Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt

Such a simple cookie, yet one of the hardest to perfect.  Maybe it's because it's so popular. Or because so many companies spew out these chocolate chip cookies in bulk and then throw them in a plastic bag to sit on a shelf for months.  I've made a lot of chocolate chip cookies in my life, and this recipe is by far the best. With or without the sea salt. I discovered the recipe on epicurious, and took several pieces of advice from different reviewers about modifying the recipe. And some of my own thought s well. And now, I'll never make a different recipe again.




Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt

3 C flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
3 tsp sea salt, divided
10 oz unsalted butter at room temperature
1 C vanilla sugar (vanilla sugar can be made by adding about 2 C sugar to an airtight container and adding an empty vanilla bean, or you could add the beans and pod to the sugar as well and then letting it sit at room temperature for at least a week).
1/2 C brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract 
12 oz choc chips, half milk chocolate and half bittersweet chocolate


Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line baking sheets


Sift together flour, baking soda, and 1 to 1 1/2 tsp salt (it depends on how salty you like your sweets) Also, if you don't want the sea salt, just substitute 3/4 teaspoon of kosher salt and it's regular chocolate chip cookies, and they are still so delicious. 


In stand mixer, whisk together butter and sugars until pale yellow. Whisk in the eggs one at a time until thoroughly combined. Whisk in vanilla. If you used regular white sugar instead of vanilla sugar, which is totally acceptable, I would recommend adding an extra 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract. If you're really feeling crazy add 1 whole extra teaspoon. Pour in flour mixture to the butter-sugar mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips until evenly distributed.


Drop by tablespoonfuls onto baking sheets. Sprinkle each cookie with remaining sea salt (or not if you opted for no sea salt).


Bake for about 12 minutes and cool on a wire rack. 


Makes about 60 cookies. I got just under that, and I make my cookies too big usually.