Last night was the perfect kind of dreary night to bake cookies like these.
It rained all day, and with it came that familiar dismal chill that has you yearning for warm blankets and cosy cafés, or perhaps an indulgent treat.
These salty chocolate chip cookies go well with days like that; they sweeten the day, making it feel a little brighter.
I’ve made a few batches of these cookies in the last little while and I like them – they’re unfussy and simple to make. They come out chewy, soft and crisp around the edges, and deeply chocolatey with the perfect balance of sweet and salty. They’re lovely for teatime, to share with friends or bring on a road trip.
The dough can be made in advance and refrigerated; in fact, it’s recommended that for the perfect chocolate chip cookie, let your dough rest for up to thirty-six hours.
The salt in these cookies is the flaky, wispy kind, I picked up some artisanal salt in Portland last year, I love to sprinkle a little over my finished dishes, it adds a moreish clean briny taste.
For the cookies, the salt adds richer depth (read: even more delicious) of flavour to the chocolate.
Any sea salt flakes like Maldon will work, I also reckon the coarse grey salt would be perfect with these cookies too.
Last night we doubled the recipe and kept half of the dough in the fridge for use this weekend; we put the rest in the fridge for a few hours before baking them… there’s something glorious and comforting about the smell of cookies baking on a rainy night.
I eat lunch late, so dinner is usually a light fare; a warm glass of milky matcha tea and these cookies were it for me last night.
[Tweet “Classic chocolate chip cookies enhanced with delicate flaky salt for a satisfying sweet and salty chocolatey snack #vegan “]


- 1 tablespoon ground flax
- 3 tablespoons tepid water
- 1/2 cup (4.4oz) dairy-free butter, cold
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cup all-purpose unbleached flour or white whole-wheat flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips/discs/chunks (or dark chocolate)
- Flaky sea salt, to taste (for topping)
- Start by mixing ground flax with water in a small cup and let sit for at least five minutes
- Cream butter in a mixing bowl until pale and fluffy, scrape down sides of bowl
- Add sugar and vanilla extract and beat until fluffy again
- Add ground flax mixture and continue beating to incorporate
- Sift flour, baking powder and baking soda into mixture and mix with a spatula to combine
- Fold in chocolate chips, making sure it’s evenly distributed
- Cover dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 – 4 hours or overnight
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and line a baking sheet with parchment paper
- Using a tablespoon or ice cream scoop, spoon rounded spoonfuls (scoopfuls) of dough onto prepared baking sheet spacing them about 11/2-inches apart
- Sprinkle cookies with sea salt and freeze for 10 minutes
- Bake cookies for 10 – 12 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through, until edges are just golden brown
- Let them cool slightly on baking sheets before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely
- Enjoy!
- Store in airtight container at room temperature for up to a week


9 Comments
I like my sweets with a little salt especially if I’m using vanilla so these are right up my alley! Bravo!
27 March, 2015 at 4:49 amThank you Christina! You will loove these… they’re a perfect balance of sweet and salty with warm vanilla tones 🙂
27 March, 2015 at 9:26 amYum- I do love flakey sea salt (especially in my sweets!)
-Kelsey
29 March, 2015 at 10:06 pmI’m just really getting into putting flaked salt into my sweets… it’s so good I keep wondering why it took me this long!:)
30 March, 2015 at 4:37 pmOooh, I just made something very similar, except yours have healthy stuff in them =) I love flaked sea salt!
30 March, 2015 at 8:23 pmGreat minds, Karen! Yum, I’m sure yours was awesome! I say we put flaked salt in all our sweets 🙂
31 March, 2015 at 12:31 pmthese look incredible – I LOVE the combo of salt + sweet (salted caramel is my fave). And your pictures are gorg!
31 March, 2015 at 7:38 amThank you so much Allison! I’m a huge fan of salted caramel too 🙂
31 March, 2015 at 12:34 pmOh wow! What a great idea to pair them with warm matcha milk, yum! I agree, cookies on a rainy night is definitely the best.
3 April, 2015 at 9:48 am