Salted Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Can you ever really have enough chocolate chip cookie recipes?

The answer to that question is, "No."  (Obviously.) :)

Cookies with some form (or forms) of chocolate are my favorite kind of cookie, so I'm always game to try a new chocolate chip cookie recipe.  After all, one can argue that chocolate is from the cocoa bean, which is a vegetable; so, I'm really just trying to share another way to enjoy vegetables with my fellow readers.  Ha!

When Deb of Smitten Kitchen posted these salted chocolate chunk cookies and described them as "unseemly-sized puddles of melted chocolate," I was immediately sold on them.  I like a chocolate chip cookie that has no shortage of chocolate.  This cookie delivers on the chocolate front with big chunks of chocolate that are truly held in place by the dough.  (As a funny side note, when I was re-reading this post before publishing, I realized I forget to add the flour measurements - without that, this would be a buttery chocolate puddle!)

I'm not sure what else to really say about these cookies - unseemly-sized puddles of melted chocolate seems to sum it up.  If you live near a Trader Joe's (or an Aldi's), I would echo Deb's recommendation of using one of their huge chocolate bricks to make these cookies.   It's good quality chocolate, and I used both semi and bittersweet chocolate in these cookies.

In closing, remember to save planet Earth,  as it is the only planet with chocolate!


Salted Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Yields 18 cookies

Ingredients:
8 tbsp. butter (1 stick), at room temperature
2 tbsp. granulated sugar
2 tbsp. turbinado sugar
3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp. dark brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 lbs. semi or bittersweet chocolate, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
1 3/4 cup flour (7.75 oz. or 220 grams)
Sea salt flakes, to finish

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350ºF and line two baking sheets with silicon liners or parchment paper.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy, about 5-7 minutes.  Then, add the egg and vanilla, and beat until incorporated.  Add in the salt and baking soda, followed by the flour on low speed until combined.  Using a spatula, fold in the chocolate chunks.

Scoop the cookies into 1 1/2 tbsp. molds, and sprinkle each with a few flakes of sea salt.  Bake for about 10 to 14 minutes, until golden on the outside but still soft and gooey.  Allow them to rest on the baking sheet for about ten minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Source: Smitten Kitchen