Make Ahead
Sunflower Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies
- Prep time 20 minutes
- Cook time 20 minutes
- Serves 12
Author Notes
Sunflower butter reminds me of Australia. For reasons other than the obvious ubiquity of the loved paste (a liquid in the eyes of the TSA!) in Australia, the character of sunflower butter is similar to that of the country- largely familiar but wholly different, sultry and a little confusing, and either sticky or smooth depending on your mood. Thankfully, I no longer need to steal a carry-on-bag amount of individually packed sunflower butter from Virgin Australia because you can easily find it at most North American grocery stores these days.
Flavors of umami-rich sunflower butter, sea salt, dark chocolate, browned butter, and loads of vanilla. Textures of crispy cookie edges, soft chews of large crumbs, and chunks of chocolate in which your teeth sink. —Finchly
Ingredients
-
8 tablespoons
salted butter, room temperature
-
1/2 cup
granulated sugar
-
1/2 cup
dark brown sugar
-
1
whole egg
-
1
egg yolk
-
1 tablespoon
vanilla extract
-
1 1/4 cups
sunflower butter
-
1 1/2 cups
bread flour
-
2 tablespoons
dry milk powder
-
1 teaspoon
baking powder
-
1 teaspoon
salt
-
2 cups
good chocolate, chopped
Directions
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and line a few baking pans with parchment paper unless preparing the dough beforehand- see #6! Set aside.
- Cream the butter and sugars for several minutes in a large bowl or the bowl of a standing mixer.
- Add the peanut butter, eggs, and vanilla to the butter and sugar and beat until thoroughly combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to make sure you don't leave anyone behind.
- Add the dry ingredients into the bowl and beat/stir until everything comes together in one cohesive dough.
- Stir in the chocolate chunks.
- Here's the big moment in your Choose Your Own Adventure story. You can bake the cookies now or make a materially better decision resulting in a much happier ending by curing your dough overnight in the fridge. I often cure my dough for several days, to be a complete downer. It helps ripen the dough producing more complexity and a more profound depth of flavors.
- Whether you proceed now or it's a day later, use your hands, a large spoon, an ice cream scoop, or whatever new fad on the market, and portion into individual cookies. I use a green 3 1/4 oz-Winco ice cream scoop for those who care.
- Sprinkle the tops of the cookies with Maldon salt or another large, flaky salt you may have. Bake the cookies for 18-20 minutes until they turn golden brown on top and darker brown around the edges. Remove and let cool on the pan for a few minutes before moving to a cooling rack to cool completely.
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