Bake Chewy Almond Chocolate Chip Cookies With The Right Sea Salt Finish

Finding freshly baked chewy and gooey cookies in bakeries is hard. Either you have to wait in line to get the first batch of baked cookies, or you have to settle for cooled-down and hard cookies that don’t give you the same level of pleasure. Therefore, when you want to enjoy some gooey and warm cookies, it is often a good idea to bake them at home from scratch. This recipe will tell you how you can bake perfectly chewy and gooey cookies at home with simple ingredients and steps so you don’t have to find the cookies all over the city and you can enjoy a perfect batch of cookies made as per your preferences.

Easy Step-By-Step Recipe For Chocolate Chip Cookies With Almonds And Sea Salt:

Ingredients:

Dry Ingredients:

• 2¼ cups (280g) all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt

Wet Ingredients:

• ¾ cup (170g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
• 1 cup (200g) light brown sugar, packed
• ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
• 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk, room temperature
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp almond extract

Optional Additions:

• 1½ cups (250g) good-quality semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks
• ½ cup (50g) sliced or slivered almonds, lightly toasted
• Flaky sea salt (like Maldon), for topping

Method:

Step 1: Prepare the Oven and the Sheet

Set the oven to 350°F (175°C) for preheating. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. You can also grease it with butter instead. Preheating the oven is necessary to ensure that the cookies bake evenly and thoroughly from inside out.

Step 2: Make Wet and Dry Mixes

Take a large bowl and combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and a pinch of salt. Mix the dry ingredients well. Take a different bowl and in it combine melted butter, brown sugar, and white sugar and whisk it until it is mixed smoothly. Now add eggs along with the yolks to the wet mixture followed by vanilla extract and almond extract. Mix everything well.

Step 3: Combine Wet and Dry

Once dry and wet mixtures are prepared, combine both by folding dry ingredients gently into the wet mixture. Mix it until it is just combined and then stir in chocolate chips and roasted almonds until well distributed. This will turn into a soft and sticky dough.

Step 4: Chill the Dough

Cover the prepared cookie dough with a cling foil so it is untouched by air. Refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour. You can also freeze it overnight if you want it to develop a deeper and richer flavor.

Step 5: Bake

Take a cookie scoop or an ice cream scoop for equal measurements of cookie. If you don’t have this, you can also use a round spoon. Scoop the dough to 2 tbsp sizes and place onto the parchment lined baking tray. Keep equal distance between each scoop so the cookies get some room to spread when baked. Now, after scooping the dough, sprinkle a pinch of flaky sea salt on top of each scoop. Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes until the edges start to appear golden and the centers look soft and set. For gooey cookies, you don’t need to bake until the cookies are firm. The center must remain soft.

Step 6: Cool & Serve

After baking, take the cookies out and let them rest on the tray for 5 minutes. After that, transfer the cookies one by one on a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy the cookies warm and store in an airtight container to savor them for up to 4 days. Unlike regular cookies which are firm and dry inside out, these cookies are gooey, they will last only 4 days before starting to go bad. It is best to enjoy them fresh for a warming and gooey experience.

Tips for Perfect Cookies

1. Use melted butter: The use of melted butter in the dough enhances the chewiness and nutty flavor of the cookies. Frozen butter will be hard to mix and will provide flaky and crumbly texture instead of gooey and chewy cookies.
2. Don’t skip the sea salt: Sea salt is the star of this recipe. It balances the sweetness and makes them feel gourmet. A touch of sea salt brings all the ingredients together and creates a subtle balance.
3. Almond extract is strong: Unlike almonds as whole nuts, almond extract generally has a stronger flavor. Do not make a mistake by adding too much almond extract as it will overshadow the other flavors. Only 1 tsp is plenty for a rich and nutty flavor.