(BF) Throw Down-esque Chocolate Chip Cookies

I’d seen this recipe floating around Pinterest for quite some time now and had been wanting to try it intrigued by the idea of using freshly chopped chunks/shreds of chocolate instead of chips. And because they sell chunks of chocolate at my local Winco, that is exactly what I picked up on my most recent trip to the store. With chocolate chunks in hand (and some bittersweet chocolate disks, too), I was ready to give Bobby Flay’s recipe a go with a few tweaks, of course.

ingredients.

2 to 3 c. all-purpose flour*
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 stick salted butter, at room temperature
1 stick margarine, at room temperature
⅔ c. granulated sugar
1 c. dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 ½ tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 5-oz block dark chocolate, chopped into chunks
1 5-oz block milk chocolate, chopped into chunks
3 oz bittersweet chocolate disks, roughly chopped
flaky sea salt

*I add enough flour until I get the desired consistency. I don’t want my dough to be “whipped” or airy. I don’t want it falling off my beater. I want it to stick to my beater and be substantial in texture.

directions.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment or silicone pads.
Whisk together the flour, salt and baking soda in a bowl. Place the butter in the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat until smooth, about 1 minute. Add the sugars and continue mixing, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes longer. Add the eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla extract. Add half of the flour mixture and mix until just incorporated. Add the remaining flour mixture, again mixing until just combined. Remove the bowl from the stand and fold in the chocolate.
Spoon the dough into your hand and roll into equal sized balls. Place the balls onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving at least 2 inches between each cookie, sprinkle with sea salt. Bake on the middle rack until the cookies are lightly golden brown and still soft in the middle, about 11 to 13 minutes. Let the cookies rest for a few minutes on the baking sheets before removing them to a baking rack. Let the cookies cool on the baking rack for a few minutes before eating. Repeat with the remaining dough.

This almost never happens, but I found I liked these cookies once cooled better than warm out of the oven. I can’t place my finger on the why either. (Normally I go nuts for cookies that just came out of the oven.) Despite the fact that I swapped out one stick of butter from the original recipe for one stick of margarine, these cookies still spread out more than I would have liked. Lastly, despite the fact that I added sea salt on top, I thought the cookies could have used more salt. This may be because I have been eating fettucine alfredo all weekend. My sodium levels and tolerance may be slightly increased by now.

The end result was still a good cookie. It just didn’t wow me. I would try it again and tweak the recipe some more.