Sunday, March 4, 2007

Salty Chocolate Chip Cookies

More fun baking this weekend. I love a sweet salty combo and I was intrigued by this recipe. I got it off the Cooking Light BB--apparently it's in the current issue and there's a long thread going there now. It's a so-called "light" cookie that uses sea salt instead of regular salt. The sea salt crystals stay intact in through the baking process, so you get a salty crunch of salt crystal in each bite. They turned out great--yum. They are thin and flat, with a delicate crunch around the edge and chewy in the center. These are a definite keeper for me.

Sweet and Salty Peanut Chocolate Chunk Cookies
From Cooking Light

Coarse-grained sea salt does not melt into the batter, so you experience a crunchy burst with every bite. Use any other nut you like in place of peanuts.

1/3 cup coarsely chopped unsalted, dry-roasted peanuts [I used pecans, not peanuts]
1 cup all-purpose flour (about 4 1/2 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350°.

Place nuts in a small baking pan. Bake at 350° for 8 minutes or until lightly toasted; cool.

Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, and baking soda, stirring well with a whisk.

Place sugars and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 2 minutes). Add vanilla and egg; beat until combined. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture; beat at low speed until well blended. Stir in peanuts, chocolate chips, and salt.

Drop dough by teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on pans 5 minutes. Remove cookies from pans; cool completely on wire racks.


Yield: 38 cookies (serving size: 1 cookie) [I only got 31 cookies from the batch]

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