Chewy Salted Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies
These are chewy cookies with crisp edges, dark chocolate, and a hint of orange zest and ginger. The recipe uses melted butter and is topped with flaky salt.
Ingredients (~12-14 cookies)
- 6 tablespoons salted European style butter
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon fresh orange zest (from ~1 large orange)
- 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/2 cup 70% bittersweet dark chocolate, roughly chopped
- Flaky sea salt, for topping
Prepare the Dough
Take the cold, cubed butter and place it in a small bowl. Microwave for ~15-20 seconds, just until it’s about halfway melted. Stir with a fork until the remaining butter melts from the residual heat.
Set the butter aside to cool completely. It should be liquid, but not warm.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, and ground ginger.
In a large bowl, add the granulated sugar and orange zest. Use your fingers to rub them together to release the oils from the zest.
Add the packed dark brown sugar and the cooled, melted butter to the orange sugar. Whisk them together until the mixture is smooth and looks like applesauce.
Add the room-temperature egg, vanilla paste, and almond extract. Whisk again until just smooth.
Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and use a rubber spatula to gently fold them together. Stop as soon as no dry streaks of flour remain.
Fold in the chopped dark chocolate, being careful not to overmix the dough.
Chill and Bake the Cookies
The dough will be soft. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or overnight.
Chilling is essential to firm up the butter and prevent the cookies from spreading too much.
When you are ready to bake, set your oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Scoop the chilled dough into balls, about 1.5 tablespoons each. Pack them gently in your hands to form a thick mound.
Place the dough balls ~2-3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.
Bake for ~11-12 minutes. The edges will be golden brown, but the center will still look mostly set and slightly soft.
Remove the pan from the oven and immediately sprinkle each cookie with flaky sea salt.
Let the cookies cool on the hot tray for ~5 minutes to set up, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Chewy Salted Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
Ingredients (~12-14 cookies)
- 6 tablespoons salted European style butter
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon fresh orange zest from ~1 large orange
- 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/2 cup 70% bittersweet dark chocolate roughly chopped
- Flaky sea salt for topping
Method
- Microwave butter until halfway melted, stir until fully liquid, then cool completely.
- Whisk flour, baking soda, and ginger in a medium bowl.
- Rub orange zest and granulated sugar together to release oils.
- Add brown sugar and cooled butter, whisk until smooth.
- Mix in egg, vanilla paste, and almond extract.
- Fold flour mixture into wet ingredients until just combined.
- Gently fold in chopped chocolate.
- Cover and refrigerate dough for at least 3 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350F and line baking sheet with parchment.
- Scoop chilled dough into 1.5 tablespoon balls, pack gently.
- Space dough balls 2-3 inches apart on baking sheet.
- Bake 11-12 minutes until edges are golden brown.
- Immediately sprinkle with flaky sea salt.
- Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack.
