Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies With Sea Salt

Ages ago I made the best chocolate chip cookies that I have literally ever made and eaten (possibly blowing my own trumpet a bit here). I have been craving them ever since and I may have to just give in and make more this week. In fact I don't know why I don't make cookies more often/everyday, they are just so easy to make and always ever so satisfying. Much, much easier than that cake making lark.

I found the recipe for these perfect cookies (that is what they're called I'm not just blowing my own trumpet again) from one of my favourite foodie blogs The Baker Chick. And after just visiting her blog again to find this recipe, I now have my sights on so many more cookie recipes. Coconut thumbprint cookies with salted caramel anyone? Wowza.

Now I did alter the recipe a little bit by mixing some sea salt into the dough and cutting up my own dark chocolate chips (opposed to using milk chocolate chips). Yeah thats right, I cut up my own chocolate chips. I am a baking mastermind. If you don't like dark chocolate or find it a bit too rich; use milk chocolate or just add less chips, simple as that.

I'll be honest with you. Not all of this chocolate made it into the mix.

So without further ado here is the recipe for:

Dark Chocolate and Sea-Salt Cookies.

Makes around 24: unless you do what I did and make 6 huge cookies (I may have placed too much cookie dough on the baking sheet but it doesn't matter because I had giant cookies) and 8 normal sized ones.

Evidence that giant cookies exist.

Ingredients:

2 cups plus 2 tbsp. of plain flour
Half tsp. baking powder
Half tsp. normal salt
Half tsp. sea salt
12 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled until warm.
1 cup brown sugar
Half cup granulated sugar
1 large egg + 1 egg yolk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 and half cups dark chocolate chips
Sea salt for sprinkling.

Preheat oven to 325°F (160°C, Gas Mark 3). Line two baking sheets with non-stick parchment paper or a silicon baking mat.

Whisk dry ingredients together in a medium bowl and set aside. With an electric mixer or by hand, mix the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until combined. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until combined. Add dry ingredients and beat at a slow speed until just combined (don't over mix!!) Stir in the chocolate chips and eat masses of cookie dough (if you're salmonella proof or just a bit of a daredevil that is).

Bake for approx. 11-14 minutes. Turn baking sheets round halfway through baking. I always get this bit wrong with cookies; when the cookies are light golden brown and the edges are crispy they are ready to come out of the oven. DON'T wait for the whole cookie to be crispy; the middle should still be soft and puffy when they're ready.

Once the cookies are out of the oven leave them to cool for a little while on the baking trays - if you try to move them to the cooling rack straight away, they will break and you will cry.

I sprinkled the cookies with a little more sea salt at this point as I like my cookies salty. All that's left to do after that is EAT THEM ALL (or share them with others if you're that way inclined.)

Love 

Madame Squirrel