Usually I feel a little weird saying “the best.” I hear it/see it a lot, but I tend to reserve the best for, well, the best. Inevitably, thismeans I don’t use “the best” as a modifiervery often. That being said, I feel totally and utterly confident that this chocolate chip cookie recipe is, in fact, the best. This recipe is Ashley’s from Not Without Salt. They’re golden brown and crispy on the edges and perfectly gooey and soft in the middles. The sprinkle of sea salt takes the entire cookie over the edge.
I used Ashely’s awesome cookie mix, but her blog has the recipe up as well, which I’ve put down at the bottom of the post. Regardless if you use the mix or measure out the ingredientsby hand, you’ll have gooey, delicious chocolate chip cookies in no time.
These guys are perfect for a last minute treat, or maybe to make to leave out for Santa. Do you guys leave cookies out for Santa? Growing up, we celebrated Christmas, but we didn’t really do the whole Santa thing. The presents under the tree were from my parents and various aunties and uncles. Santa was the man in the red suit at the mall that we took pictures with, but I didn’t know anything else about him. It wasn’t until I went to preschool that I realized that Santa was supposed to come down the chimney, eat your milk and cookies, and bring you a present on Christmas morning.
Once I figured that out, I decided I wanted to leave Santa a plate of milk and cookies. My mom, being the pragmatic lady she is, said, a resounding, “no.” “Santa’s never brought you a presentbefore, what makes you think leaving out milk and cookies is going to get you a present now?” Logic was never my strong suit (still isn’t!) and I was insistent that the missing puzzle piece was the plate of milk and cookies. I just knew that if I left a treat out for Santa, I’d wake up to an even bigger pile of presents come Christmas morning.
Because I was so insistent, my mom decided that all the cookies were going on the top shelf, out of reach. The lack cookies didn’t stop me though: instead of setting up a mom-sanctioned plate of milk and cookies beside our fireplace,I took matters into my own hands.
In the midst of our annual Christmas eveparty hubbub, I took a pack of instant noodles and hid it under my covers. Yes, a pack of instant noodles – Sapporo Ichiban chicken flavour, in case you were wondering. Now that I think about it, there were lots of cookies at the party that I could have saved for Santa. But at the time, the instant noodles made the most sense. I mean, I love instant noodles, surelySanta would too, right?
After everyone went home and my parents were fast asleep, I snuck out of bed to look at the lights on the tree. I put my pack of instant noodles by the chimney, and went to bed. The next morning, lo and behold, my pack of instant noodles was open, the noodles missing and a giant present was under the tree:To: Stephanie, Love: Santa. Best. Christmas. Ever.
The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe via Not Without Salt*
makes 12-18 cookies
- 1 stick butter (4 oz)
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
- 2 tablespoons Turbinado sugar
- 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/4 + 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 pound dark chocolate féves or 1/2 pound dark chocolate cut into rough 1/2 inch chunks
- 1/4 teaspoon flaky sea salt, for sprinkling
Preheat the oven to 360°F.
Cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy (5 minutes on medium speed if using a mixer). While the butter and sugar is creaming,whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
Add the egg and vanillato the butter-sugar andmix until combined. Add the flour and mix, with a spatula, until barelycombined. Foldin the chocolate. Portion the cookies out onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Sprinkle with the flaky salt and bake for 12 minutes, until the edges are golden but the centers are gooey. Let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes and enjoy warm!
Note:Ashley also sells the cookie mix (as you can tell from my photos!) It’s completely awesome – the best cookie from a mix that I’ve ever made.
Hope your Christmas isa magical one!
xoxo Steph
40 Comments
[emailprotected] says:
December 23, 2014 at 3:48 am
That is such a cute story! I so would have pcked the noodles too! Love these cookies. Sharing!
Reply
Sara @ Cake Over Steak says:
December 23, 2014 at 4:17 am
That is the cutest story!!! And yes, these cookies are the best.
Reply
December 23, 2014 at 7:27 am
I love stories like that, which showcase the innocence of children. And I think noodles are better than cookies, too. Have a happy holiday!
Reply
cynthia | two red bowls says:
December 23, 2014 at 7:40 am
OMG. That is THE cutest story I’ve ever heard. I am in <3 with child-you, Steph!!! And these cookies <3 I love those giant patches of melted chocolate, mmmmm. Ashley is a genius. Merry Christmas, lady!!!
Reply
December 23, 2014 at 8:21 am
These cookies are beautiful. Seriously picture-perfect — I feel like if I looked up the definition of “chocolate chip cookie”, a picture of these cookies would be there. You and Ashley are amazing.
Also, omg, lol that Santa/ramen story had me cracking up over my coffee this morning. Hilarious.
Reply
Alexa@SweetLittleKitchen says:
December 23, 2014 at 10:44 am
Yum! Loving the idea of using really big dark chocolate chunks in cookies. Also, your childhood instant noodle gift to Santa is absolutely precious.
Reply
Kathryn says:
December 23, 2014 at 1:30 pm
Mmmm, mmm and triple mmm, this looks so good! Must try!
http://www.liquidgrain.co.ukReply
jenna @ just j.faye says:
December 23, 2014 at 2:52 pm
Such an adorable story – love it! Also, these cookies look amazing.
Reply
December 23, 2014 at 6:19 pm
These absolutely need to reappear in my life! I’ve made them before and definitely agree they are amazing!! xx
Reply
Hannah says:
December 23, 2014 at 10:35 pm
I have to know, what is the font you used for “the best chocolate chip cookies” in the cookie photo, it’s absolutely amazing.
Reply
steph says:
December 24, 2014 at 4:53 pm
it’s gotham :)
Reply
Mahee Ferlini says:
December 24, 2014 at 11:55 am
The sprinkled salt makes a huge difference. Great idea!
Reply
Carol at Wild Goose Tea says:
December 24, 2014 at 1:03 pm
Thank you for the magical Xmas wish. That’s a lovely thought and one I agree with totally. I send that wish back to you. Well I wasn’t expecting to pin your cookie.
BUT it’s quite a bit different from my tried and true recipe. SO I am going to have to try it.Reply
Alana says:
December 24, 2014 at 1:16 pm
Best. Story. Ever. You were just the cutest little girl ever!! I love hearing your childhood stories. And DAMN. Those cookies.
Reply
Emily @ Life on Food says:
December 26, 2014 at 7:38 am
These cookies look so amazing. I wanted some of that cookie mix for Christmas. I have two more chances before Monday. Fingers crossed.
Reply
Nagi from RecipeTin Eats says:
December 27, 2014 at 2:24 am
Hi Steph – are these kind of chewy?? I’m after a chewy cc cookie recipe. I’ve tried a few from other “big bloggers” and have been disappointed time and time again!
Reply
steph says:
December 27, 2014 at 6:46 pm
hi nagi,
they are definitely chewy! just be sure not to over mix or over bake!
Reply
aakanksha soni says:
December 27, 2014 at 11:20 pm
wow, that’ so enticing :) love the presentation.
thanks for sharing the recipeReply
June Burns says:
December 28, 2014 at 8:19 am
Wow, those do look amazing! Love the addition of salt, that makes everything better :)
Reply
Erika says:
December 29, 2014 at 9:40 pm
OMG THAT IS THE MOST ADORABLE STORY EVER. Love you and hope you had a fantastic Christmas!! I’ve been dying to try Ashley’s cookies and you make them look so so gorgeous!!!!
Reply
Chris Anderson says:
December 31, 2014 at 11:02 pm
I’ve made more chocolate chip cookie recipes than I can count, but if this one is THE BEST, well, then I must try it. Thanks for sharing!
Reply
Ala says:
January 2, 2015 at 11:38 pm
Pahahaha–I loved this story, girl! My Santa most definitely would like instant noodles, too–though seriously, my parents have to convince me every year that Santa doesn’t want the cookies, and my dad looks down sadly at his expanding belly. Hehe. Happy holidays and a great new year to ya!
Reply
Julie says:
January 11, 2015 at 7:36 am
Ashley’s cookies are so divine – I never noticed she had posted the recipe! thanks!! xo
Reply
Yinta Truyers says:
February 25, 2015 at 9:08 am
Hey, I just wanted to respond to this post because I really love food a lot. I like to make food but of course also to eat it :) . I like to create different pastries and desserts. I often try to make things at home. Of course there are many things that fail. I once tried to bake a cookie, but I failed to do it. I love the fact I can find a lot of recipes here. Now I can try it again with a better result (hopefully). I really like your blog, it’s very interesting. It’s really a great idea to have different dishes accompanied with the recipe. I like to make every kind of food. This is certainly not the only dish that I will try to make. Greetings and make beautiful dishes!
Reply
Kayla Solesby says:
March 19, 2015 at 11:57 am
I love this recipe. I’m such a fan of your recipes and your love for Taylor Swift!!!
Reply
Leimomi Acia says:
December 14, 2015 at 12:41 pm
These cookies were amazing! I ended up omitting the tubinado sugar, and they still had a wonderfully chewy texture and browned evenly. While I’ve been using Smitten Kitchen’s “our favorite” C.C. recipe for the longest time this one is definitely “the best” in my arsenal. Your adorable story about Santa reminded me of my experience growing up in a Chinese-American household were some American holiday traditions weren’t entirely accepted— one of them being Christmas.
My mom loved to cook and bake especially around the holidays. Although my Chinese family invested more of their energy into the New Year, my mom loved indulging in all things Christmas. Any given weekend in December you could find her in the kitchen baking a variety of cookies from Swedish spritz, chocolate ship, Russian tea, crinkles—you name it! I’d wake up to the warm scent of toasting nuts and gently burnt sugar in the air, and I knew this meant we were having cookies for breakfast! I’d pull up a chair to the counter, she’d poor me a glass of milk, and we’d talk cookies till I had my fill.
Naturally some of these cookies were for Santa, and my sister and I would hand select the best for his plate. On Christmas eve we’d write a letter explaining how good we’d been all year, and what we wanted for Christmas. My Chinese relatives who visited were always turned off by this “lie” my sister and I were steadfast in believing. My Grandma was the most vocal about her distaste for this guy Santa Claus. She too—like your mom— never thought he deserve VIP treatment.
Living in Hawaii we dreamed of meeting the real Santa one day, but knew it was probably too much to ask for. With the cookies by the window seal we’d sleep under the the tree in hopes of getting a peek. This year we were lucky. In the middle of the night we were awoken by a loud noise. Through blurry lenses we saw a shadowy red figure walking around outside. Quickly we put on our boots, grabbed our cat, but before we could investigate my Grandma caught us. She told us Santa would be upset if we didn’t go back to bed. The plate of cookies was eaten so we believed her.
In the morning we eagerly read Santa’s reply while our Grandmother complained about how messy and fat he is. We quickly noticed the letter was signed by Grandma-Santa. Looking over our gifts they too were from Grandma-Santa. Slight confused we asked what was going on, and my Grandma’s reply was, “You two scared Santa off last night, so I had to finish wrapping all the gifts Santa left. Since I did half his job, I get half the credit!” Amazed that she met him we didn’t have to ask anymore question. Even in our follow up thank you letter we addressed it to Grandma-Santa.
Looking back I realize this was a big cultural feat for my first generation Chinese Grandmother; to embrace a part of American culture that she didn’t fully understand. If it wasn’t for the fact that at the core of the holiday was family and food, I don’t think she would have ever come around. Most of my family has since moved from Hawaii, so now we exchange boxes of cookies through the mail for Christmas. Surprisingly enough my Grandma still signs her card Grandma-Santa, and I blissfully indulge in them for breakfast on Christmas day.
So that’s my story! Thanks for reminding me of this. My Grandma doesn’t bake much these days, and usually just sends a box of Yoku Moku cigare cookies instead. I’ll have to send over a batch of these chocolate chip to her this year along with this anecdote!
Reply
Mandy says:
August 20, 2016 at 9:30 pm
Just made these tonight and they tasted great! But my cookies didn’t seem to spread as much as yours — the centre was more cakey than it was gooey :(
Would this be because I baked it too long? Added too much flour? Would love to hear your thoughts on this :)Reply
Stephanie Le says:
August 20, 2016 at 9:36 pm
i think you might have over-mixed the flour or maybe over creamed the butter and sugar. how long did you cream for and was your butter very soft? also, it’s best to just mix in the flour, you don’t want to over mix!
Reply
Teresa says:
July 30, 2017 at 5:00 am
This is my go to recipe for chocolate chip cookies! The best ever!
Reply
Jackie says:
March 5, 2020 at 7:58 pm
Can’t wait to try this! Love your site!
Reply
rich says:
October 3, 2023 at 7:23 am
do you use salted or unsalted butter?
Reply
Stephanie says:
October 3, 2023 at 11:51 am
hi rich, unsalted!
Reply
