A pinch of sea salt completes these perfectly chewy, chocolaty, crisp around the edge chocolate chunk cookies. You better sit down when you eat one because they’ll make you weak at the knees and wanting more!
Because you can never have too many cookie recipes up your sleeve, no can you?! My constant craving for cookies came up with yet another one and they are TO DIE FOR! No really, I would die a happy happy woman if these were the last cookies I ever ate here on earth. And I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re served in Heaven cause they’re just that amazing!
I think the simpleness of them is what makes them so scrumptious. A special sprinkle of sea salt just as they’re coming out of the oven is what puts them into their own class of cookie greatness.
Oh me! Oh my! I nearly die every time I eat one.
I highly recommend you refrigerate the dough at least 30 minutes or even overnight. Cold dough is what helps bake them to that perfect chew in the middle and crisp around the edges. It helps prevent them from spreading too much as they bake and certainly enhances the overall flavor of the dough because it has time to rest before being baked.
I like to press some additional chocolate chunks into the tops of my cookies before they refrigerate and bake because you just can’t go wrong with more chocolate. Am I right or am I right?!
Once the cookie dough has refrigerated, you’ll bake them a few inches apart on parchment-lined or lightly greased cookie sheets. It takes about 13-15 minutes for the cookies to start turning golden brown and crisp around the edges yet still a little doughy in the center. Be sure to rotate the cookie sheets after 8 minutes of baking to ensure even baking for all cookies. Don’t worry about the cookies being a little under-baked in the center as you’ll let them set and continue to bake a bit on the hot cookie sheets for at least 10 minutes before removing to a cooking rack.
You also want to make sure you sprinkle each cookie with a pinch of coarse sea salt immediately after removing them from the oven so the salt sticks to the top of the cookie and the chocolate chunks as they cool.
I’ve baked these cookies so many times over the past month and they just never get old. I’ve had friends literally knocking on my door asking if I have any on hand and begging for the recipe so they can bake them for themselves and their families. You just can’t go wrong with a classic chocolate chunk cookie with the perfect ratios of sweet to salty and chewy to crisp.
I hope you love them as much as we do and enjoy baking them over and over and over again!
xoxo,
Sea Salt Chocolate Chunk Cookies
- Prep Time: 40 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 55 mins
- Yield: 20 1x
- Category: Cookies
Description
A pinch of sea salt completes these perfectly chewy, chocolaty, crisp around the edge chocolate chunk cookies.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 cups chocolate chunks, divided
- coarse sea salt, for sprinkling
Instructions
- Line a rimmed cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar and brown sugar until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, until well combined. Beat in the vanilla.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and kosher salt. Add to the butter mixture in the electric mixer and beat on low speed until just combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl at least once to ensure all ingredients are mixed together. Stir in 1-1/2 cups chocolate chunks.
- Using an ice cream scoop or 2-tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop dough into about 20 balls on the parchment-lined cookie sheet. Press a few of the remaining chocolate chunks into the top of each ball of cookie dough. Press down on the top of each ball of cookie dough gently with the palm of your hand to flatten slightly. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate cookie dough for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two more cookie sheets with parchment paper or spray with non-stick cooking spray. Once cookie dough has refrigerated for at least 30 minutes, place balls of cookie dough a few inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets.
- Bake for 13-15 minutes or until cookies start to turn golden brown and crisp around the edges, but still a little under-baked/doughy in the middle. You’ll want to rotate the cookie sheets after 8 minutes of baking. Once the cookies are done baking, remove them from the oven and immediately sprinkle each cookie with a pinch of coarse sea salt. Let cookies cool at least 10 minutes on the cookie sheets before transferring to a cooling rack or enjoying them warm with a cold glass of milk. Repeat with remaining cookie dough and enjoy!
You’re killing me with those chocolate chunks girlfriend! I want to eat 20.. like now!
These are some seriously awesome cookies! They look out of this world 🙂
Hey! These look amazing! I have a question though: How do you take the flour? Do you use the spoon and level method for this cookie or straight from the jar?
Thanks!
Hi Ashley! I’m a straight from the bag measurer when it comes to measuring out flour. Enjoy! 🙂
These look amazing!! Do you use semi-sweet chocolate chunks or regular milk chocolate chunks? Planning on trying to bake these!
Hi Marcy! I use semi-sweet or dark chocolate chunks. Enjoy!
Add a generous sprinkle of cinnamon to your cookies. You won’t really taste it, they’ll just taste amazing.
These look delicious! Do you think this would taste good with Andes chocolate chunks? I have everything else except the chocolate and I’m too scared to go out to get it during our shelter in place!
Hi Nat! Absolutely, Andes chocolate chunks would be amazing! I’m jealous as I wish I had some on hand to bake them that way too. Enjoy!
These were delicious! I had to use light brown sugar instead of dark because I didn’t have it. Still came out great! Thanks!
★★★★★
What did I do wrong? I made them exactly as the recipe and refrigerated them for 30 minutes… and they flattened like pancakes and there was a puddle of butter under each one. They tasted wonderful but appearance was disappointing. Did I mix the butter/sugar combo too long? I want to make these again because they taste so great but… Help!
★★★
Hi MiMi! Oh no, let me help you troubleshoot. Do you live in a high elevation? It could be that you overbeat the dough. Next time try not flattening the tops of the dough balls and refrigerating the dough a little longer. Also, be sure to take the cookie dough straight from the refrigerator to the oven to bake, trying not to let it come to room temperature in between. Hope this helps. Enjoy!
Can I use caster sugar instead of granulated sugar? Also can I use caster sugar again instead of brown sugar? And can I use normal salt instead of kosher salt and does it matter if I use salted butter instead of normal unsalted butter? Thanks
Hi Emily! Yes, you can use caster sugar in place of granulated and brown sugar. You’ll just lose some of the texture and flavor that the molasses in the brown sugar provides. I would not recommend sprinkling the cookies with table salt. If so, sprinkle with just a little as it’s much finer than kosher salt. If you use table salt in the dough, use just half the amount. So only 1/2 teaspoon. If you use salted butter, omit the salt from the dough since you’ll already be getting salt in the butter. Hope this helps. Enjoy!
Hii, I want to try this recipe today but the problem is I have all ingredients except vanilla extract what can I replace it with???
Hi Geethika! I would recommend replacing the vanilla extract with maple syrup. If you don’t have either, you could just leave it out. Vanilla enhances the flavor of the cookies so they will taste different than they are supposed to, but they should still taste really good. Enjoy!
Do you think I can use 1:1 gluten free flour in same ration you note?
Hi Michelle! I couldn’t say for sure as I haven’t tested the recipe with gluten free flour. I think it’s certainly worth a try though as long as you’re using an all-purpose gluten free flour that is recommended for baking. I hope this helps and that they turn out just as great. Enjoy!
I made these at home for my family (they’re currently out), and trying not to eat more than one is far too difficult than it should be! I used normal salt instead of the kosher salt that was recommended, but they still came out great. I wasn’t sure how much salt I should put on the top so i just sprinkled it all over the tray (sparsely I might add) and it still worked.
Modification I made to the mixture:
I did 100 grams of granulated sugar
I used 70-90 grams of brown sugar
Why did I chose these modifications?
I chose these specific things because I find that when baking, using too much sugar makes me feel sick and far too full, so I usually almost half the amount, it was nothing personal towards this specific recipe as I do this for all. I recommend experimenting with the recipe to find your perfect amount as everyone is different.
Thanks
★★★★★
Just a quick one- how do you get your cookies so flat? Mine are thicker and smaller… should I use a rolling pin?
Hi Chlo! I think that has to do with the modifications you made to the recipe. The lower the amount of sugar in a cookie, the less they spread. Enjoy!
Hi,
Would it be possible to get the ingredients in gram measurements, I’m British and cups and sticks confuse me lol.
Hi Louise! Here’s a great conversion chart that I would recommend using: https://addapinch.com/cooking-conversion-charts/
our oven doesn’t have 350°F shall I use 250°F?
Hi Miz! I’ve never baked them at 250°F, but from experience I know that they will take longer to bake and they will be more uniform in shape and texture at a lower temperature. They are less likely to have the crisp edges and chewy center that these cookies bake into at 350°F. They should still taste delicious though. Enjoy!