolate mousse and I love goat cheese, so clearly I need to make this!
Also, there is strawberry picking (not sure it is organic though if that matters) up here near Oxford. I can get you the info for next year if driving up here is not a problem (I imagine it depends on what side of Cinci you live 🙂 ).
beantownbaker — August 4th, 2013 @ 6:44 pm
I definitely don’t mind driving for freshly picked strawberries!!
I love absolutely EVERYTHING about this recipe! It’s hard to beat mixing tangy goat cheese with chocolate and berries. What a unique recipe!
beantownbaker — September 25th, 2013 @ 4:11 pm
It tastes as good as it sounds! I hope you try it.
WOW! What a wonderful recipe! Definitely one of my new favorites! Happy birthday month!
Does this go in the fridge covered or uncovered and how long does it last? Thanks!