salted chocolate chip cookies

There are certain foods that are meant to be shared. Foods that are eaten best with others, doled out as gifts, surprises, small tokens of affection.

We’re talking, of course, about a classic… chocolate chip cookies.

I’ve spent years working on honing my chocolate chip cookie recipe. There’s no such thing as too many attempts, you know? But somehow my core memory of chocolate chip cookies are from growing up, when my mom would make a batch and let me sneak some dough while she was mixing them. Ultimately, chocolate chip cookies are comfort food, an instant transport to a happy memory - and maybe that’s why I’ve been making them so much lately.

Grief makes you crave comfort. Lately, I’ve been desperately seeking comfort: not wanting to leave my bed each morning, in the mood to wear only sweatpants, needing a hand held or a head rubbed, seeking food that feels like good memories and warm hugs and protection.

Chocolate chip cookies are comfort. Warm, straight from the oven, they’re a salve of easier days past: days before you knew the sharp pain of missing someone who is gone gone, not just far away, not just on a trip, not just a temporary loss.

They’re also a food made for sharing. Chocolate chip cookies, to me, are the pinnacle of “group food,” the number one thing you should make when seeking a way to give love in food form. They’re a promise of soft memories, the joy of a snuck spoonful of dough.

They’re a comfort: a reminder that we’re sharing them, gathered around the tin, teasing out the crumbs with our fingers, secure in our knowledge that we are together and we are happy and we are alive and we have each other and that - above all else - that is all that truly matters.

Overnight Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies
I found this recipe years ago online and have tweaked slightly over time below.

2 cups minus 2 Tbsp. cake flour
1 2/3 cups all purpose flour
1 ¼ tsp. baking soda
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
2 ½ sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 ¼ cups light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 packages bittersweet chocolate chips (*** the chocolate quality is of the utmost importance here, I always use Ghiradelli)

Sea salt for topping (DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP!)

Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars for 5 minutes.

Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing after each. Add vanilla and mix.

Scrape down bowl and add flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix until just combined.

Add chocolate chips and mix until just combined.

Cover bowl in plastic wrap and refrigerate dough overnight. Don’t skip this, tempting as it may be - it truly makes a difference in the final cookie. Also, it means you can sneak tastes of the dough from time to time.

When ready to bake, remove dough and let soften for 15-20 min. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line baking sheets with silpats or parchment paper. Scoop your dough into balls and place on the sheet. Lightly sprinkle each dough ball with sea salt.

Bake for 18-20 minutes, depending on oven. Let cool on a rack.

Share with the people you love.