Sea salt Chocolate Chip Cookies

How to make the best sea salt chocolate chip cookies recipe! They're chewy as hell, thick with a crispy crust and some big chocolate chips.

Check out my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe from my blog and learn my secret tips for successful baking soft and chewy cookies every time.

Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies

Cookies are certainly the most favorite of all! And there are thousands of different recipes, such as chocolate cookies, salted caramel chocolate chip cookies. But definitely the most popular recipe of all is chocolate chip one.

Like in my salted caramel chocolate chip cookies recipe, the special thing about these cookies is that they use sea salt, inside in a slightly higher quantity than in other cookie recipes.

You can also simply choose to use salted butter and it really does make for full-flavored and delicious salted chocolate chip cookies.

Why these are the best chocolate chip cookies

This is the best chocolate chip cookies ever and it's not just my point of view. What makes a successful chocolate chip cookie is first of all its chewy texture but let's review this recipe and why I think it's perfect :

1. They are pretty! Yes the greediness starts with the eyes and what makes them successful is also this pretty round shape.
2. Large chips in sight! Big chocolate chips or even chocolate chunks that overflow and as you see are very present inside.
3. A bakery style cookie thickness! Even if I always find that the cookies in bakery are very huge, we find here the perfect thickness and it is a guarantee of success contrary to the flat and dry ones.
4. Chewyness heart! I'm French and I can't think of anything as precise as the inside of the cookie to correctly translate the word chewy, and it's certainly my first choice to define this chewy chocolate chip cookies recipe.

Ingredients & substitutions

• Flour : I always use all purpose flour and the right amount of flour will determine the final texture. I strongly advise to use an electronic scale to measure the quantity rather than a measuring cup.
• Butter : The best butter to use when making cookies is unsalted butter so that you can control the amount of salt added to the recipe. What will also be important is the texture of the butter, it should be soft or possibly melted and cooled a bit. If you prefer to use salted butter directly then in that case remove the sea salt from the ingredients to avoid having overly salty chocolate chip cookies.
• Egg : Use medium to large eggs and make sure they are at room temperature to get the most even texture possible.
• Sugar : For this recipe I like to make a combo of 2 different types of sugar, a white granulated sugar if possible fine enough to blend in quickly with the other ingredients. And another flavored sugar, preferably a brown sugar, or a light brown sugar that adds an extra flavor to this recipe.
• Leavening agents : The leavening agents help the cookie batter to grow in during baking and give it that final soft and chewy texture. I use baking soda which is more powerful but you can replace it with baking powder or make a mixture of both.
• Sea Salt and vanilla extract : These two ingredients are essential in my opinion in all sweet recipes. I only use sea salt flakes and more precisely fleur de sel which brings out all the flavors and especially the chocolate flavor. Vanilla extract adds also a delicious flavor to chocolate chip cookie recipe.
• Chocolate chips : The last but not the least, chocolate chips or chocolate chunks are very often made with semi-sweet chocolate.

How to make Sea Salt chocolate chip cookies recipe

Cookies dough

Start by placing in a large bowl the softened or melted and cooled unsalted butter and sugars, the granulated white sugar and brown sugar. And mix with a hand whisk (no mixer needed) for about 1 minute until smooth and the granulated sugar is well dissolved.

Then add the room temperature egg with the vanilla extract and whisk again for another minute to obtain a consistent texture.

Finally add all-purpose flour baking soda or baking powder, sea salt and cornstarch (optional). And mix again but gently with a wooden spoon or a spatula until you get a well-blended dough.

Finish by adding the semi sweet chocolate chips (or chocolate chunks) to the cookie dough and gently mix them in with the wooden spoon or with your hands.

Tip: Cookies can be made with your stand mixer and paddle attachment or even with an electric mixer. But you must be careful not to over mix after adding the dry ingredients.

Chill the dough

This is certainly a very common question about this recipe and if you wanted to get the most out of this salted chocolate chip cookies recipe you chose the one with the chill time and you did well. 

Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it sit in the fridge for at least 2 hours. You can also think of making the dough the day before and letting it sit overnight.

Recipe without chill

And if you prefer to make this recipe without resting, you are free to do so. In this case, be sure to use softened but not melted butter and eventually place your cookie dough balls in the freezer for about 15 minutes before baking them. This little tip will prevent your cookies from looking flat after baking.

How to bake chocolate chip cookies

Shape your cookies dough into balls with an ice cream scoop, also called a cookie scoop. Place them on a lined baking sheet with parchment paper, making sure to space them out by about 2 inches apart as they will rise during baking to prevent them from sticking together.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and bake the cookies at half height for about 15 to 17 minutes depending on the diameter.

Check that the cookies are done, they are ready when they have puffed up and have that nice golden brown color around the edges. They are still soft in the middle, so don't move them right away to avoid damaging them.

Let them cool for a few minutes in the baking sheet before putting them on a cooling rack to cool completely where they also will firm up a bit.

Sprinkle of sea salt flakes on top of the chocolate chip cookies and enjoy!

Secrets to successful chocolate chip cookies recipe

• Softened butter : The texture of the butter is important, it will bind the ingredients together and brings an extraordinary flavor to the cookies. Use softened or melted and cooled butter in an ointment, so that it blends better with the other ingredients and obtain these cookies with the tasty taste of butter.
• Eggs at room temperature : Eggs are also a binding ingredient that is best incorporated when they are at room temperature. If your eggs are cold then spend the few moments under hot water.
• Baking soda : Baking soda is a leavening agent that makes the dough grow and brings softness to the cookie. Use baking soda instead of baking powder for very thick cookies, it is 4 times more powerful than baking powder.
• Chill the cookies dough : This is the key to successful cookies, rested dough = more flavor ! By letting the dough chill, the flour and sugar will have time to absorb the liquid ingredients and the cookies will taste better. Also baking with a cold dough allows the butter to melt less quickly and the cookies keep their round and puffy shape.
• Add seal salt : It is well known in pastry that salt is a taste enhancer, here we use sea salt which brings an incomparable flavor and which combine perfectly with chocolate. Stir the sea salt into the cookie dough and sprinkle a little sea salt over your chocolate chip cookie at the end of baking.
• Use ice cream scoop : The ice-cream scoop is the key tool for shaping the cookies, it allows you to perfectly dose the dough. Also to have cookies of the same size and above all to have an airy cookie dough compared to shaping with the hands, the dough is less compact, which gives even fluffier cookies.
• Do not over-mix the cookies dough : Using a stand mixer to make the recipe or over-mixing the dough at the end of the preparation will make it too compact. And we will lose its fluffy texture.
• Do not overbake the cookies : If you like to eat the cookie dough raw you will understand that baking is a key step to cookie success! You have to find the ideal baking time according to your oven, an overbaked cookie is a cookie that has lost its moisture and will therefore be too dry in the mouth. The perfect baking of the cookie is when it is still soft and fragile when it comes out of the oven. As it cools down it will firm up and have the perfect texture.

How to store and freeze chocolate chip cookies recipes

At room temperature

These salted chocolate chip cookies can be stored at room temperature like dry cookies, in a storage box with an airtight lid. But you can also store them in the freezer for up to 3 months.

How to freeze cookies

And another great tip to keep theme for a very long time! For that you have the choice between freezing them before cooking (the best way according to me) :

After shaping the dough balls, place them in a bag and put them in the freezer. And simply put them on the baking tray and let them come back to room temperature before following the instructions for baking.

Or store them in the freezer after cooking:

Once your salted chocolate chip cookie are cooked and completely cooled, put them in a storage bag and place them in the freezer. And for these two methods, you can keep them up to 3 months.

My best chocolate chip cookie recipes

• Peanut butter chocolate chip cookies
• Chewy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies
• Safe to eat edible cookie dough
• S'more cookies with chocolate chip cookie
• Vegan chocolate chip cookies

Did you like this recipe? Don't forget to rate it and leave me a review in comments! And to not miss any recipes follow @sweetlycakes on Instagram and tag me to share it if you make this recipe 😊!

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