salted butter chocolate chip cookies.

My creative juices are temporarily dried up.

But I start graduate school again next week and I'm taking a course in creativity, so they had better replenish by then.

Cookies with salted butter. That's pretty creative, right?

No? Hello? Is this thing on?

These are good, but not better than these. I'll be back shortly with more spunk. Promise.

Salted Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from David Lebovitz

4 ounces salted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup packed dark or light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/3 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon flaky sea salt or kosher salt
1 1/3 cups coarsely chopped bittersweet or semisweet chocolate
1 cup toasted nuts, coarsely chopped

In the bowl of a stand mixer, or by hand, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar just until smooth and creamy.

Beat in the egg and the vanilla.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.

Stir the flour mixture into the beaten butter until combined, then mix in the chopped chocolate (including any chocolate dust) and the chopped nuts.

Cover and chill the batter until firm. (It’s preferable to let it rest overnight.)

To bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

Form the cookie dough into rounds about the size of a large unshelled walnut. Place the mounds evenly spaced apart on the baking sheets, and press down the tops to flatten them so they are no longer domed and the dough is even.

Bake the cookies for ten minutes, rotating the baking sheet midway during baking, until the cookies look about set, but are not browned.

Remove from the oven and quickly tap the top of each with a spatula, then return to the oven for two to five more minutes, until the tops of the cookies are light golden brown.

Remove from oven and let cookies cool.