Several months ago, I was just minding my own business on Beyonce’s internet, mindlessly scrolling. Then I saw this YouTube Short (you can’t embed these? WTF?) and I became transfixed.
That is award-winning and Michelin starred Chef Eric Ziebold sharing what he loves for dessert: a chocolate chip cookie dough soufflé. To me, a chocolate chip cookie enthusiast who loves them in any form, this was a revelation and had me in a chokehold. Not like they need any introduction or evangelizing, but there comes a point where chocolate chip cookies get branded as “kid stuff” or too simple. Meanwhile, I’m out here pushing 39 and if I see a chocolate chip cookie anything on a menu, I’m getting dessert.
Giant warm, melty chocolate chip cookie underneath a pile of vanilla ice cream? Yep. Store bought catered platter? Sure. Homemade, regardless of texture? Hell yeah. Cookie dough ice cream? Gimme.
When I saw this video, I knew I had to make this. Small obstacle: I’d never made a souffle before, and I couldn’t find a proper recipe for this particular one anywhere. I rolled up my mental sleeves and got to work.
The result is the first baked recipe I’ve ever truly figured out from scratch, running on a minute long YouTube video and a dream.
What I learned on my soufflé journey
Something that was very abundant from all my reading and tutorial video watching is that there are two key factors to keep in mind:
- Soufflés are a fleeting delight, to be enjoyed right out of the oven before total collapse (but you can make the mix slightly ahead of time and bake it when it’s go time).
- Apparently a well-made soufflé revolves around egg whites whipped into soft peaks. The yolks need to be far, FAR away from the bowl. They can’t even look at each other. Throw the yolks into your neighbor’s yard. And if anyone has ever breathed near the bowl you’re using to whip the egg whites, clean it seven times before using again. (This is the level of alarmism I was dealing with, folks.) Amateur tip though: eggs separate better when they’re cold, and whip better when they’re room temperature, so separate them about half an hour before you anticipate starting the mix.
I made 6 of these in total before I got it right. It was frequently aggravating because apparently egg whites are sensitive little babies who need special treatment. So basically, I blew through a full dozen eggs so that you don’t have to.
A huge contributing factor was that our oven remains unreliable and generally shitty, so I gave a few of these a go in the air fryer (which is a tiny convection oven) to see what kind of miracles take place when the temperature is accurate and the heat is evenly applied. With one less variable, I had a little more leeway to figure out the rest. That’s why this recipe is for convection, but there are plenty of guides on what to do to convert the recipe for a conventional oven. Basically, since convection cooks things faster, a conventional oven will require a higher temperature and more time. This article from Bob’s Red Mill was the most helpful one I found.
Did I like my first foray into recipe development? Yes. I would have liked it a lot more if I was in a bigger kitchen and didn’t have to clean everything myself, but it was pretty satisfying to figure this out, especially since it departs from a traditional soufflé recipe in that there’s no creamy custard base.
In the recipe itself, I have some more links to different videos and resources that helped me figure this all out. Remember: recipes, recipe tutorials, and the comment sections are the last pure things on the internet. Use them wisely.
Give this soufflé a whirl and enjoy!
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Souffle
Working off an existing recipe? Never heard of her. Let me know how this turns out for you!
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter + a pat for coating ramekins
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar + a dusting for coating ramekins
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 3 tbsp flour
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp milk (I used half and half)
- Heaping 1/4C chocolate chips
- 2 egg whites, room temperature
Instructions
- Preheat air fryer to 330 degrees.
- Brush the ramekins with butter in an upward motion. The coating should be thin but visible.
- Sprinkle a little bit of granulated sugar into each ramekin. Rotate the ramekin and tap around to make sure the butter has an even coating of sugar on top. (Here’s a visual guide, but I didn’t use as much sugar in my final attempt because in my other tries, the souffle came out crunchy.)
- Cream together butter, brown sugar, and a pinch of salt.
- Add in flour, milk, vanilla, and chocolate chips. Mix until smooth and set aside.
- Using a stand mixer or beaters, start whisking the egg whites. Start at the slowest speed and slowly move up as the mixture gets foamier. Check this video from America’s favorite white collar criminal for further reference/a better walkthrough.
- When they start to get foamy, SLOWLY add granulated sugar, 1 tbsp at a time, mixing long enough after each tablespoon for the sugar to dissolve and for the egg whites to get a little firmer.
- Mix until egg whites form into soft peaks.
- Shut off the mixer and drop a dollop of the egg whites into the chocolate chip mixture. Incorporate until the whole thing is a bit lighter and fluffier.
- Gently fold the rest of the fluffy egg whites in, scooping under the mix, around the edge of the bowl, etc.until incorporated. Don’t mix it TOO much – you want the batter to be fluffy to make it easier to rise.
- Spoon the mix into the coated ramekin, right up to the top.
- Tap the ramekin gently on a table or counter to get out excess bubbles and scrape any excess batter off the top of the ramekin.
- Bake the soufflés in the air fryer for 12 minutes.
- Serve with ice cream on the side for a transcendent experience.
Notes
Even though the soufflés themselves are short-lived, you can make the mix up to a day ahead of time and bake it just before serving.
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