Justine Doiron’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Quest
Justine Doiron gets deep in the dough on today's episode of our baking podcast
Obsessive Chocolate Chip Cookie Behavior
“Nerds love it. I love it!”
For her debut cookbook, Justine Doiron created a cookie diagram to document the differences between four chocolate chip cookie variations, resulting in a recipe for everyone. To us, this is Nobel-worthy research, but we do live in a baking bubble. Still, you’ll find a recipe for a crisp cookie, a gooey one, her favorite (sour cream!), and the “tall rye guy”—more on him, later.
Justine likes a challenge that ends in dessert. And we like to follow along every second on TikTok, where the meticulous content creator has over two million followers. She’s also sharing recipes right here on Substack. Were you there when she made three entirely distinct, whimsical layer cakes—and a raspberry tiramisu—for her own wedding? What about when she devised a homemade cooking advent calendar? Twenty-four cookies in four days! Unhinged—and deeply inspiring for other baking obsessives. (Us. You?)
This week, host Jessie Sheehan talks to Justine about her Hong Kong upbringing and her journey from zoo employee to PR pro to full-time content creator. Last year, Justine Cooks, her first cookbook, shot to the New York Times bestseller list (snag a signed copy), and we’re especially fond of her tiramisu cookies and buttery Earl Grey-infused granola. When Justine and Jessie get into the nitty-gritty details about the acidity of brown sugar, you realize Justine is in deep. She knows her baking science. Have a listen to get her thoughts on Tollhouse cookies, preheat your oven, and dig that rye flour out of the freezer to make her Levain-style Tall Rye Guy cookies.
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Shop the show & more
Obvs: Justine Cooks: Recipes (Mostly Plants) for Finding Your Way in the Kitchen
It’s time to upgrade your chocolate chips to Guittard wafers (a Justine fave)
Justine picks up rye flour from Bob’s Red Mill, or seek out something local
Like Justine, we love a good chore jacket
New year, new farmers’ market tote
Words to live by
“Salted butter is flavor reassurance.” – Justine Doiron
Tip of the week
Sugar turns to liquid in the oven (🤯), which can be a major cause of cookie spreading. To control the final texture of your cookie, look at the ratios of your ingredients to finesse the results.
Question for the class
Got a Tollhouse cookie take? Let’s hear it.
Fresh baked news
Justine is not the only one obsessed with CCC
Congrats, Pelah Kitchen!
Weekend project: croissant cinnamon rolls
Roxana Jullapat’s upcoming book
Prue Leith is leaving GBBO
Flashback to her episode on SMCP
Jellycat, meet Cades Cakes ⬇️
The cherry on top
So You Want To Open A Restaurant? Check out our new Substack series.
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This is an interesting conversation for me as a person with celiac disease, as converting standard recipes like Toll House cookies to gluten free cookies always seems to result in something “less than”. Part of the reason is there is no direct replacement for the gluten effect on texture. But, this idea of making ratio charts might be helpful. We have multiple gluten free flours, and they all have different hydration and texture properties, which might also play differently in different product uses (cookies vs cakes vs breads). Thank you for this idea.