Salted Chocolate Chunk Cookies

April has been a month of accomplishments.

I drove through Times Square. I had a good reason, but quelle catastrophe!  Technically that was in March but since that vacation ended in April, I’m going with April.

I ate at Roberta’s, one of the 20 most important restaurants in America. It was pizza. Dang good pizza, but still pizza. If you care to know why it’s so important, click the link.

I delighted in the hot chocolate goodness of Jacques Torres.

I ate breakfast at the beach.

I stalked drove by Ina’s house multiple times.  She’s on a main route. Who knew? This isn’t Ina’s house. I wouldn’t be so crass.  But who wouldn’t love to live in a village with a windmill?

I rode a ferry.  Couple of ’em actually.

For a little wine

And a lobster roll on a charmingly named lane.

Because of book club, I learned about the Dust Bowl and made Fallen Chocolate Cake.

I made Jim Lahey’s no-knead pizza dough.  So easy and so good!  I topped it with ricotta and asparagus.

And, perhaps most memorably, I found my chocolate chip, I mean chunk, cookie. I’ve been looking for one for a long time. Task completed. Scratch that one off the list.

Everyone needs a chocolate chip chunk cookie, right?  This one comes courtesy of, what else, Bon Appétit and their January cooking school issue. The lesson, if I recall, was about adding salt to sweets, which made me chuckle because it’s oh-so-chic these days (though for good reason!).  I’ve made them several times recently and found that leaving the dough in the fridge overnight, produces a less flat and more chewy cookie.  In other words, my kind of cookie. Add a sprinkle of Maldon, or other flaky sea salt, to the top, and you’ll be in cookie heaven.  When you get here, make sure you find me and say hi.

Salted Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Preheat oven to 375°.  Place parchment paper on a cookie sheet.

Whisk the dry ingredients in a medium bowl.

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt

In a large bowl, beat together for 3-4 minutes

• 1 stick room temperature butter (I put it on warm in the microwave until soft)
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup regular sugar
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar

Next, add the following and beat 4-5 minutes or until mixture is pale and fluffy.

• 1 egg + 2 egg yolks
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Fold in

• 3/4 cup chocolate chunks or chopped dark chocolate

Use a tablespoon to place rounded spoonfuls of dough on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Place at least 1 ” apart. Do in two batches or on two cookie sheets, alternating oven racks halfway through the baking time.

Sprinkle with

• Maldon sea salt (I used smoked), about 1/2 tsp.

Bake on the top rack for 5 minutes, then switch to the lower rack for 5 minutes.  This method worked best for making a chewy cookie. If you like yours more crunchy, you might prefer to bake them on the top rack or go a minute longer.

Cool on wire racks and try not to eat them all at once.  A cookie a day, makes the blues go away (or something like that).