Sea Salt

Sea Salt Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookie /  by Judy Kim

by Judy Kim

Sea Salt Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookie

Yield: Approximately 25 large (4-inch) cookies or 38 medium (3-inch) cookies

The ultimate chocolate chocolate chip cookie. Thin, crispy yet chewy and completely addicting. 

These cookies were made for Natalie Mortimer and Holly Erickson, The Modern Proper's  #calmandbrightcookienight.  Check out their Coconut Thumbprint Cookie and the full roster of other amazing bakers that participated.

INGREDIENTS

Coconut oil spray

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 large egg, at room temperature

1 cup all-purpose flour

½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, such as Guittard

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon flaky sea salt, such as Jacobsen

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips or wafers, such as Guittard Akoma semi-sweet chocolate chips or Guittard Bittersweet Chocolate Wafers

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare 2, preferably 3 half sheet pans with a light coating of coconut oil, or your favorite cooking spray. Do not use parchment paper or the cookies won't spread properly.

  2. Add butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Start on low, increase speed to high and beat until light in color and creamy, about 3 to 4 minutes. Scrape down sides with a rubber spatula as needed. Add vanilla and egg, one at a time until combined. Place bowl in fridge to chill for 30 minutes or wrap well in plastic and chill overnight.

  3. In a medium bowl whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and sea salt. Add flour mixture in 4 increments and mix on low; scrape the bowl as needed. After 3rd addition of flour, fold remaining flour mixture by hand until just combined. Do not over mix. Fold chocolate chips in by hand.

  4. For 4-inch cookies, use a small cookie scoop or spoon about 2 tablespoons of dough on to a greased half sheet pan 2-inches apart. Do not use parchment as the cookies will not spread evenly. Place maximum of 6 cookies per half sheet pan, but I prefer 5 to avoid the cookies from crowding each other. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. For 3-inch cookies, use a 1 tablespoon scoop and place 8 cookies evenly spaced on a half sheet pan. Timing is important for this cookie. Check oven temperature with a thermometer, test a single cookie to determine the right timing and see if your oven requires you to rotate the pan. Center about the size of a quarter should be slightly undercooked and remaining outer edges should spread into rings. This ensures a chewy yet crunchy cookie.

  5. Remove sheet pan from oven and cool for a few minutes before transferring cookies to a cooling rack. Optional to sprinkle cookies with sea salt right after removing from the oven. Repeat steps for additional batches, but cool sheet pans before adding cookie dough.

NOTES:

Cookie dough can be made in advance. Keep in the fridge well wrapped or freeze individual cookie dough balls and place in a plastic bag after frozen; remove as much air from the bag as possible. Bring dough to room temperature before baking for best results. Baking frozen dough will still taste great, but the overall baked cookie appearance may vary slightly.

If you don't have a silicone spatula, try spraying your spatula with oil to make it easier to handle the cookies.

*recipe updated Dec 2018

 

Roast Chicken Breast with Meyer Lemon Jus /  by Judy Kim

by Judy Kim

Roast Chicken Breast with Meyer Lemon Jus

Yield: 4 servings

This is the ultimate comfort food, simple roast chicken. Which is great all year round, but when Meyer lemons are available I cannot resist. Meyer lemons and blood oranges are my weakness in the Fall and Winter months. If they are out of season, regular lemons are still great. The lemony jus is my favorite part of this dish, save it for dipping! And if you like cold leftover chicken like me, make extra.

Pro tip: Save the chicken bones and freeze them in a zip lock bag until you have enough to make bone broth. Don’t forget to mark the date. The bones are great for chicken bone broth or add them while making beef bone broth for extra richness and flavor.

INGREDIENTS

4 chicken breasts bone-in, excess fat trimmed

Extra-virgin olive oil

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 meyer lemon, zested and juiced

Flaky sea salt for finishing

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled

¼ cup finely chopped parsley

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Rinse chicken and pat dry thoroughly. Drizzle with olive oil; season with 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper. Arrange chicken in a single layer on a rimmed sheet pan, skin side up and roast until it start to brown, about 25 minutes.

  2. Turn oven to broil and cook until skin is crisp and deep golden brown, about 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate to rest.

  3. Set sheet pan on the stove over medium heat; add 1 tablespoon meyer lemon juice or more to taste and 1 teaspoon of zest. Scrape bottom of pan and simmer for 1 minute. Season with flaky sea salt and add splash of chicken stock if you want more sauce. Stir in cold butter until emulsified. Pour jus and crispy bits into a small bowl or into a serving platter.

  4. Finish chicken with flaky sea salt, more meyer lemon zest and parsley. Serve with jus.