I think salt is one of the most under-appreciated ingredients in baking. It serves several purposes in recipes — but its most magical function is its ability to enhance the depth and flavour of the other ingredients in your mixing bowl. Salt is especially important in sugar-heavy recipes, such as frostings, because it really helps to balance the sweetness; I almost exclusively use salted butter when making icing for my cupcakes. I also like to sprinkle a little sea salt on my chocolate chip cookies. It’s amazing how the sea salt flakes make all the other flavours pop. These Salted Caramel & Dark Chocolate cookies use salted butter and are sprinkled with a finishing touch of sea salt flakes. Don’t worry about ending up with a too salty cookie; the sea salt flakes are quite delicate and really enhance the sweetness of the caramel and smoky dark chocolate.

 Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup salted butter, softened
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips
• 1 cup caramel bits
• Maldon or sea salt flakes, for sprinkling

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a cookie sheet with non-stick spray.
2. In a large bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar until well combined.
3. Add the egg, maple syrup, and vanilla and mix until smooth.
4. Add the flour, baking soda and salt. Stir together until almost fully combined. Add the chocolate chips and caramel bits and stir until blended.
5. Shape spoonfuls of dough into balls and place about 2 inches apart on cookie sheet. You can press a few chocolate chips and caramel bits into the top of each cookie — it just makes them look prettier. Sprinkle a little sea salt over the cookie dough balls.
6. Bake for 12 minutes. Don’t overbake if you want them to be soft and chewy!

*Yield: Approximately 20-22 cookies