salted sesame chocolate chip culture cookies

hiii friends!!

it’s officially february and the longest freaking month of the year has finally passed. did anyone else feel like january took forever to pass by? i sure did and it’s maybe because i decided to try dry-ish january, where i told myself that i’d only have two drinks a week. that turned into two drinking days a week, which then turned into me cramming as many wine glasses and cocktails and then going into work slightly hungover the next day.

it’s i guess a good start to try to have better habits..but man. isn’t it a shame to pass on a good bottle of natural wine with pizza or a margarita with tacos? aand speaking of pizza and tacos! joan and i were reunited this week in brooklyn and pizza and tacos is kind of all we did. can’t forget the natural wine, cry happy tears (as we always do), and bakesesh with cookies!

i’ve been meaning to have an attempt at my ultimate favorite chocolate chip cookies in new york. and no, it’s not from levain, bestfren, or maman. culture espresso is where it’s at! culture’s cookies are taller chunky cookies with that golden crisp on the bottom edges, and of course, melty gooey almost-raw goodness on the insides.

whenever i had a bad day at work at my old job, i’d sometimes walk over to culture espresso to have a cookie and an americano for respite because as i’m sure you know, work honestly can suck the life out of you and a warm chocolate chip cookie is the only appropriate thing within reach that can give you a hug during the middle of the day.

and not to be a debby-downer, but doesn’t it kind of feel like this year had way too many days where a mid-day cookie hug felt absolutely necessary? i’m sure you’ve been up to date with current events but australia’s fires, kobe and gigi, xenophobia being an actual byproduct of coronovirus, the uk leaving the EU…it’s all kind of bit too much at once.

who knows what the next month will shake out to look like, i’m definitely praying for better. but in the meantime, sharing warm cookies for your friends, family, coworkers, and maybe strangers to spread a little more joy in this world doesn’t seem like such a bad idea.

xo, christine

salted sesame chocolate chip culture cookies 

ingredients

1 cup (two sticks) of softened room temperature salted butter

1/2 cup cane sugar

1 1/2 cup light brown sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 3/4 cup bread flour

1.5 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp kosher salt

2- 2oz bars of semisweet chocolate

2 tablespoons sesame seeds

1 tablespoon maldon salt for sprinkling

notes

prep work

1. remove butter and eggs from fridge for about 20 minutes - doing so allows eggs to come down to room temperature and butter to soften.

2. in a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt.

3. using a knife, cut up dark chocolate bar into small chunks. set aside.

4. in a small pan, toast sesame seeds lightly until golden brown. remove from pan and set aside.

cookie dough assembly

1. prepare a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or a hand mixer with the beater attachment. toss in butter, cane sugar, and brown sugar into mixing bowl and beat for 3-4 minutes or until the butter has a fluffier, airier, whipped texture.

2. toss in eggs and vanilla extract and mix for 30 seconds or until evenly combined.

3. fold in flour mixture using a spatula in 1-cup increments. then, fold in chocolate and sesame seeds until evenly distributed. try not to over-mix the dough!

4. cover and set in fridge to chill for 30 minutes.

baking

1. preheat oven to 370 degrees fahrenheit and line an aluminum sheet pan with parchment paper.

2. scoop out 1.5 tablespoons worth of dough and roll into a ball shape. place each ball with 1.5 inches between to spread.

3. lightly sprinkle tops with maldon salt.

4. bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes or until the edges and top develop golden spots.

5. remove cookies from tray using a spatula and set on a cooling rack.

6. share with your friends and family or anyone you know who is having a hard day.