Rosie’s note: The bread flour and the beef tallow are the whole trick here. They build a thick, fluffy cookie that holds its loft instead of spreading flat. People ask what the secret is. Just smile.
Active time is about 35 minutes, but the dough chills overnight, so start it the night before. Yields around 24 cookies at 40g each. From The Lonnie Collection: Fluffy Cookout Cookies.
Small amounts at or under 10g are marked [Precision Check: Use Spoon]. The scale reads in 1g steps, so at those small weights a measuring spoon is the more reliable call.
Ingredients
Cream together
| Ingredient | Scale | Traditional |
|---|---|---|
| White sugar (granulated) | 150g | 3/4 cup |
| White sugar (for DIY brown) | 115g | ~1/2 cup |
| Molasses | 15g | 1 tbsp |
| Beef tallow (solid, chilled) | 100g | ~1/2 cup |
| Butter (unsalted, softened) | 113g | 1/2 cup (1 stick) |
Wet
| Ingredient | Scale | Traditional |
|---|---|---|
| Eggs | 100g | 2 large |
| Heavy cream | 45g | 3 tbsp |
| Vanilla extract | 5g | 1 tsp [Precision Check: Use Spoon] |
Dry
| Ingredient | Scale | Traditional |
|---|---|---|
| Bread flour | 360g | 3 cups |
| Baking soda | 6g | 1 tsp [Precision Check: Use Spoon] |
| Baking powder | 4g | 1 tsp [Precision Check: Use Spoon] |
| Fine salt | 6g | 1 tsp [Precision Check: Use Spoon] |
Mix-in
| Ingredient | Scale | Traditional |
|---|---|---|
| Chocolate chips | 340g | 2 cups |
The night before
- DIY brown sugar. In a small bowl, combine the 115g (~1/2 cup) white sugar and 15g (1 tbsp) molasses. Mash with a fork until uniform. This is what gives you real brown-sugar chew without a second bag of sugar.
- Dry prep. In a medium bowl, weigh the 360g (3 cups) bread flour. Add the 6g (1 tsp) baking soda, 4g (1 tsp) baking powder, and 6g (1 tsp) fine salt. Whisk to combine.
- The creaming phase. With the hand mixer on medium-high, cream the 113g (1/2 cup) butter, 100g (~1/2 cup) tallow, 150g (3/4 cup) white sugar, and the DIY brown sugar for 3 full minutes until pale and fluffy. Do not rush this, it is where the loft comes from.
- Wet ingredients. Add the 100g (2) eggs, 45g (3 tbsp) heavy cream, and 5g (1 tsp) vanilla. Mix on low until just combined.
- Combine. Fold in the dry flour mix and the 340g (2 cups) chocolate chips by hand with a spatula until no flour streaks remain. Do not overmix.
- Chill. Roll into 40g balls, about golf-ball size. Place on a tray, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight. The cold start the next day is what keeps them from spreading.
Bake day
- Preheat the convection oven to 350 F.
- Cold start. Take the dough balls straight from the fridge to the baking sheet. Space them 2 inches apart.
- Bake 11 to 13 minutes. Verify with the laser thermometer and pull at 180 F internal. That is what keeps them fluffy and stops them drying out.
- Rest. Let the cookies sit on the hot baking sheet 5 minutes before moving to a wire rack.
Storage, reheat, repurpose
- Storage: airtight container at room temperature, 4 to 5 days. Freeze the raw 40g balls for up to 3 months and bake from frozen, adding a minute or two.
- Reheat: air fryer at 300 F for 2 to 3 minutes brings a day-old cookie back to warm and soft.
- Repurpose: crumble a couple over vanilla ice cream, or sandwich softened ice cream between two for an ice cream sandwich.