Andrew Zimmern's Not-So-Secret Ingredient For Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate chip cookies are the ultimate comfort food, and you'd be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn't enjoy fresh, warm, homemade cookies. Chocolate chip cookies can vary drastically, with everything from double chocolate flavors to additions like various kinds of spices or nuts. And then there's the eternal debate between crispy versus chewy and gooey. Home bakers, as well as celebrity chefs, each have their tried and true recipes with their unique spins on the classic. Celebrity chef Andrew Zimmern has his own favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, which has three kinds of sugar and, more importantly, a certain nuttiness.

Andrew Zimmern adds toasted chopped pecans to his cookies, as well as a combination of white sugar, brown sugar, and corn syrup to the batter. After experimenting with several variations, he found that these three sugars helped achieve his ideal texture: soft and chewy in the middle, with crispy edges. While Zimmern is known for eating crazy foods, there are some common foods he won't touch. One of these is walnuts, which is why he opts for pecans as the nut in his cookies. Zimmern insists that the pecans are toasted before being added to the batter. Toasting nuts prior to eating helps bring out their natural nutty flavor, while also ensuring they stay crunchy.

Andrew Zimmern uploaded a video of his cookie recipe to his Youtube channel and people agreed that his recipe did not disappoint. One user simply wrote, "Best recipe ever." In his video, Zimmern explained that in addition to pecans, he prefers chocolate chips over large chocolate chunks or small chocolate shards. Semi-sweet is his go-to, though bittersweet could also be used. He notes that while the cookies will taste good with run-of-the-mill chocolate chips, a chocolate chip from a fine chocolatier will really make these cookies shine.

As for the pecans, they should be lightly toasted and chopped, but not too fine. Though Zimmern won't want to hear about it, people who don't like pecans can substitute in another nut like walnuts, almonds, or even peanuts. While his cookies are pretty straightforward, if you're looking to add in an unusual ingredient for some added spice, try some cayenne. Everyone has their cookie preference, but Zimmern's self-proclaimed best chocolate chip cookie recipe may be the ideal place to start.