Salted Cajeta Cookies Recipes

SALTED CHOCOLATE COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray.
• Combine flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon sea salt in a bowl.
• Place butter in a saucepan over low heat and cook until melted, 3 to 5 minutes. Add chocolate chips and stir until completely melted. Remove from the heat.
• Combine brown sugar, white sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer until creamy. Pour a small amount of the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and stir until well combined. Slowly add remaining chocolate mixture, stirring constantly so the eggs don't curdle. Fold in the flour mixture until just combined. Do not overmix.
• Drop 6 large scoops of batter about 2 inches apart onto each of the prepared baking sheets.
• Bake in the preheated oven until cookies have spread and flattened to a diameter of 4 1/2 inches or larger, and the tops are crinkled and puffed, 12 to 14 minutes. Immediately sprinkle with sea salt.
• Place baking sheets on a wire rack and cool for 18 to 20 minutes. Remove cookies with a spatula onto serving platter.

SALTED CHOCOLATE CHUNK SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or an electric hand mixer, beat the butter, both sugars and vanilla on medium-high till it's super light and fluffy (3 to 5 minutes for a stand mixer; 6 to 8 for a hand mixer). Using a spatula, scrape down the sides of the bowl and, with the mixer on low, slowly add the flour, followed by the chocolate chunks, and mix just to blend. If necessary, knead the dough with your hands to make sure the flour is totally incorporated. At this point, the dough should be smooth and feel like Play-Doh with no pockets of flour.
• Divide the dough in half, placing each half on a large piece of plastic wrap. Fold the plastic over so that it covers the dough to protect your hands from getting all sticky. Using your hands, form the dough into a log shape; rolling it on the counter will help you smooth it out, but don't worry about getting it totally perfect. (Don't be afraid to make them compact. Shortbread is supposed to be dense. That's part of why it's so good.) You can also do this using parchment paper, if you prefer, but plastic wrap is easier when it comes to shaping the log. Each half should form a 6-inch log, 2 to 2¼ inches in diameter. Chill until totally firm, about 2 hours.
• Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Brush the outside of the logs with the beaten egg and roll them in the demerara sugar (this is for those really delicious, crisp edges).
• Using a serrated knife, carefully slice each log into ½-inch-thick rounds (if you hit a chocolate chunk, slowly saw back and forth through the chocolate). If the cookies break or fall apart, just press them back together - the dough is very forgiving. Place them on the prepared baking sheets about 1 inch apart (they won't spread much). Sprinkle with flaky salt. Bake until the edges are just beginning to brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool slightly before eating them all.

SALTED CAJETA COOKIES

Steps:

• Sift your flour and combine it with the baking soda and cornstarch.
• In a large bowl, combine the butter and sugars, and beat them to a uniform, fluffy texture. Add in the egg, vinegar, vanilla, and the cajeta (1/2 cup if it's syrupy and closer to the egg, 1/3 if it's closer to the butter mixture's texture), and beat again to a uniform, soft texture.
• Add in your dry ingredients, and beat to a sticky, doughy consistency, adding in milk a little at a time to soften the batter (an electric mixer shouldn't have to struggle going through it at a medium speed).
• Spray a large baking sheet with cooking spray, and preheat your oven to 300 degrees.
• Form balls of dough, roughly the size of a globed teaspoon, and space them on the sheet approximately 1.5 inches apart from each other. Flatten each ball slightly with your thumb. Take a pinch of salt, to your taste, and gingerly sprinkle it over the cookies, so that each cookie has a few visible granules on its surface.
• Bake for 16 minutes, remove, cool, munch.