Tara O'Brady's Salted Chocolate Chunk Cookies are the my newest obsession: dark chocolate with a hit of sea salt in every chewy bite.
I have loved making chocolate chip cookies since about birth. I have many memories making them at different stages of my life. From the Nestle Tollhouse variety (that I made with my mom growing up) to the famous Neiman Marcus version (that I made for my friends in New York City), I liked to bake cookies to share with others. I just rarely made the time.
Tara O’Brady’s recipe is one that caught my eye years ago; it seemed to follow me around for ages, begging to be made. Quarantine made it all possible. Within a day of being confined to home, I got the urge to bake. These cookies were first on my list. I was drawn in by the fact that they looked beautiful and sounded easy. Both were true, but the taste is what keeps me coming back. Perhaps it is the delicious Ghirardelli Chocolate chunks, the hit of sea salt, or the chewy center with the perfect crackly top. All of these factors combine for the perfect bite.
Today we are sharing this fantastic recipe with you. Strangely enough, there is no classic chocolate chip cookie recipe in my mother’s famous cookie archives. So I think I am on the quest to find one. Tara’s is definitely a contender.
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Chunks of dark chocolate and a dust of sea salt make every chewy, gooey bite of these Salted Chocolate Chunk Cookies heavenly.
Ingredients
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1 cup (225 g) unsalted butter, chopped
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3 1/4 cups (415 g) all-purpose flour
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1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
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1 teaspoon baking soda
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1 1/2 teaspoons medium-grained kosher salt
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1 1/2 cups (320 g) packed light brown sugar
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1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
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2 eggs
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2 teaspoons vanilla extract
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12 ounces (340 g) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
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Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat an oven to 360°F. Line two baking sheets or sheet pans with parchment paper.
- In a medium saucepan over the lowest heat possible, melt the butter. There should be no sizzle, crackling or pops; let the butter ooze into liquid, without boiling, so minimal moisture is lost. Stir regularly, until the butter is almost completely melted. (This is a good time to chop the chocolate.)
- In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- Pour melted butter into a large bowl, and then whisk in the sugars. The mixture may look to seize, but will relax with a few seconds of stirring. Add the eggs, one at a time, whisking briskly after each addition, but only to combine. Stir in the vanilla. Use a wooden spoon or silicone spatula to stir in the dry ingredients. Once mostly blended, fold the chocolate into the dough until the remaining flour is incorporated and the dough no longer looks dusty. Bring any stray ingredients up from the bottom of the bowl. Do not over mix.
- Using two spoons or a #20 disher, drop 3 tablespoon-sized balls of dough onto prepared pans, leaving 3 inches in between. Sprinkle with sea salt, if using. Bake in the hot oven until the tops are cracked and lightly golden, yet still soft at the center, 10 to 12 minutes, rotating pan halfway through cooking. Leave the cookies on the sheet pan for 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool. Continue shaping and baking cookies with the remaining dough, making sure to use a cold sheet pan for each batch.
- Cookies can be kept at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Keywords: cookie, chocolate chip cookie, easy, fast, no mixer, chocolate, chocolate bar, kid friendly,
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