Friendship Cookies: Sweet + Salty Chocolate Chip

Baking is such a special thing. Butter, sugar and flour has a language of its own - as nerdily as it sounds - it's pretty much one of love and caring. No one's going to make you a birthday cake or a batch of homemade cookies if they hate your guts. Well maybe they'll make you a poison apple or put a worm in your cupcake! But no, when someone bakes you something - they do it because they love you, they care aboutcha, they support you and want to make you feel good if you're feeling crappy, or feel better if you're feeling sad, or feel special if it's your birthday, or they miss you so they make you a little treat. Because sometimes just eating a really good cookie can make you forget any life crappiness for the tiny minute that it takes for you inhale it. And I've never known anyone who hasn't been at least minutely stoked to receive a batch of homemade cookies!!! Cookies have POWERS. Or at least they can be a symbol of crunchy yummy salty sweet delicious caring.

These cookies are made with spelt flour, too - so while they're decadent in the butter and extreme-o chocolate-ness, spelt is high-fibre! Great! 

Sweet + Salty Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup of golden brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 cups whole spelt flour
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups (about two 100 gram bars) of high quality semi sweet chocolate, broken into pieces (I used 49% cocoa Lindt Surfin)

Make It!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line three metal baking pans with parchment paper.

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugars on high until light and fluffy, about two minutes.
2. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat on high until incorporated, using a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
3. In a medium bowl, sift together the spelt flour, salt and baking powder.
4. Pour the dry ingredients into the butter and sugar mixture; beat on low until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl.
5. Throw in the chocolate and mix for a few seconds until incorporated.
6. Using a small retractable ice cream scoop or clean hands, dole out 1.5 inch round balls of cookie dough evenly spaced onto baking sheets. Optional: place a piece of chocolate on top of each cookie for extra chocolate blast! 
7. Bake for 12-14 minutes, rotating pans halfway, until chocolate is melty and cookies are lightly browned on the bottom.
8. Remove from oven, let cookies cool on wire racks.



What do you think - what's your go-to, make-someone-happy move?? I'd be pretty happy to eat a bacon cheeseburger with fries right about now, in case someone out there felt like making ME happy! ^__^

xo Lyndsay