Salty Dark Chocolate Chunk Cookies
These Salty Dark Chocolate Chunk Cookies are such a satisfying treat if you’re a sweet + salty lover! Enjoy them on their own, or paired with a cozy cup of tea. It’s hard to eat just one! They have crisp edges, and are slightly more cooked through than a typical gooey cookie…This is because they have big chunks of chocolate throughout, and those soft pockets contrast perfectly with the more well-done cookie texture!
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RECIPE NOTES:
Creating the cookie dough
All Things Salt: These cookies utilize salted butter, salt in the dry ingredients, and salty dark chocolate chunks! I wouldn’t recommend substitutions here as the overall texture and flavor of the cookies would be altered. Salt contributes to the structure of the dough too, along with the taste!
No Dough Chilling Needed: One reason that I love these cookies is because they are SO fast and simple to make! There is no added time needed to chill the dough. Simply let your ingredients come to room temperature, then you’re ready to bake!
Chocolate Chunk Size: I personally chopped my chocolate to yield a variety of small to large chunks. This way the smaller chunks and shavings can blend into the background, while the larger chunks can offer the experience of softer, gooier bites!
Cookie Size: This recipe makes 16 medium-sized cookies.
Topping / Appearance: This is a personal preference – Feel free to reserve some chocolate chunks, around 1-2 pieces per cookie, to press onto the dough balls before baking if you want the big pools of chocolate to be extra visible. Even when I skipped this step, the chocolate chunks that were fully rolled into the dough balls were still quite visible after baking because of their size, so they have a similar look either way!
Baking and storing the cookies
Parchment Paper: Parchment paper is a must for both easy cleanup as well as the ability to cleanly lift the finished cookies from the baking sheets!
Bake Time: I bake these cookies for 10-11 minutes to get the desired more firm cookie texture. Note that they will not look particularly done in the oven, but they settle into their final texture very quickly during the cooling process. Of course we all know that each oven is a little bit different, so keep an eye on them! (They’re ready to be removed from the oven when they look thick, puffed up, and slightly doughy, but not too much so.) If you change up the cookie size in any way, be sure to adjust your bake time accordingly!
Batches: The size of your baking sheets will determine how many batches of cookies go into the oven overall. (Try approx. 6 cookies per baking sheet to start/allow plenty of space.) I personally like to do 1 sheet at a time, both so that I can use the middle rack of the oven, and also to have more flexibility to adjust subsequent batches if needed. If you prefer to bake 2 sheets at a time, do whatever you find to be the most convenient!
Cooling: Let the cookies fully cool on the baking sheets before removing them!
Storage: These cookies can be stored airtight at room temperature.
INGREDIENT NOTES:
All-Purpose Flour: I use an unbleached all-purpose flour for these cookies as it’s perfectly neutral. (Measuring Tip: Measure the flour by scooping it into the measuring cup with a spoon, to keep it from getting overly packed, then leveling it out on top with the spoon at the end!)
Baking Soda & Baking Powder: Using a combination of both leaveners will give these cookies a perfect rise.
Salt: Adequate salt helps the cookie dough to develop properly! Plus, for these cookies especially, it also adds to the flavor. (I use sea salt, ground fine/medium.)
Salted Butter: The salted butter not only adds flavor, but also contributes to the general texture of this dough. To soften the butter, I leave it out to come to room temperature alongside the egg, then briefly finish softening it in the microwave if needed right before it gets used! (This can be especially helpful on colder days.)
Cane Sugar: This is my preferred/tested type of granulated sugar to use.
Dark Brown Sugar: I love the flavor that dark brown sugar brings to these cookies! It also contributes to the dough’s moisture levels.
Egg: A room temperature egg is a must for the dough to blend together properly!
Vanilla Extract: Vanilla is a flavor-enhancing essential!
Salty Dark Chocolate: I love using salty dark chocolate bars chopped into chunks as the mix-in for these Salty Dark Chocolate Chunk Cookies. To me, this one has by far the best flavor and saltiness level for this recipe! As stated above, I like to chop up a variety of sizes for the chunks. To get the yield of 1 Cup, I used 2 + 1/4 Bars of the recommended chocolate (or approx. 4.7 oz / 135g if you need to compare equivalent bars)!
Kitchen Equipment:
- Knife & Cutting Board
- 1 Medium Bowl
- 1 Large Bowl
- Baking Sheets
- Cooling Rack/s, or equivalent
Servings: 16 Medium Cookies
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1/4 Teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1/2 Teaspoon Salt (I use sea salt, ground fine/medium)
- 1/2 Cup Salted Butter, softened
- 1/2 Cup Cane Sugar
- 1/2 Cup Dark Brown Sugar, packed
- 1 Egg, room temperature
- 1 1/2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- 1 Cup Chopped Salty Dark Chocolate Chunks, from 4.7 oz (135g) total, a few pieces reserved to decorate if desired
Directions:
PREP
Let the butter and egg come to room temperature
MAKE THE DOUGH
In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, and set aside
In a large bowl, briefly finish softening the butter in the microwave if needed
Add the cane sugar and the dark brown sugar to the butter bowl, and beat until creamed/combined (about 1 minute)
Beat in the egg and vanilla until incorporated (about 1 minute)
Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, approximately half at a time, until combined. Use the spoon to gently knead the dough and scrape sides of the bowl until it’s doughy and smooth
Fold in the chopped chocolate (optionally reserving 1-2 chunks per cookie to decorate with if desired!)
BAKE
Preheat the oven to 375º
Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set them aside
Roll the dough into 16 evenly sized dough balls and place them onto the lined baking sheets with plenty of room between them
If you chose to reserve the decorative chocolate chunk pieces, gently press them on top of the dough balls
Bake each batch for 10-11 minutes on the middle rack of the oven (The cookies will look thick, puffed up, and slightly doughy, but not too much so!)
Place the baking sheets on cooling racks (or equivalent), and let the cookies fully cool on the baking sheets before removing them
Enjoy!
[Store cooled cookies airtight at room temperature.]
