There are a million chocolate chip cookie recipes in the world – which I think we all can agree, makes the world a wonderful place – and many of them purport to be The Best Cookie Ever! I’m super glad other people have found their number #1, but for me, I’m so happy that there are so many delicious variations of universally tasty treat. Because – truth be told – I’ve eaten a lot of chocolate chip cookies in my day, and very few have been so bad that I’ve been unwilling to eat it. Meaning, even a mediocre chocolate chip cookies is still pretty darn tasty. So, as Streusel mentioned in her post, we’re spending this month in deep consideration of this most wonderful cookie.
That being said: I still have a #1, go-to, super delicious, crisp on the outside but soft on the inside, chocolatey but not overly so, vanilla-y batter-flavored favorite cookie. Even better, they are so accessible and easy to bake that I make them all the time. In fact, from start to finish (even the dishes cleaned!) they take 30 minutes. Could there be anything more perfect?!
The recipe comes via Smitten Kitchen, who baked it from Ashley Rodriguez’s Not Without Salt (website) and Date Night In (cookbook). I generally make a practice of just doing whatever Deb says, but I disagree with one of her points – that the batter is just there to hold the chocolate in place. I actually like these cookies with (gasp!) slightly less chocolate. All I can say is that speaks to how delicious the batter is.
I made only extremely minor alterations to the original recipe. I don’t chop up chocolate chunks (that would impact my ability to eat them within 30 minutes of starting), I just use standard chocolate chips. And, I also don’t stir the baking soda and salt separately, I just dump it in the the bowl with flour and give it a good whir. When you want a cookie, time is of the essence!
One absolute must: the salt sprinkled on top. It makes a remarkable cookie remarkably amazing.
2 tablespoons turbinado sugar (aka Sugar in the Raw; or you can use more brown or white)
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed light or dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
Heaped 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup chocolate chips
Flaky sea salt, to finish
Instructions
Heat oven to 360°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugars together until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add egg and vanilla, beating until incorporated. Add salt, baking soda, and flour and mix until just combined. And the chocolate chips and give it a quick spin to combine.
Scoop cookies into 1 1/2 tablespoon mounds, spacing them apart on the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle each with a small pinch of salt. Bake for 11 to 12 minutes, until golden on the outside but still very gooey and soft inside. Out of the oven, let rest on baking sheet out of the for 5 minutes before transferring a cooling rack.
Strudel and Streusel are two friends living in different cities, sharing a love of baking (and butter) through this blog. With Streusel in Denver, and Strudel in Seattle, we've found our little site to be a great way to stay in touch, share recipes we love, and talk about experiences in our respective cities.
