Go to the Article: Chocolate Chip Cookies: A Parametric Analysis
It’s not free. At least, I had to pay for a membership
Hi, guys:
I believe there’s an error in the butter percentage in the new infographic. The correct percentage is still 71.8%. It seems there was a typo between 278 g and 287 g.
The weight in grams is correct, but it doesn’t match the percentage shown.
• 69.5% → 278 g
• 71.8% → 287 g
This last value aligns more closely with the original infographic and the recipe. I’ve noticed that the difference between the two infographics doesn’t come from the ingredient weights in the recipe, but rather from the inclusion of all components, which slightly changes the final percentages.
Those are just Levain clones
I’d love to see a take on te cookies from Giddeon’s Bakehouse (Orlando). They are, by far, the best I’ve ever had.
CC cookies have a special place in my heart. My grandmother's were very well regarded. Her secret was to replace the water (found in the old Toll House recipe on the bag) with more vanilla. I'll never forget that once when my aunt and uncle were coming to visit us, my grandmother sent a tin of her CC cookies with them for my family. My uncle ate the whole tin before they arrived. I actually forgave him.
I just love Team Chef Steps! Thanks for updating this with a new infographic and everything! 5-star chocolate chip cookies to to!
It works now! Thanks!
Why not compare to the Nieman Marcus Million Dollar Recipe, that is so famous?
You should look at https://www.foodandwine.com/how-to-bake-perfect-cookies-mathematical-modeling-university-of-guelph-study-11880323 and perhaps add this to your calculations. Quite a bit of research into this: Color and shape are important quality attributes in baked goods, particularly cookies. Composition and processing conditions determine and influence color development and morphological changes in these baked goods. The objective of this study was to systematically evaluate the evolution of color and shape during baking to determine useful correlations that can be implemented during the assessment and modeling of the baking process.
Thanks for flagging this for us! We're having trouble recreating this bug, but we've re-exported the file so hopefully it should be resolved. If you could try again and let us know if it's working for you, we'd appreciate it!
ChefSteps, when I download the 2.0 version of the Chocolate Chip Cookie parametric, the PDF has "blue tape" covering up the right side of the page (not just the piece at the top labeled 2.0). I've done this twice with the same result. Running an M1 MacAir with MacOS Tahoe 26.2 and Safari 26.2 and opening in Preview 11.0.
All cookie recipes will have salt and some leavening agent. The chart above is a macro guide for comparison of ingredient totals. Some recipes used 1 egg and 1 yolk while others used blends of sugars, etc.
Am I missing something here or are the recipes missing the leaveners and quantity of salt (if recipes called for them)? Or did they just use a standard ratio for all cookies? Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks!
Recommend steam bake (and %?) for moisture? Or no steam?
I am working on cookie with mochi inside. I do appreciate your afford. Don’t be frustrate about your chart that is not user friendly. It is just because they are not professional baker. I find your chart is really good. Keep it up.
The percentages are correct and reads as a half recipe at 200 grams of flour.
this really got me thinking and I started making a similar comparison of favored recipes in Excel. In the course of doing so, I realized your "total flour" percentage is a bit misleading. The "ultimate average" recipe calls for 200g of cake flour + 200g of bread flour. Since both are gluten-forming wouldn't the "total flour" be 400g?
Don't eat cookies.
Sugar free guidance plz!
I can’t believe how ungrateful some of you are, and rude. How about you appreciate the fact that the chart was created and shared for free with the world. It’s not their fault you lack the skills necessary to print the chart. Literally spent 3 seconds tweaking a couple settings, and mine came out on point. Buy a magnifying glass if you can’t read it. Mine is perfect thank you to the author.
yes. His were thicker and just plain bigger in The 10 Best Recipes section
these are great scales at a good price for precision sub gram measures
https://www.amazon.com/Weigh-Gram-Digital-Jewelry-Kitchen/dp/B06Y61YW7S/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?keywords=sub+gram+scale&qid=1580402905&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExOEQzWVZMQ0tBU1FWJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMjAxOTQyMUlERldVNjI4OU1WTyZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMjkxNzgwRkNTSFNTU0JDWDdaJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ ==
Are there any scales that handle partial grams (i.e. 3.44 grams), like this recipe calls for? If not, how do you measure it?
Hello Johnny, What we are using here for scaling is what is called a bakers percentage. Bakers use this formula to be able to scale up and down to yield any given amount. Bakers also call recipes formulas. The percentage of each ingredient is its total weight divided by the weight of the flour. The flour is always at 100% and all the other ingredients are calculated to the flour amount. The total will always add up to over 100%. These numbers are not the percentage of the total yield, they are just to express the proportions of each ingredient. This system can only be used when the flour is a large percentage compared to other ingredients.
Grant, On the spreadsheet everything is a ratio to the amount of flour. I am not a baker, but why are not the categories ratio to the total mass, instead of just the flour. Help me understand and learn.
Hi @Lynn, So sorry to have further frustrated you with a bad link. It has been corrected now. Thank you for the heads-up.
On the spreadsheet, should the portion for Grants cookies really be 200?
try this (copy/paste): https://d3vjjov8ymzzxi.cloudfront.net/chefsteps-com-files/chefsteps-cookie-table.pdf
Hi Lorraine, I tried the link several times today and I get this message:
This site can’t be reached
this%20link%20to%20the%20pdf%20filehttps’s server IP address could not be found.
Or maybe the recipe is too similar to one of the other recipes? No point in having multiple similar recipes.
But they really should have included the Keebler Elves' recipe, which I hear is Uncommonly Good.
Hi Shirley—sorry this was so frustrating. Click this link to the pdf file to print the chart, or zoom in to read more easily.
How do you adjust these for altitude?
Hi Blackeye—Click this link to the pdf file to print the chart, or zoom in to read more easily.
Hi Trina—Click this link to the pdf file to print the chart, or zoom in to read more easily.
Hi Trina—Here’s a link to the PDF file so you can print the chart, or zoom in to read more easily: https://d3vjjov8ymzzxi.cloudfront.net/chefsteps-com-files/chefsteps-cookie-table.pdf.
Hi Shirley—sorry this was so frustrating. Here’s a link to the PDF file so you can print the chart, or zoom in to read more easily.
Great tips, @Brian Ostrovsky. Where’s your shop in Portland? We’d love to know more about your vanilla—and the flavor profiles of different vanillas.
@Eric Bailey didn't make the cut?
Whilst resulting in only a very small deviation in the average calculation of total sugar across the ten recipes, there appears to be an error in the Jacques Torres (/NY Times) recipe. The parametric graphic lists total sugar for Jacques Torres as 382 g, 78.76%. All citing of the Jacques Torres recipe I have come across list sugars as follows: 1.25 cups (10 oz.) brown sugar, and 1 cup + 2 TBS (8 oz.) white sugar. Rough calculation using 1 oz. = 28 g, gives: 280 g brown sugar and 224 g white sugar, for a total of 504 g. Based on 504 g total sugar, the bakers percentage is 103.9%. Even a more conservative calculation with 1 cup brown or white sugar = 200 g, gives: 250 g brown sugar and 225 white sugar, for a total of 475 g sugar (97.9%).
I imagine such a small discrepancy in the average percentage of total sugars would result in negligible changes to taste and texture in the "Ultimate Average" recipe so only mention this because I am constantly comparing ingredient ratios to the Jacques Torres (/NY Times) which I consider my control recipe. Perhaps I am mistaken and there is another Jacques Torres recipe which you are using that I have overlooked? If so, can you please direct/link me to it? I am very curious to know if I have been using the "wrong" Jacques Torres recipe and not the one ChefSteps considers one of the ten best.
More importantly, I have made a batch of the "Ultimate Average", albeit with an eighteen hour/overnight rest, and they were fantastic -- wonderfully crisp edges and chewy center.
I just made your ultimates this morning. I think you missed two variables and I'd love your thoughts. My wife and I own an artisanal ice cream shop in Portland and we have our own blend of vanilla. This makes a huge difference in many of our recipes. Adding a bit of Tahitian (a little marshmallowy) and a little Indonesian (a tiny bit smoky) adds a lot of complexity. It might be worth a look. I can certainly taste the difference. Also, should I assume you were using single fold vanilla? Two-fold will of course give you twice as much vanilla to the alcohol.
Just pop em all into a google spreadsheet
Why is there no mention of Levain Bakery?
I tried also tried to print the chart. It really p------d me off. This is a teaser you don't intend to be used, I am thinking. If you want your name to be out there, give us something that is useful and that will be on the bench all the time.
I did download the recipe and I agree that it is too small to read. This should be a 2 pager me thinks.
It looks to be the most extreme variation within that row category e.g. the Grant Crilly cookie has the most extreme variation of Vanilla out of all of the cookies shown.
What do the red shaded cells mean? There's no legend for the cells.
I guess it doesn't count as a standard chocolate chip cookie but the chocopocalypse cookies out of his recent book are amazing.
@Trina Did you download the picture or the .pdf?
Sorry to say, nice to have the chart, but the print is so small I can't read it, and when saved to my computer it just blurs when I try to enlarge... how do you fix this?
I'm with you, I like a thin crispy cookie, but I have family members who like soft chewy cookies. At least with these instructions we know how to get what we want so everyone can be happy.
Any cookie that isn't thin and crispy will not go in my mouth. I'm happy to have a guide at last. Now, which of the recipes is that one?
I made Grant's cookie recipie a few months back but replaced the olive oil with a butter flavoured olive oil. Mmmmmmmm
You’ll never beat Alton Brown’s The Chewy, but nice try!
Thank you for this awesome research and congratulations for coming up with the best average cookie!
THANK YOU FOR THIS
This is amazing!! Thank you for the work on this!
