Malted Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Stand mixer with paddle attachment (or hand mixer)
• •Two half-sheet baking pans
• •Parchment paper
• •Wire cooling rack
• •Cookie scoop (1.5 tablespoon size)

Instructions

1. 1

   Whisk the dry ingredients

   In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, malted milk powder, baking soda, and salt until thoroughly combined. The malt powder tends to clump, so break up any lumps with your fingers or the back of a spoon. Set aside.

   Weighing your flour produces more consistent results than measuring cups. If using cups, spoon flour into the measure and level with a knife rather than scooping directly from the bag.
2. 2

   Cream butter and sugars

   In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or using a hand mixer), beat the softened butter with both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. The mixture should turn pale and increase noticeably in volume. Scrape down the sides of the bowl halfway through. This step matters. Proper creaming creates the air pockets that give your cookies lift and that slightly craggy surface we're after.

   Butter should be cool room temperature, around 65°F. It should yield to gentle pressure but not feel greasy or look shiny. If your kitchen runs warm, give the butter only 30 minutes out of the refrigerator.
3. 3

   Add eggs and vanilla

   Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition until fully incorporated. The mixture may look slightly curdled after the first egg. That's fine. It will come together. Add the vanilla with the second egg. Beat until the mixture is smooth and uniform, about 30 seconds more.

4. 4

   Combine wet and dry

   Reduce mixer speed to low. Add the flour mixture in two additions, mixing just until the last streaks of flour disappear. Stop the mixer the moment the dough comes together. Overmixing develops gluten, which makes tough cookies. A few small flour pockets are better than an overworked dough.

5. 5

   Fold in chocolate

   Remove the bowl from the mixer. Add the chocolate chips and fold them in by hand using a sturdy spatula or wooden spoon. Work the spatula under the dough and fold it over itself, rotating the bowl as you go. Ten to twelve folds should distribute the chips evenly without further working the dough.

6. 6

   Chill the dough

   Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or up to 72 hours. Cold dough spreads more slowly in the oven, giving you thicker cookies with better texture. If you're in a hurry, 30 minutes will do. If you have patience, overnight produces noticeably deeper flavor as the sugars hydrate and the malt mellows into the dough.

   The 72-hour rest isn't marketing nonsense. The difference in flavor between fresh dough and three-day dough is genuinely remarkable. Plan ahead when you can.
7. 7

   Prepare to bake

   Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of your oven. Heat to 375°F (190°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Let them sit at room temperature while the oven heats. Cold pans extend baking time and can produce uneven bottoms.

8. 8

   Portion the dough

   Scoop rounded tablespoons of dough (about 1.5 ounces or 40g each) onto the prepared sheets, spacing them 2 inches apart. A cookie scoop makes quick work of this, but two spoons work fine. You should get 12 cookies per standard half-sheet pan. Don't press the dough flat. The mounds will spread and flatten as they bake.

9. 9

   Bake until golden

   Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the pans from top to bottom and front to back at the halfway mark. The cookies are done when the edges are golden brown and set, but the centers still look slightly underdone and puffy. They'll firm up as they cool. Pull them a minute early rather than a minute late. An overbaked cookie is just a crunchy regret.

   Every oven lies. Use your eyes, not the timer. When the edges turn golden and the centers lose their wet sheen but still look soft, they're ready.
10. 10

    Cool and serve

    Let cookies cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes. This rest allows them to firm enough to transfer without breaking. Move them to a wire rack to cool completely, or at least another 5 minutes until the chocolate sets. The malt flavor becomes more pronounced as the cookies cool, revealing itself in that distinctive toasty sweetness that separates these from ordinary chocolate chip cookies.

Chef Tips

• •Carnation malted milk powder is the standard, available in most grocery stores near the powdered milk or hot cocoa. Ovaltine works in a pinch but contains more sugar and cocoa, which will shift the flavor profile. Seek out the plain malted milk variety.
• •For bakery-style cookies with dramatic chocolate puddles, swap half the chips for roughly chopped chocolate from a bar. The irregular pieces create pockets of melted chocolate and that professional look of pools and shards.
• •These cookies are excellent candidates for the freezer. Scoop portioned dough balls onto a sheet pan, freeze solid, then transfer to a freezer bag. Bake directly from frozen, adding 2 minutes to the bake time. You'll have fresh cookies whenever the mood strikes.
• •A sprinkle of flaky sea salt on top of each cookie, applied just after they come out of the oven, amplifies the malt flavor beautifully. Maldon or any good flake salt works well. Go easy. A few crystals per cookie is plenty.

Advance Preparation

• •Dough can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours before baking. The extended rest improves flavor significantly.
• •Portioned dough balls freeze beautifully for up to 3 months. Bake from frozen at 375°F for 12 to 14 minutes.
• •Baked cookies keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days, though they rarely last that long.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 45g)