Now I know what you’re thinking: I thought January was going to be all about health and wellness, and now you’re posting tantalizing recipes to tempt me off the bandwagon? However, an important part of this month’s challenge to embrace our best selves is learning to celebrate and enjoy life’s greatest pleasures…and trust me when I say: this cookie qualifies. I actually posted what I thought was the world’s best chocolate chip cookie a couple years ago, and while that cookie is very, very good, this one has a couple of key ingredients that take it over the top. Everyone who tried the batch I made last weekend (including my cookie connoisseur husband) agreed that these are indeed the best. It’s all about the Maldon sea salt, m’dears. I’ve talked about my love of Maldon before (and used it in all these recipes) and a few crunchy sprinkles on top of these cookies right before baking creates the most sweet-meets-salty bit of heaven. Especially when combined with a really high-quality chocolate chip, like Guittard (what I used), Scharffen Berger or Callebaut, in either semi- or bittersweet. Bake them, eat a few and give the rest away… sharing a little chocolate chip cookie love is a pretty great way to kick off the year.
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 large egg yolks
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
8 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips (high-quality is a must here. I use Guittard. Callebaut is also a great choice.)
Maldon sea salt
Instructions:
Place racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat to 375°. Whisk flour, baking powder, kosher salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl; set aside.
Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter, brown sugar, and sugar until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Add egg yolks, egg, and vanilla. Beat, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl, until mixture is pale and fluffy. Reduce mixer speed to low; slowly add dry ingredients, mixing just to blend. Using a spatula, fold in chocolate.
Spoon rounded tablespoonfuls of cookie dough onto 2 parchment paper-lined baking sheets, spacing 1-inch apart. Sprinkle cookies with sea salt.
Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until just golden brown around the edges, about 12 minutes (the cookies will firm up as they cool). Let cool slightly on baking sheets, then transfer to wire racks; let cool completely.
It’s always a good time for chocolate chip cookies! I have a tried and true recipe but am tempted to give these a whirl just to compare. I love the idea of the Maldon on top!
These are the best chocolate chip cookies ever! We made them on Christmas Eve after seeing the recipe in Bon Appetit – so delicious! We’ll have to try your adaptation next!
I made these last night and they were absolutely delicious. My husband said they were the best chocolate chip cookies he has had and trust me, I bake quite a bit. This will definitely be my go to from now on, thanks!
I made them tonight! I wanted to compare them to my family’s favorite chocolate chip cookies I make weekly. Ina – Barefoot Contessa has a great recipe..this recipe was just as good. My only question is why did mine turn out so thin? In my other recipe I use 2 cups of flour could that be it? They still taste great..I am just calling them chocolate chip “chips” rather than cookies. Thanks for sharing.
One thing that sometimes results in thinner or thicker cookies is the temperature of the dough when it goes in the oven. This is a trick that a pastry chef friend taught me a few years ago, and I’ve been doing it ever since. After you scoop out your balls of dough on the baking sheet, pop the entire sheet in the fridge for an hour to get the dough really chilled, THEN put them in the oven. This seems to keep the dough from spreading too thin, as can sometimes happen when room temp dough hits the oven. Of course, sometimes we can’t quite wait an hour because we’re too anxious to eat them… but that’s at least what i TRY to do.
This is a great recipe. I made a batch and they flew out of the house. All cookies were gone in less than 24 hours. I wasn’t sure I wanted the cookies to have sea salt on top, so I made half the batch with sea salt and half without. Everyone preferred the salt-less version. We all felt that the kosher salt in the recipe added enough of a crunch of salt. Will be making more soon!
Just made these because I had two extra egg yolks to use up, and I’m sure glad I did! So delicious. I actually made them gluten free fairly easilly, with a blend of GF all purpose flour. These rock!
Just made them because I had egg yolks to use and came across this. Yes they’re the best recipe I’ve found thank u so much. And they stayed soft while time till they were gone… Which wasn’t super long coz kids liked them so much. Thank you for sharing
Just made these magical cookies and will never use another recipe again. These truly are THE best Chocolate Chip Cookies I have ever made and had. The ratios of the ingredients are flawless and the Maldon is a must!! Thank you 🙂
Guess I’ll just have to make this recipe to see if your boast is legit.
Oooh, a challenge! Let me know how it goes… I have a feeling you’re going to thank me. 😉
It’s always a good time for chocolate chip cookies! I have a tried and true recipe but am tempted to give these a whirl just to compare. I love the idea of the Maldon on top!
ok I am going to have to try and make these because I thought I had a pretty killer recipe…. Wi
xo
Natalie
Can’t wait to hear if these are your new faves too! 🙂
These are the best chocolate chip cookies ever! We made them on Christmas Eve after seeing the recipe in Bon Appetit – so delicious! We’ll have to try your adaptation next!
I made these last night and they were absolutely delicious. My husband said they were the best chocolate chip cookies he has had and trust me, I bake quite a bit. This will definitely be my go to from now on, thanks!
I made them tonight! I wanted to compare them to my family’s favorite chocolate chip cookies I make weekly. Ina – Barefoot Contessa has a great recipe..this recipe was just as good. My only question is why did mine turn out so thin? In my other recipe I use 2 cups of flour could that be it? They still taste great..I am just calling them chocolate chip “chips” rather than cookies. Thanks for sharing.
One thing that sometimes results in thinner or thicker cookies is the temperature of the dough when it goes in the oven. This is a trick that a pastry chef friend taught me a few years ago, and I’ve been doing it ever since. After you scoop out your balls of dough on the baking sheet, pop the entire sheet in the fridge for an hour to get the dough really chilled, THEN put them in the oven. This seems to keep the dough from spreading too thin, as can sometimes happen when room temp dough hits the oven. Of course, sometimes we can’t quite wait an hour because we’re too anxious to eat them… but that’s at least what i TRY to do.
awesome tip! thank you! we will eat these and I will try it again next week.
I bet A loves these. I am going to try them with Byrd soon-let’s hope we can save enough cookie dough to bake them. xo
This is a great recipe. I made a batch and they flew out of the house. All cookies were gone in less than 24 hours. I wasn’t sure I wanted the cookies to have sea salt on top, so I made half the batch with sea salt and half without. Everyone preferred the salt-less version. We all felt that the kosher salt in the recipe added enough of a crunch of salt. Will be making more soon!
Just made these because I had two extra egg yolks to use up, and I’m sure glad I did! So delicious. I actually made them gluten free fairly easilly, with a blend of GF all purpose flour. These rock!
Just made them because I had egg yolks to use and came across this. Yes they’re the best recipe I’ve found thank u so much. And they stayed soft while time till they were gone… Which wasn’t super long coz kids liked them so much. Thank you for sharing
Just made these magical cookies and will never use another recipe again. These truly are THE best Chocolate Chip Cookies I have ever made and had. The ratios of the ingredients are flawless and the Maldon is a must!! Thank you 🙂
This is my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe of all time and I lost it and just spent an hour hunting it down again. Worth it!
Aaah that makes my day! Thanks Katelyn!