Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies

One of my favorite childhood books I remember with great clarity and fondness is a terrific book called “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie…” written by Laura Numeroff. Originally published in 1985 (is this a coincidence this timeless classic was published the year I was born?) it chronicles the adventures of a feisty little mouse of what he considers necessary to accompany the gift of a cookie. I of course, could absolutely relate to that little mouse in ultimately desiring that second cookie. Life is always better with a cookie in hand, isn’t it?

I am going to focus on the absolutely timeless Chocolate Chip Cookie today. A Chocolate Chip cookie, in the realm of cookiedom, is the equivalent to the classic Little Black Dress. It can be aesthetically pleasing but have poor construction, have texture and flair, and be indelibly satisfying to your soul in almost every form it takes.

Chocolate chip cookies bring out extreme divisions of people's preferences. There are those who ship for Team Thick and Chewy, whilst others pen sonnets to the Thin, Gooey, and slightly Crisp Edges Camp. Still there are others who will crusade for a chocolate chip cookie who careens towards Crumbly and Crisp, with almost a biscotti lii meets shortbread texture. Then you have your devout haters of manufactured chocolate chips, who swear that nothing butthe expensive, good quality chocolate you manhandle into charming chunks and sliversof decadencewill do.

Stacks of Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies

rsonally, my preferred type of chocolate chip cookie has a melty, chewy center with slightly crisp edges. I do not like the cookie to be too thick nor thin, and absolutely cannot stand it when it does not contain a good amount of salt to counter the richness of the chocolate while simultaneously enhancing it.

I have tried many types of recipes and techniques that are fairly standard to chase the dream of the perfect chocolate chip cookie. I’ve tried butter, crisco, melting the butter, soft dough, and chilled dough. Since my vision loss, I have become pretty precise in making sure that every cookie is uniform in shape and size, which I never cared about when I could see them properly. Kitchen timers and trusting my nose and sense of touch has become critical in making sure I create a perfect cookie.

After much trial and error and multiple sugar induced comas after mass cookie consumption, I am sure I have found the absolutely last, earth shatteringly perfect chocolate chip cookie. Ashley Rodriguez, creator of the brilliantly written blog Not Without Salt, and author of Date Night In, has come up with the most breathtaking chocolate chip cookie you can make from the comfort of your home and in your pajamas, if that’s your jam. These cookies feature 3 types of sugar, and taste phenomenal with high end, quality chocolate or Ghirardilli bittersweet chocolate chips, if you make them frequently or that’s just what you have on hand. This lady knows her food and how to manipulate and coax the best out of each ingredient. Do NOT omit the sprinkle of salt before baking, as that final touch is what makes this cookie so unctuous and melt in your mouth, crisp, and chewy all at the same time.

Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies are a perfect pair for ice cold milk.

A few notes before I share her brilliant recipe...please note that I've slightly adapted the baking method from her original recipe to make it easier for myself in the kitchen in regards to timing.

Make sure the butter is room temperature when creaming together with the sugars, as it will help incorporate air and therefore create a fluffier base to the wet ingredients. If you melt the butter, it will affect the texture of the mixture and even the flavor.

I chop the majority of chocolate chips to disperse the chocolate more evenly through the cookie if using chocolate chips. I use Ghirardelli 60% bittersweet chocolate chips typically because they are readily available at the grocery store I can walk to.

I chill the dough in two equal logs in the fridge for a minimum of 36 hours before baking. I find that I love the complexity the dough develops in the finished cookie.

I end up with 18-20 giant, bakery sized cookies which I bake 5 cookies to a sheet, on parchment paper. To adjust the baking time to accommodate for the larger amount of dough, I bake them for 15 minutes on convection oven setting, rotating the trays midway through baking time. Then let the cookies rest on the hot pan for 3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool through completely. Essentially, I’ve cut the total number of cookies in half because I make them so large.

Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies stacks upon stacks!!

Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies

Adapted slightly from author Ashley Rodriguez, Not Without Salt, Date Night In

Servings: 18-20 Giant Cookies

These cookies are my quintessentially perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie. They maintain crisped edges while the centers are gloriously chewy, and the flavor is complex from the 3 types of sugar used and the time spent maturing in the fridge. Because it takes me a while to slice and form my cookies into the same size cookie rounds, I refrigerate the dough an extra 15 minutes before baking in the oven. This I’ve found keeps them from spreading too much on the trays as they bake.

If you choose to bake the cookies immediately after making the dough because you don’t want to wait almost two days to get your cookie fix, these cookies bake up well the same day of. Just know the flavors won’t be quite as matured and the cookies will actually puff up a little more because the baking soda is used right away.

Lastly, these cookies can be made ahead of time and they freeze well. You can freeze the cookie dough in a log and defrost overnight before slicing and baking the next day, shape them into their individual cookie size and then freeze to bake individually, or bake the whole batch then freeze in little snack packs to stash in lunch boxes or middle of the night snacks. I’ve used all three methods of freezing and the cookies come out perfectly every time.

Ingredients:

1 Cup Butter (2 sticks) salted or unsalted, whichever is your preference while baking, room temperature
1/4 Cup Granulated White Sugar
1/4 Cup Turbinado Sugar
1 3/4 Cup packed Light Brown Sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
2 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
3 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour
1 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
3/4 tsp Sea Salt
1 heaping Cup chopped Chocolate, I used Ghirardelli60% bittersweet Chocolate Chips
Pink Himalayan Sea Salt, for sprinkling

Directions:

In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and all three sugars until light and fluffy on medium high. Let the mixer run for at least 10 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as needed. The goal is to incorporate as much air into the mixture and help break down the sugar granules until the mixture has a very fluffy quality, and you can only feel a small amount of sugar granules in it.
While the sugars and butter are working in the mixer, take a separate medium bowl and combine the flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
At this point, reduce the mixer speed to medium and add in the eggs, one at a time, until thoroughly incorporated. You don’t want to beat the eggs too long or at a high speed, as this encourages the egg whites to try and form a meringue. Somewhere around 30 seconds per egg should incorporate them perfectly. Add Vanilla after the second egg as well.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add in 1/3 of the dry ingredients. Turn the stand mixer on medium low and whenalmost combined, turn off, and then add in another 1/3 of the dry ingredients. Repeat until all dry ingredients are just barely incorporated.
Turn off mixer, unhook paddle attachment, and release bowl from stand. Fold in chocolate Chips with a spatula until thoroughly incorporated.
Separate into two equal size balls and shape into logs, wrap in parchment paper and store in a Ziplock bag in the fridge for a minimum of 36 hours. I prefer 48 hours but 36 hours will have developed good flavors as well.

To Bake:

Preheat oven to 350 F, convection oven setting if you have it. Line two baking trays with parchment paper.
While oven is preheating, slice your cookiedough logs into 9-10 equal size cookies. You should end up with 18-20 cookies. I shape my cookies and make sure they are the same size as it guarentees me an even bake on them once in the oven, but if you’re able to eyeball it then great.
Place cookies in fridge to chill for 15 minutes before baking.
Arrange sliced cookies 5 to a tray, and sprinkle with salt. I prefer Pink Himalayan Sea Salt’s flavor, but go with your preference. I do not recommend big pretzel salt crystals, though!
Bake cookies for 15 minutes, rotating the trays halfway through to ensure even baking heat if you don’t have a convection oven.
Let cookies cool on tray for 3 minutes, continuing the cooking process on the bottom, then finish cooling on wire racks.