TasteFood: Elevating the chocolate chip cookie
This isn’t your average chocolate chip cookie. While this cookie has all of the luscious qualities of a traditional chewy Toll House-style cookie, it takes it to the next level with roasted almond butter, chunky dark chocolate, and a sprinkle of sea salt.
The cookie is transformed by the addition of almond butter. It doesn’t have as strong a flavor as peanut butter, which, in my opinion, easily overpowers the flavor of a cookie. Almond butter is more subtle; it provides a mellow, toasty, golden-buttery background to the dough.
Meanwhile, dark chocolate chunks adorn the cookie, taking the place of the traditional chocolate chip. Many chocolate chips are labeled as “sweet” rather than “chocolate.” By chopping up a quality bar of dark chocolate, the sweetness is kept to a minimum, allowing the chocolate’s flavor to shine through. Not only that, but chopping a bar will result in a pile of chocolate shards and dust. Sweep all of those little bits into the batter with the chunks to infuse it with even more chocolate.
A pinch of sea salt flakes adds a finishing touch to balance the cookie’s inherent sweetness. Everything tastes better with a little salt, including sweets, especially when chocolate is involved.
Almond Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies
This recipe yields approximately 24 cookies.
INGREDIENTS
1 14 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp table salt (or 112 tsp kosher salt)
1 cup softened unsalted butter
3/4 cup dark brown sugar (packed)
granulated sugar, 3/4 cup
1 big egg
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 cup creamy unsalted almond butter (not raw)
7 ounces chopped dark chocolate (70% to 75% cocoa)
Flakes of sea salt for garnish
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Set aside the flour, baking soda, and salt in a mixing bowl.
Add the flour mixture to the mixing bowl and combine the ingredients without overmixing. Incorporate the chocolate, including all of the small pieces and dusty bits (they will melt into the batter).
Place heaping tablespoons of the dough on parchment-lined baking sheets. To each cookie, sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt flakes. 13 to 15 minutes, or until light golden in color.
Cool the parchment and cookies on a wire rack. While cooling, the cookies will continue to firm up.
