At long last my quest for the perfect chocolate chip cookie is coming to a close. Over the last year I have been preoccupied by getting a condo ready to sell, finding a community in which we wanted to live, buying and selling homes, and finally moving into a new house. Throughout all of this my baking time has been more limited than I would have liked, but one constant comfort has been chocolate chip cookies. My next post on the subject will be the final…
Until then, I have one more great recipe to share. When I read this recipe on Smitten Kitchen, one of my favorite food blogs of all time, I was just about sure that I had already decided which of the recipes I had tested so far would be the winner. Then I saw her recipe for Salted Chocolate Chunk Cookies. Generally speaking, when Deb posts something on Smitten Kitchen, I am assured of liking it. This recipe looked to be no exception. One of the things that appealed to me most about this recipe was its no nonsense approach. You don’t brown butter or rest the dough or use special flour. That made this recipe an easy one to test right away.
Salty+Sweet=Sensational!
I cannot say that I was disappointed in these cookies in any way. The cookies are thicker than some, with a crispy exterior, and a soft interior. The flavor is well balanced. In fact, I suspect one of the reasons for this is the sprinkling of sea salt on the tops of the cookie. When my brother first told me about a chocolate chip cookie with sea salt that he loved from his local farmer’s market, I was skeptical (and jealous that this baker had stolen my place in his cookie jar). I have to say, he was right to be in love. The salty-sweet combination makes this cookie special. Does it make it my new favorite? Check back soon!
Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons turbinado sugar or Sugar in the Raw (see note)
- 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar packed
- 1 extra-large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 heaping teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
- Flaky sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 360°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicon baking mats.
- Whisk together salt, baking soda, and flour.
- Cream the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
- Add egg and vanilla, beating until incorporated, and scraping down the bowl as needed.
- Beat dry ingredients on a low speed until just combined. The dough will be a bit crumbly.
- Mix in chocolate chips by hand.
- Scoop cookies into 1 1/2 tablespoon balls, spacing them apart on the prepared baking sheet.
- Sprinkle each with a few flakes of sea salt.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, until just golden on the outside
- Let rest on baking sheet for 5 minutes. Transfer to cooling rack.
Recipe Notes
If you don’t have turbinado sugar, you can substitute brown sugar instead. The original recipe called for 1/2 pound semi- or bittersweet chocolate, cut into chunks, but I used Nestle chocolate chips because I wanted to keep the chocolate chips consistent in all the recipes I tested. I suspect that these would be even better with the chocolate chunks, however.
Adapted ever so slightly from Smitten Kitchen's Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies.
Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies and So Much More
See more ideas and amazing cookie recipes on my Pinterest Board all about the Chocolate Chip Cookie! Or for something different, try my Mocha Chocolate Chip Cookie, the “Mocha Polka”.
