bake (+travel) with sonia

burnt caramel meets chocolate chippers

By sonia July 12, 2012 +Yogi, Cookies

This recipe is inspired by and dedicated to…

My blender, Hector, who makes everything possible.

My roommates, Jill and Natalie, who love cookies – Jill is moving to California and we are really gonna miss her <3

My mom’s amazing dark chocolate sea salt bark that arrived by surprise in the mail…amazing stuff. (Click on picture for recipe)

My dad, who was going to possibly drop by at 5am in the morning. (He did :))

My neighbor-friend, Jeff, who elevatored up and down from the 8th floor a few times, until I finally let him into come try these, still warm from the oven.

Trader Joe’s seasonal goodies, like Fleur de Sel caramels for just $1.99.

The yoga-i get the best ideas in class.  The yoga buds-people who bring me so much joy, and who now demand baked goods from me (Paula 🙂 and others).

My good California friends, Sara and TJ, who I love hanging and sharing crazy weekends with.

My tummy and my heart…always.

So this recipe ALMOST turned into one of those recipes that you don’t get to read about on the blog (meaning it almost turned into a recipe disaster).

It all started when I decided to try a recipe I found in a Le Pain Quotiden cookbook.  Problem was, the recipe was written in grams.

I was on a time crunch, feeling a little impatient and rushed, but I was stubborn and really wanted to make these cookies. Baking never goes well when I am stressed, or tense, or angry, yet I always seem forget in the moment.

So mathematician-wizard-me quickly calculated all the gram measurements into fractions of cups, tossed all my ingredients into Hector, and whipped up some gooey confusion that did not look like cookie dough at all…shoot.

I went back to my computer to search google in frustration about what went wrong.

THEN it hit me. I started laughing. Of course, grams meant the weight, of the ingredient, and of course not all the ingredients were of the same weight…come on Sonia!! Brown sugar is WAY heavier than flour, and how can you compare butter with baking soda?

I sat down.  I jotted down everything I could recall tossing into my dough.  I stuck everything into the fridge. I stepped away from the kitchen.

 I really believe that part of me, my mood, my emotions, my temperament, my thoughts, my intuitions, that I carry while baking is tossed into the bowl as well.  After de-stressing, taking an inspiring hot yoga class, conducting some re-calculations, and eating good dinner, I came back to the bowl, refreshed and excited.

I was in such a good mood, you can’t help but taste the Sonia-love in this recipe 🙂

Here is what I created.

Recipe: Burnt Sea Salt Caramel Cookies

Summary: All you want in a chocolate chip cookie and more.  Sweet chocolate and savory salted caramel create amazing flavors.  Filled with love.

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup butter
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup demerara sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup millet flour – I was just getting creative, but you can use 3/4 cup all-purpose flour here instead
  • 1/2 cup almond meal or almond flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 cup burnt caramel sauce
  • 2 cups chocolate chippers (I used chocolate chips and chopped chocolate chunks)
  • sea salt for sprinkling

Burnt Caramel Sauce:

  • 8 packaged caramels
  • 1/4 cup milk or water
  • 1 tbsp rum
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt

Instructions

  1. First, make the burnt caramel sauce.  In a small saucepan, over a medium flame, combine water/milk, rum, salt, and caramels. Stir frequently and let this sauce cook for about 8-10 minutes, so that you can see it bubbling dark brown goodness. The longer you cook it, the more burnt it will taste. Set aside or refrigerate to cool.
  2. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.
  3. In a large bowl, combine butter, brown sugar, Demerara sugar and almond meal until well mixed. *You can also toss this into a food processor or blender to get a finer texture.
  4. Add egg, egg yolk, and vanilla.  Mix well
  5. In a separate bowl, combine flours, baking soda, and salt. Sift well.
  6. Incorporate the dry flour mixture into the butter mixture, until well combined.
  7. Stir the burnt caramel sauce and chocolate chips into the batter.
  8. Drop heaping teaspoonfuls of dough onto a cookie sheet, covered with parchment paper.
  9. Gently flatten each cookie using your fingers.
  10. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt.
  11. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the edges have turned golden brown.
  12. Pour yourself a glass of milk, enjoy and share with your loved ones.


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