Barely Baked Chocolate Chip Cookies With Sea Salt

These barely baked chocolate chip cookies are such a crowd-pleaser. The secret that makes them so delicious is their crispy crunchy outside and just-baked gooey center. And they are sprinkled with a bit of flaky salt to enhance their flavor. These will be a family favorite!

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CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES ON A PLATE

Look no further if you have been looking for the best chip cookie. These cookies are crisp outside, and the just-baked gooeyness inside comes from the butter. These are the perfect marriage of salty-sweet. These cookies boast the best of both worlds.

Barley baked chocolate chip cookies are my family’s favorites.

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STACKED CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

The cookies will spread out in the oven and get flat-ish. This will give them crispy edges. And making sure to not overbake them will give them their heavenly soft centers that are just barely baked.

I love this recipe because it calls for mixing everything by hand I don’t have to lug out my big stand mixer.

Ingredients For The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

These cookies are delicious, but only as good as the ingredients you choose to go in them. Quality ingredients equal the most scrumptious product!

Butter: Use unsalted butter so you can control the amount of salt in your cookies. Butter makes the crisp edges, the melty center, and the rich flavor.

Vanilla: Don’t leave this out of your recipe! Vanilla is not only a flavor enhancer, it is a flavor balancer. It helps all the ingredients play nicely together.

Sugars: This recipe calls for both white sugar and brown sugar. This adds both sweetness and depth of flavor to the cookies. I use dark brown sugar. I like the more complex flavor and it makes the cookies darker.

Flour: Use all-purpose flour for this recipe. It will give you chewy cookies when combined with butter. The number one reason cookie recipes fail, if the directions are followed correctly, is because the flour was not measured properly. See the section How To Measure Flour Correctly below.

Baking Soda: Baking Soda creates tiny air bubbles that keep baked goods light and airy.

Salt: Salt is a flavor enhancer and baked goods need salt to balance out the sweetness in a recipe. This recipe calls for salt in the recipe and a tiny bit of flaked salt on top of the cookies.

Chocolate Chips: You can use chunks of semi-sweet chocolate you cut up yourself or add chocolate chips. My favorite chocolate chips are Ghiradelli semi-sweet chips.

Tools you’ll need

Here are some tools you will need to make these delicious cookies

  • Quarter Baking Sheets
  • Mixing Spoon
  • Mixing Bowls
  • #12 Scoop
  • Measuring Cups And Spoons
  • Optional: Parchment Paper

Tips For Making The Best Cookies

Here are a few tips that will help you make the best chocolate chip cookies.

Measure all the ingredients carefully and follow the directions. This recipe calls for mixing everything by hand. It is very important not to overmix this recipe. Combine all the ingredients until just incorporated.

The best way to produce partially melted butter is in the microwave. Start with butter that has been chilled in the refrigerator. Put one wrapped stick of butter in the microwave at a time. Set the cooking time for one minute. Stop every ten seconds to check the softness of the butter. The goal is for the butter to be soft with some of it melted in the center of the stick.

Put the eggs in a bowl and scramble them before adding them to the butter.

Mix the butter, sugars, vanilla, and eggs together. Beat them together with a spoon or whisk.

Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt together. And gently mix it with a clean fork.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients until just combined. Don’t overmix.

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES DOUGH IN A BOWL

Pro Tip

Use an ice cream scoop for uniform cookies. I used a #12 ice cream scoop for these cookies. This will make a three-and-a-half-inch cookie.

Chill the cookie balls on a baking sheet in the refrigerator for an hour before baking them. If you cover them tightly with plastic wrap, you can keep them refrigerated overnight. There are two main reasons for chilling the dough before it is baked. First, it gives the wet ingredients a chance to hydrate the flour and second, chilling the dough helps the cookie not to spread too much when baking.

DOUGH BALLS

Do not overbake these cookies. The name is barely baked!

Did you know?

Banging the cookie sheet on the countertop several times when the cookies come out of the oven deflates them a little and keeps the centers soft and gooey.

Cool the cookies on a wire rack until they are totally cooled.

COOKIES ON A COOLING RACK

How To Measure Flour

Measuring Flour correctly is often a make or break when it comes to baked goods. Many cooks dig a measuring cup into a bag of flour and add it to recipes. That is not the best and most accurate way to measure because flour can become tightly backed down. And we do not want to scoop packed down flour!

When you are not measuring it on a scale, the best way to measure flour is to put flour in a container that is big enough to use the fluff, scoop, and level method. Use a fork and gently stir the flour fluffing it up. Or use a one-cup measure and scoop it up and shake the flour out back in the large flour container. Do this several times before you measure it.

Spoon the flour into a measuring cup while holding it over the flour container until the flour is piled above the rim of the measuring cup. Do not pack it down. Level the flour off by scraping a knife across the measuring cup.

This will ensure you have the right amount of flour for your recipe.

A Measurement You Might Want To Know

The most accurate way to measure flour is by weighing it on a scale. One cup of flour equals 120-125 grams.

How To Store Cookies

Glass containers with lids will store these cookies. I like to refrigerate them because they are barely baked and will keep their crispness better. Just don’t put them in a plastic bag. They will break apart and get soft.

Freezing Cookie Dough And Finished Cookies

These cookies freeze beautifully! Here’s how…

Freezing Cookie Doug:

The best way to freeze this cookie dough is by following the directions and making cookie balls with an ice cream scoop. Put the balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze them. When the cookie balls are frozen put them in a freezer bag and pop them in the freezer.

Freezing Finished Cookies:

Make the cookies according to the directions. And cool completely. Freeze them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. When the cookies are frozen they can be stacked and wrapped in foil and then put in a freezer bag for up to two months.

5 from 1 vote

Barely Baked Chocolate Chip Cookies

These scrumptious chocolate chip cookies are crisp on the outside and gooey inside. These are the perfect chocolate chip cookies!
Print Recipe

Ingredients

  • 4 sticks unsalted butter partially melted
  • 2 TBS vanilla extract
  • 3 eggs scrambles in a separate bowl
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 2 1/2 cups brown sugar dark or light brown sugar
  • 5 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 tsps salt
  • 1 1/2 tsps baking soda
  • 1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips the bag ranges 10-13 oz depending on the brand
  • flaked salt like Maldon

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees on the convection setting or 400 degrees in a regular oven.
  • In a small bowl, scramble the eggs with a fork. Set aside.
  • In a large bowl, mix together partially melted butter, vanilla, sugars, and eggs. Set aside.
  • In another large bowl, gently stir the flour, salt, and baking soda together to mix.
  • Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips and combine.
  • Make dough balls with a scoop. Put them close together on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and refrigerate them for 1 hour (or even overnight) until firm.
  • Transfer the chilled dough balls to another lined baking sheet spaced a couple inches apart and bake for about 10-13 minutes.
  • Keep an eye on them so they do not overbake. They should be lightly golden brown with a gooey center.
  • When the cookies come out of the oven, bang the sheet pan on a countertop several times to keep the cookies from rising too high.
  • Cool the cookies on a wire rack.
  • Sprinkle a tiny bit of flaked salt on the warm cookies.
  • Enjoy!
Servings: 24 cookies with a #12 scoop

I hope you will make these cookies. I’m sure they will be your favorite!

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why are my cookies so puffy?

Puffy cookies are usually a sign of adding too much flour or measuring packed-down flour.

Spoon the flour into a measuring cup while holding it over the flour container until the flour is piled above the rim of the measuring cup. Do not pack it down. Level the flour off by scraping a knife across the measuring cup.

What is the best way to partially melt butter?

You can partially melt butter in the microwave set for one minute on the high setting. Put one wrapped stick of butter in the microwave at a time and microwave in 10-minute increments until the butter is soft and the center of the butter is melted.

Or melt the butter in a pan on low heat until it is one-quarter melted. Put the butter into a bowl. It will continue to melt a bit more.

Can I bake nuts in my chocolate chip cookies?

Yes, nuts like walnuts and pecans are favorites to use in chocolate chip cookies.

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES ON A WHITE PLATTER

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Recipe Rating




14 Comments

  1. Patricia Masson says:

    These look soooo good! Can’t wait to try them. What size (oz?) bag of chocolate chips do you use? Thank you!

  2. Marilyn Petitto says:

    Thank you again for all of the great recipes. I enjoy every one of them. Have a great weekend and be safe.
    Marilyn Petitto

    1. Marilyn, Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend too! We remember all the fallen who have kept our land free.

  3. 5 stars
    Delicious! Thanks Yvonne for sharing. Learned a new tip to bang the cookies on the counter. I keep a couple of small cookie tins on hand to give to a neighbor or bring to friend. No one can resist a good chocolate chip cookie!

  4. What great tips..from measuring the flour, banging the pan on the counter (who knew) and how to store them. Thank you Yvonne. I will be making these next week. My family loves chocolate chip cookies and I love it when they are under baked. From your picture I take it a batch makes 24 cookies. PS I love all your recipes!

      1. Hi Yvonne, I am making these cookies for the second time. They are in the fridge now getting ready to bake. My family loves them and requested I make them for our cottage vacation. Thanks for another delicious recipe and family favourite.

  5. Pam Cates says:

    Hello, Do you really use 4 sticks of unsalted butter for your Chocolate Chip Cookies?
    It just sounds like a lot of butter.
    Would you mind letting me know if 4 sticks is correct?
    Thank you Pam

      1. Pam Cates says:

        Thanks. It must make lots of cookies.