My everyday job is filled with some of the smartest and craziest people. It makes coming to work a lot of fun. Seriously, it does. My desk-mate, JR, has one of the toughest jobs in the company. He negotiates contracts with our vendors. It is a stressful job and there is often a lot of yelling. He also has a very particular palette, as most people do. He prefers no nuts, ever in anything, peanut butter by the spoonful, never in a cookie, and likes to bake cheesecake. We talk about our food preferences frequently. Well, one day JR brought me a “recipe of his favorite cookie.” You can bet that I was fascinated. The “recipe” was an ingredient list, scaled to produce 450 cookies, including an unknown quantity of a secret ingredient. Luckily, he did know what the secret ingredient was, just not how much. Anyway, I made it happen. Not only did JR appreciate my effort, so did the rest of the office.
To finish the cookie, use a slightly coarse, flaky sea salt. Also, rest the dough 48 hours or more in the fridge, to give the cookie a chewy texture.
JR’s Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes 36 medium cookies or 20 large cookies
1 cup minus 1 tablespoon bread flour (113 grams)*
1 cup minus 1 tablespoon cake flour (114 grams)*
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar (113 grams)
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar (142 grams)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg, at room temperature
3 tablespoons cappuccino powder (30 grams)
1 3/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (280 grams)
Flaky sea salt, such as Malden or Himalayan Pink, for sprinkling
In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
In the large bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugars, until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the vanilla and egg, for 1 minute. Add the cappuccino powder and mix for 1 minute, until completely incorporated. Reduce speed to low and add the flour mixture until combined. Mix in the chocolate chips. Chill the dough for 48 hours or more.
When ready to bake, return dough to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Form the cookie dough into mounds using a #40 or #30 scoop. Place the mounds 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Flatten to 1/2 inch and sprinkle lightly with sea salt. For medium-sized cookies, bake about 12 to 14 minutes, until brown. Cool 2 minutes on cookie sheet. For large-sized cookies, bake 18 to 19, minutes. Cool 3 minutes on cookie sheet. Transfer the cookies, still on the parchment, to wire racks to cool completely.
The cookies can be stored at room temperature for up to five days in an airtight container.
*NOTE: If special flour is not available, substitute an equivalent amount of all-purpose flour.