Nick's Most Favoritest Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies
Lately, I've been getting back into cooking and baking from scratch. Don't get me wrong, we've been eating at home a lot, but I've been cooking more food that amounts to meals, instead of sandwiches or more assembled dinners.
Last night I made this from Joy the Baker and it was DELICIOUS. There was biscuit dough leftover, so while the whole shebang was baking, I cut the rest of the dough into itty bitty biscuits and baked them in the toaster oven. They were gone by the end of the night, and I was in a butter coma. (If you make the recipe, I suggest only using 2 cups stock and 8 oz more mushrooms. It was a bit runny for my liking, and the mushrooms cooked down a little too much.)
But I digress. This post is about cookies.
Growing up, my mom only baked for other people (funerals, church functions, new babies, bridal showers, etc). The cookies we got were the somewhat burned and super crunchy cookies. Super crunchy because my mom already made her cookies crispy (GROSS). Any cookie afficionado would agree that the best cookie has a bit of chew - not super soft, not super crispy. A nice in-between texture that will hold up to dunking or being stashed in a baggie in your purse.
These cookies have that. And they are awesome.
I honestly don't know where I found the recipe. I think it's a hybrid of several across the interwebs. But I've made them so many times that the bookmarked page in my handwritten cookbook is ragged and stained with butter and other kitchen debris.
They're super simple and don't require fancy ingredients or weird techniques.
Make them now!
You'll need:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
12 tablespoons (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup white sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1.5 cups chocolate chips, semisweet or dark
Salt of preference (I prefer a flaky salt, but Kosher will do. If you're using fancy salts, I wouldn't go any darker than pink or light grey, as the flavor of the salt may interfere and clash with the cookie's awesomeness.)
Method:
Preheat your oven to 330 degrees (a weird temperature, but run with it).
Sieve together the flour and baking soda into a medium-sized bowl. Set aside.
In your mixer's bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Then add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract. Mix until just combined.
Start the mixer on low to medium speed and add the flour/baking soda mixture somewhat slowly (I use a large serving spoon and just add spoonfuls one at a time). Add chocolate chips until just combined.
(At this point, I like to cover the dough and put it in the fridge while I prep the baking sheets and clear my workspace a little. It keeps the dough firm and malleable. If your kitchen is cool, you probably don't need to do this.)
Prep your baking sheets by lining with parchment paper.
Take a spoonful of dough and roll into a golf ball-sized ball. Space the balls a couple of inches apart on the paper, as they will spread while baking.
After your dough balls are on the sheets, take your salt of preference and sprinkle each ball, making sure to really get some salt on them. If you're using table salt, err on the side of caution, as a little goes a long way. (Since the dough is unsalted and the butter isn't either, this will be the only salt this recipe gets. Don't add a ton, but definitely make sure they're sprinkled well.)
Bake on the center rack for 20-23 minutes. IMPORTANT: these cookies do not brown like conventional cookies. If you're unsure whether they're done, test with a toothpick.
When done baking, let cool a bit on the cookie sheet, then transfer to cooling racks. Keep on the counter in a loosely-lidded container.
Yield: about 24 cookies.
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