The Ultimate Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yeah, I know...another chocolate chip cookie recipe.  This one definitely deserves a turn in your regular cookie rotation though.  Its our new favorite and its incredible. I bought Maldon Sea Salt off of amazon and it transformed the flavor, making these totally irresistible.  And, that extra little sprinkle of salt also makes them look very fancy, which makes them great for giving away...which you'll want to do because if these are around, you're going to eat every single last one.

The Ultimate Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies
From Barefeet in the Kitchen

• 1 3/4 cups light brown sugar
• 1 cup butter melted
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 2 cups all-purpose flour *
• 1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• Maldon flaked sea salt  or coarse sea salt
• GLUTEN FREE ALTERNATIVE:
• 1 ¾ cups brown rice flour *
• ½ cup tapioca starch *
• ¼ cup potato starch *
• 1 teaspoon xanthan gum *

1. Place the sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add the hot melted butter and beat until smooth. Let cool for a few minutes before adding the eggs and vanilla and beating once more.
2. Whisk together the dry ingredients and slowly add them to the wet ingredients. Stir to combine. Add the chocolate chips and stir well to make sure they are evenly distributed. Refrigerate the dough for at least one hour, or until thoroughly chilled.
3. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Scoop the dough into golf ball sized balls and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. (Remember, just three cookies to a baking sheet!)
4. Bake for 16 minutes. Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle with Maldon salt. Let cool for 1-2 minutes on the baking sheet and then remove to a wire rack. Enjoy!

Notes

The size of the cookie will determine the texture. If you want a giant bakery-style cookie with crisp edges and a perfectly chewy center, follow the recipe exactly and make the cookies huge. (Just three to a baking sheet, seriously!) There is no way to get that perfect texture without the giant cookie (Rachel here- I've made them small and they turned out bakery perfect and perfectly textured). Trust me on that, okay? I made some of the cookies smaller and they were really good, but the giant ones were so much better! The finishing salt is really important here. There aren't a lot of fancy spices and ingredients in my kitchen, but Maldon flaked sea salt is a key ingredient in these cookies. You can buy it in some grocery stores, but I found the best prices by far on Amazon. (I promise that if you buy it, you'll use it for more than just these cookies!) However, if you don't want to buy a fancy salt, coarse sea salt or even kosher salt will work. Just be extra careful when sprinkling the salt on the cookies, as the smaller grains of salt can quickly make them "salty" instead of giving just a hint of salt with the sweet cookie. Last but not least, don't let the oatmeal in this recipe deter you from trying them. There is barely a hint of oatmeal flavor, but it provides a chewy texture that can't be beat.