If you’ve been following my blog then you’ve figured out by now I’m not much of a baker. I was born without a sweet tooth, so taking the time to make something that I’m probably not going to eat seems a little pointless. My husband, however, loves sweets, so occasionally I cave in and make him something sugar-laden.

Christmas and the holidays often make me want to bake, so this year I decided to make some cookies. Nothing real fancy or complicated, just satisfying, chewy and gooey.

Full disclosure: I burned one batch. Argh! But I suppose, given my lack of time in the baking sector, I shouldn’t feel too badly about one little cookie sheet worth of burned cookies, right?

Right!

Burnt cookies aside, the rest of them came out pretty damned delicious: my husband insisted on taste testing them all. These are chocolate chip cookies that have a goodie-packed dough and come out nice and chewy. I sprinkled a little coarse sea salt on them while they were still warm, for that salty/sweet mix.

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 tablespoon good-quality vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips of your choice or a mix of your favorites
• 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt

Preheat oven to 325

1. Line 2 large cookie sheets with parchment paper
2. In a bowl, sift the flour, salt and baking soda together
3. In a separate bowl, mix together butter, brown sugar, white sugar, egg, egg yolk and vanilla until smooth and creamy.
4. Add the flour mixture and mix well. Add chocolate chips and mix until they’ve been incorporated. If you’d like to add some nuts to the mix, add them when you add the chocolate chips.
5. Drop by large spoonful onto parchment-lined cookie sheets and bake for about 15 to 16 minutes.
6. Remove from oven and sprinkle lightly with sea salt.

I made a few batches of these, using different variations of nuts and chocolate chips. Here’s a shot of ones with semi-sweet chocolate chips, white chocolate chips and pecan pieces:

Enjoy at least one while it’s still warm and gooey; a great chef always tastes their work.