Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Recipe • Baking

These came out of Week 2 of culinary school — made for the class, pulled at the right moment, finished with salt. Simple recipe, all about execution.

Chocolate chunk cookies with flaky salt

Yield: about 20 cookies

Ingredients

  • 6½ oz (185 g) all-purpose flour
  • ¼ tsp baking soda
  • Pinch salt
  • 4½ oz (125 g) butter, softened
  • 5¾ oz (165 g) dark brown sugar
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 8 oz (225 g) semi-sweet or dark chocolate, chopped
  • Maldon sea salt, for finishing

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. Whisk together 6½ oz flour, ¼ tsp baking soda, and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Set aside.
  3. Cream 4½ oz butter and 5¾ oz dark brown sugar in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment until light in color and fluffy, 2–3 minutes on medium-high speed.
  4. Add 1 beaten egg and ½ tsp vanilla, beating until just combined. Add the flour mixture and beat on low until almost incorporated.
  5. Add 8 oz chopped chocolate and mix until just combined.
  6. Portion the dough evenly with a scoop onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving 2 inches between each cookie.
  7. Bake until just lightly golden around the edges and still pale in the center, 10–12 minutes. Cookies will finish baking on the warm sheet. For a crispier cookie, bake an additional 5–8 minutes.
  8. Sprinkle with Maldon salt immediately out of the oven.