Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

• 300g 00 strong flour (substitute AP or half AP and half 00. ~2 3/8 cups)
  • Central Milling Organic Unbleached AP Flour
  • Central Milling Organic 00 Pizza Flour
• 3/4tsp baking soda
• 225g room temperature butter (2 sticks)
• 100g granulated sugar (~1/2 cups)
• 200g brown sugar (~1 cup)
• 5tsp vanilla paste (or extract)
  • Heilala Vanilla (Polynesia)
  • Blue Cattle Truck Vanilla (Mexico)
• 1tsp kosher salt
• 2 eggs
• ~300g semi sweet chocolate wafers (~1.5 cups+)
• Smoked sea salt flakes (for topping)

Steps

1. Mix butter in stand mixer with flat beater until smooth
   • The butter needs to be room temperature, leave it out overnight. This step is important.
2. Add sugar and mix on high until smooth, scrape sides a few times to make sure all is incorporated.
3. Add salt, vanilla, eggs and mix on high, scrape sides again.
4. Mix flour and baking soda in a bowl with a whisk.
5. Mix in flour to butter cream in 3 parts until barely incorporated each time.
   • Don’t quite finish mixing in the last part. You want to avoid gluten development.
6. Mix in chocolate until just combined, this will incorporate the last of the flour too.
7. Put dough container/silicone bag/pan with lid and chill for 24-48 hours.
   • Letting the dough rest lets enzymes work on the dough that makes it more flavorful. You can skip it if you are impatient.
8. Preheat oven to 350F.
9. Weigh out into 50g+ pieces, roll in your hands to make a ball making sure there is dough on the bottom of each cookie.
   • Place onto silicone baking mat or parchment paper evenly spaced.
10. Sprinkle smoked salt flakes on top of each cookie ball, excess will end up on the bottom of the cookie.
11. Cook for 10-12 mins, remove from the oven and drop the pan on the counter to flatten.
    • Dropping the pan collapses the cookie before they are finished cooking with gives them a chewier consistency once they cool.
12. Cook for another 1-2 mins until edges just brown.
13. Remove from the oven and pan and put on a rack to cool completely.