I’m not much of a sweets person, but if I hear the words “sea salt” and ‘chocolate” in the same sentence, I swoon. So, when the blizzard hit the Northeast last weekend and I realized I needed to entertain the kiddos for 2-3 days (there are only so many snow angels you can make in the impassable street outside), I started digging through my cookbooks for a good, easy option that would be quick and yummy.
A veteran New Yorker, I’ve always been a fan of Momofuku Milk Bar ever since one opened up near my old Manhattan office years ago, so I started with my trusty Milk Bar Life cookbook, which has barely been cracked open since I received it as a gift when it was published. And there, I stumbled on a recipe that made me want to swoon: Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Cookies. I read the recipe and realized I didn’t have a few of the ingredients on hand, so I almost chucked the idea. Then, I decided I didn’t have anything to lose if they were horrible. The result? Magic. Soft, not too crumbly, salty, yummy goodness.
The most appealing part about making this recipe with littles is that you really can, as Christina Tosi says right in the original recipe, make this in one bowl with a spoon. No mixer required.
Here’s the recipe I used, including my modifications. For the original recipe from the incomparable Christina Tosi, buy the cookbook at your local bookstore! It’s amazing.
Ingredients
2 sticks (1/2 pound) unsalted butter
¾ cup packed light brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
1 ¼ teaspoons kosher salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
6 oz ounces milk chocolate chips*
6 oz white chocolate chips*
1/4 c of unsweetened coconut*
Sea salt for sprinkling
Parchment paper
*You can use whatever chips, nuts, caramel bites, etc you want in this recipe. Check your pantry and go crazy!
Directions
Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. With a wooden spoon, mix the sugars together in a large bowl and add the melted butter. Stir rapidly for about a minute. In a separate small bowl, mix the egg and vanilla and add to the mixture. Stir until everything is kind of shiny, which should take roughly one minute. Mix in the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips/coconut and mix until distributed.
Place parchment paper on cookie sheets, and scoop about 1 1/2 tbsp of batter for each cookie. Sprinkle sea salt on top of each unbaked cookie, then transfer to oven and bake for 8-10 minutes until crispy on the outside and soft in the middle. Move to a drying rack to cool. Makes about 15 cookies.
Mollie Michel is a South Philly resident and a Philadelphia public school parent. A recovering non-profit professional, Mollie is also an experienced birth doula, Certified Lactation Counselor, and the mom of two awesome girls and a sweet pit bull named Princess Cleopatra. In her spare time, she is usually trying to figure out how Pinterest works, training for a(nother) half-marathon with her dog at her side, or simply trying to keep up with her increasingly wily daughters.