You might think, “Hey, I don’t really need another chocolate chip cookie recipe.”
Yes, yes you do. These are awesome, truly—I daresay the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve had pretty much ever. More like shortbread, these salty-nutty-sweet cookies have a crispety-crumbly texture that I really love. (And they freeze beautifully … assuming you have any left to freeze.)
Just the right way to cure the will-winter-ever-end blues.
salty chocolate chunk bar cookies
(makes about 30, if you're stingy)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. table salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips (see Note)
1/2 cup chocolate chunks, divided
1/2 cup good quality toasted unsalted pecans, coarsely chopped
1/4 tsp. good-quality flaky sea salt
Note: Use a combination of dark, milk or semi-sweet chocolate in this recipe. I like Barry Callebaut chocolate chunks from King Arthur Flour; if you don't have chocolate chunks on hand, just use 1 cup of chocolate chips, reserving 1/4 cup for topping as directed below.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or using a bowl and hand-held mixer), cream the butter until it's smooth; add the sugar and cream together until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in vanilla extract. Add flour and table salt, mix gently to combine thoroughly. Add chocolate chips, 1/4 cup chocolate chunks and chopped pecans; mix to combine—the dough will be more crumbly than your typical cookie dough.
Line a rimmed 12-by-9-inch baking pan with parchment paper (alternately, use a 13-by-9-inch glass baking dish, though I'm not sure if that will alter the texture of the finished cookie). Place a plastic baggie over your hand (to prevent sticking) and use that to press the crumbly dough evenly into the paper-lined pan. Scatter the remaining 1/4 cup of chocolate chunks over the dough and sprinkle with 1/4 tsp. of flaky sea salt. Bake for 25 to 28 minutes, or until cookies are nicely browned and pulling away from the pan slightly. Cool for about 30 minutes, then use the parchment paper to carefully lift the cookie out of the pan and cut into squares. (These cookies get crispy, and cutting them after they're fully at room temperature is messy; better to cut them when they're just slightly warm.)
