Now that January is over and done with, I can trot out another batch of cookies, can’t I? They chewy, puddl-y kind that get even better if you leave the dough in the fridge and bake them off a few at a time, stretching them out over the better part of a week? I’ve become hooked on this method – of having a stash of dough at the ready to bake a few for those who could use some perking up, with the added benefit of smaller batches (read: fewer for me to gorge on myself). Bringing cookies is the best way to win friends and influence people, not least of all those who come home from school tired and hungry – and there is no electronic anything that will ever take the place of warm cookies welcoming you when you walk through the door. (It should be noted that this dough is just as delicious baked straight from the mixing bowl – refrigerating it for a day or two isn’t necessary.)

As always, chopped chocolate trumps chocolate chips – you get a range of wide, deep puddles and flecks that more effectively distribute themselves throughout the dough. This particular formula is Ashley‘s – a particularly brilliant ratio of butter-sugar-eggs-vanilla-flour with the unique inclusion of turbinado sugar, that coarse, pale brown free-flowing stuff we usually pour into our coffee and I sprinkle on top of scones and cookies and pies when I feel like it. In this case it adds a subtle crunch you can’t quite put your finger on, but it’s there. (If you don’t have turbinado sugar, don’t sweat it – just leave it out.)

Ashley also tops hers with a pinch of flaky sea salt right before baking – there’s some in the dough, then on top to add salty, crunchy pops that W isn’t convinced is a good idea, so I sometimes sprinkle a few for the adults and leave the rest unadorned. She shared these in her beautiful book Date Night In, by way of Deb. (Note: the original calls for an oven temperature of 360°F, but my oven is running hot and I’m just getting a handle on how to compensate for it, and I don’t think I could get as precise a reading if I tried. Give it a go if you like.)

Ashley’s Chocolate Chunk Cookies

AuthorJulie

Yields1 Serving

1/2 cup butter, at room temperature

2 Tbsp. sugar

2 Tbsp. turbinado sugar (aka Sugar in the Raw)

3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. packed light or dark brown sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp. vanilla

3/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 lb semi- or bittersweet chocolate, cut into rough chunks

flaky sea salt, to finish (optional)

Heat oven to 350°F.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugars together with an electric mixer until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla, scraping down the bowl as needed. Beat in the salt and baking soda, then the flour on a low speed until just mixed. Add the chocolate chunks, along with all the tiny bits.

Scoop large balls of dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and if you like, sprinkle each with a pinch of sea salt. Bake for 12-14 minutes, until golden but still soft and gooey in the middle.

Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

Categorycookies & squares

Ingredients