Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies

A storm is was brewing. With cabin fever hitting me hard, I found myself baking and eating all weekend long. Would the power go out? Would we really be stuck inside all day long waiting for the hurricane to destroy Manhattan before our very own eyes? Alas, I think I slept through the worst of the storm. It was not a terribly destructive storm. On the good side, I was prepared with these salted chocolate chip cookies and some homemade peach pie (recipe from Joy) with vanilla ice cream just to be sure we were well-desserted.

Every person has his/her own preference for the perfect chocolate chip cookie. A lot of the differences in baking depend on the temperature of the dough before it goes in the oven. Cold dough works best in my experience. If you are looking for a more soft and cake-like texture reminiscent of an old-school Toll House chocolate chip cookie, you might also be interested in these classic chocolate chip cookies.

I made the dough for these salted chocolate chip cookies at the beginning of the week and have slowly been baking the cookies off little by little. Just as they came out of the oven, I sprinkled a few flecks of sea salt over the top of the cookies. That salty sweet combo…it always gets me. (See: cocoa brownies with sea salt)

Make. Bake. Dunk. Eat. Repeat. Enjoy.

Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies

from DavidLebovitz

makes about 2 dozen cookies, well, depending on how much raw dough you nibble on, and depending on how large you bake your cookies

If you are using unsalted butter, 4 ounces (8 tablespoons, or 115g) of butter has about 1/4 to 3/4 teaspoon of salt in it.For the rest of us, you could simply swap out unsalted butter and add another 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of salt.4 ounces (115g) salted butter, at room temperature (I used unsalted butter)

2/3 cup packed (110g) dark or light brown sugar

1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar

1 large egg, at room temperature

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/3 cup (180g) flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon flaky sea salt or kosher salt (I used 1/2 t. sea salt and 1/2 t. kosher salt)

1 1/3 cups (200g) coarsely chopped bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (I just used chocolate chips)

optional: 1 cup toasted nuts, coarsely chopped

more sea salt, for sprinkling on top just after the cookies come out of the oven

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, or by hand, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar just until smooth and creamy.

2. Beat in the egg and the vanilla.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.

4. Stir the flour mixture into the beaten butter until combined, then mix in the chopped chocolate (including any chocolate dust) and the chopped nuts.

5. Cover and chill the batter until firm. (It’s preferable to let it rest overnight.)

6. To bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

7. Form the cookie dough into rounds about the size of a large unshelled walnut. Place the mounds evenly spaced apart on the baking sheets, and press down the tops to flatten them so they are no longer domed and the dough is even.

8. Bake the cookies for ten minutes, rotating the baking sheet midway during baking, until the cookies look about set, but are not browned.

9. Remove from the oven and quickly tap the top of each with a spatula, then return to the oven for two to five more minutes, until the tops of the cookies are light golden brown. Remove from oven and let cookies cool.

Storage: The cookies can be stored at room temperature for up to five days in an airtight container. The dough can be refrigerated for up to one week or frozen for one or two months. Feel free to keep the dough and just bake off a few cookies at a time. Moderation, folks.