Mari’s Best Chocolate Chip Cookies with Maldon Sea Salt
Recipe Mari Loewen
Oh my gosh, these cookies are good. Soft and chewy inside, lightly crisp around the edges, with that perfect salty-sweet balance. I’ve been tweaking this recipe for years, and these cookies are always on rotation at my house.
You’ll notice I measure the ingredients by weight. It really does make a difference. What does ¾ cup packed brown sugar mean anyway? Packed how much? A kitchen scale takes out the guesswork and gives you the same incredible cookie every single time.
And that’s what I want from my recipes: the kind you learn, love and make over and over again.
Ingredients
1 cup (227g) salted butter, room temperature
¾ cup (150g) brown sugar, packed
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
1 organic egg, room temperature
2 teaspoons good vanilla ( I use imported Mexican vanilla)
2 cups (240g) all-purpose flour (20g less if you want a flatter cookie, which is actually my preference, read my note at the bottom)
1 teaspoon (4g) baking soda
1 ¼ teaspoon sea salt
2 cups (300g) good-quality milk chocolate chips
Maldon sea salt to sprinkle
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Preparation
Measure everything out first. I strongly suggest weighing your dry ingredients to ensure proper measurement, if you don’t have a scale make sure to buy one, I’ve noted mine above on my Amazon store. Make sure butter and eggs are at room temperature. This is very important, so everything blends perfectly. If your butter or eggs are cold they will curdle the batter and leave tiny pockets in the baked cookie. The cookie will still taste wonderful, but we are going for the best. So take the time to do your best.
In medium bowl, set on top of your scale, measure out and then whisk together flour, baking soda and fine sea salt. Set aside.
Combine butter and sugars in bowl of stand mixer. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla extract. Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually incorporate flour mixture in batches, then stop mixer and add chocolate chips and mix again just to combine.
Remove dough and wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate wrapped dough for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375° F (very important). I recommend using the #20 ice cream scoop (noted above) which is about 3 tablespoons. Scoop dough onto parchment-lined baking sheet 2" apart. Sprinkle with sea salt and bake exactly 8 minutes. Remove from oven and give the baking sheet a bang on your counter, immediately cup the cookie with the mouth of mason jar and swirl slightly to make them perfectly round. Leave the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes where they continue to bake. Then enjoy!
My note about flour measurement: Use 20g less flour if you want a flatter cookie, which is actually my preference. It will be chewy in the middle and crisper around the edges. You can try both ways and see which one you like better.
Please tag me on Instagram @mari.loewen and I’ll repost.
Note 1: Banging the cookie sheet on your counter allows the cookie to fall which creates a slightly crisped edge and soft middle.
Note 2: I like to undercook the cookies slightly at 8 minutes, however if you wish to bake another 2 minutes feel free to test the difference. Sea salt is natural salt from the sea, and my default in all cooking and baking. Maldon, also natural sea salt but is the flaked salt used for finishing.
Note 3. To store baked cookies, place in large freezer bag and freeze to keep for ultimate freshness.To store unbaked batter, roll cookie batter in parchment paper (2-inch round log) then store in freezer bag in freezer. Thaw slightly before baking and enjoy a freshly baked cookie anytime. Then enjoy whenever the urge hits you.
