These soft chocolate chip cookies with sea salt are a delightful twist on the classic chocolate chip cookie recipe. The dough is extra flavorful due to the addition of ground oatmeal, whole wheat flour, and a generous dash of sea salt, and they’re packed with plenty of melty, gooey chocolate chips.
My family loves cookies, and I love easy cookie recipes! These beauties are easy to make, just like our favorite Oatmeal Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies, Coconut Almond Macaroons and Molasses Crinkle Cookies.
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Throughout my adult life, I’ve been on a selfless, never-ending quest for the best chocolate chip cookies.
The recipe I’m about to share with you is very close to my ideal—soft, chewy, full of melty chocolate, enhanced with nice vanilla notes, and balanced with the heightened flavor kick that comes from a generous dash of sea salt.
Because the cookie dough is made with pulverized oatmeal, the cookies are light brown—meaning you can easily sneak in some whole wheat flour.
I’ve made a lot of changes, but the original recipe that inspired this version came from one of my very favorite old dog-eared cookbooks – Ann Hodgman’s Beat This.
Her recipe for “The Only Chocolate Chip Cookies” was inspired by the Neiman-Marcus cookie recipe that supposedly cost some poor sucker $250 and made the internet rounds many years ago.
Why You’ll Love These Sweet and Salty Cookies
Irresistible Flavor: These soft chocolate chip cookies with sea salt feature a perfect balance of sweet and salty flavors. The combination of melting semisweet chocolate and the subtle hint of salt is SO delicious!
Chewy, Soft Texture: The cookies are tender on the inside with lightly crispy edges and cracked tops. They are so satisfying to eat!
Easy to Make: This recipe is easy to make, and you don’t need to chill the dough before baking. These homemade chocolate chip cookies bake in about 11 minutes.
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make these chewy cookies:
Old-fashioned rolled oats – Don’t use quick cooking or instant oats, as they won’t deliver the same flavor and texture.
Semisweet chocolate chips – You’ll need one full 12 ounce bag, and 1/3 of a second bag of chips. I prefer semisweet chips for this recipe, which balance nicely with the other flavors, but you can use milk chocolate or dark chocolate chips if you prefer.
2 sticks unsalted butter – If you only have salted butter on hand, that’s fine. Just reduce the salt in the recipe by 1/4 teaspoon. Room temperature butter works best in this recipe.
Granulated white sugar
Dark brown sugar – You can substitute light brown sugar if you prefer.
2 large eggs
Pure Vanilla Extract – If you’ve been hoarding a bottle of really good vanilla, now’s the time to break it out because you’ll really notice and appreciate the flavor in these cookies.
Whole wheat flour – I used organic Kamut, a flour made from an ancient wheat grain, which added a nice, nutty flavor.
All-purpose flour
Baking powder – Make sure your baking powder is fresh for the best results.
Baking soda
Sea salt – Fine sea salt blends easily in the dough and adds wonderful flavor.
Equipment Needed
Here’s what you’ll need to make these sea salt chocolate chip cookies:
- Baking sheet
- Parchment paper
- Food processor or blender
- Silicone spatula
- Standing mixer or large bowl and electric mixer
- Cooling rack
- Metal spatula
Pro Tip
The secret to chewy, soft cookies is to slightly undercook them, and to do that you may need an oven thermometer so you can get your oven heat to just the right temperature.
My Favorite Simple Oven Thermometer
This Rubbermaid stainless steel commercial grade oven thermometer is sturdy, accurate and well-rated.
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Step by Step Directions
STEP ONE | Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, and line a large cookie sheet with a sheet of parchment paper.
STEP TWO | In a food processor or blender, combine the rolled oats with 1/2 cup of the chocolate chips (reserve the remaining chocolate chips to add later). Process until the mixture is powdered.
STEP THREE | In a the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment (or a large mixing bowl with a hand-held mixer), combine the butter, sugar and brown sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the eggs and vanilla and beat until combined.
STEP FOUR | In another mixing bowl, combine the whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and sea salt and whisk until combined. Gradually add this flour mixture to the butter mixture while beating with the mixer. Then add the pulverized oatmeal-chocolate mixture. The dough will get pretty stiff at this point, and you may need to use your hands. Finally, add the remaining chocolate chips and combine well—and you will need to do this by hand.
STEP FIVE | Roll the dough in golf-ball sized balls and arrange on the parchment-lined cookie pan. Use your palm to flatten the cookie dough balls just a little bit, so they’re less likely to spread into weird shapes or run into each other.
STEP SIX | Bake for about 11 minutes, quickly turning the pan around halfway during the baking process. The tops should be covered with little cracks, and you don’t want the edges to get browned.
You’ll have to have a little faith when you remove the cookies from the oven, because they might not look quite done.
STEP SEVEN | Put the cookie sheet on a wire cooling rack and allow the cookies to cool for about five minutes. Then, transfer them with a metal spatula from the pan to the wire rack to finish cooling. This recipe makes about 36 cookies.
To keep the cookies soft, store them in a tightly covered container and try to eat them within 5 days (this is never a problem in our house), when they are at their freshest and yummiest.
Isn’t a cookie jar full of homemade cookies one of life’s best pleasures?
Storing and Freezing
Store cookies in a tightly sealed container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Cookies may be frozen in an airtight container for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature for one hour before eating.
Freezer Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
Want to have freshly baked ‘on demand’ chocolate chip cookies whenever you want? All you need to do is roll some of the cookie dough in balls and freeze them properly.
To freeze, arrange the cookie dough balls on a parchment lined pan. Cover the cookies tightly with foil or plastic wrap and freeze. (Don’t skip this step or your cookies may absorb other smells from the freezer.)
After 24 hours, remove the cookies and put them in a zip lock bag and return them to the freezer.
When you’re ready for some cookies, preheat the oven to 325 degrees F and arrange the balls on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Let the frozen cookies sit on the tray and thaw for about 15 minutes prior to cooking.
Bake for about 12 to 15 minutes, watching them carefully toward the end; you only want the teensiest bit of browning if you want chewy cookies. Cool for a minute and then transfer them to a wire rack. As soon as the cookies are cooled to room temperature, store them in a covered container.
Printable Recipe Card
Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 2 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips 1 and a third 12-ounce bags, divided
- 2 sticks unsalted butter
- 1 cup granulated cane sugar
- 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, and line a large cookie sheet with a sheet of parchment paper.
- In a food processor or blender, combine the rolled oats with 1/2 cup of the chocolate chips (reserve the remaining chocolate chips to add later). Process until the mixture is powdered.
- In the bowl of a standing mixer or a large mixing bowl with a hand-held mixer, combine the butter, sugar and brown sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the eggs and vanilla and beat until combined.
- In another mixing bowl, combine the whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and sea salt and whisk until combined. Gradually add this flour mixture to the butter mixture while beating with the mixer. Then add the pulverized oatmeal-chocolate mixture. The dough will get pretty stiff at this point, and you may need to use your hands. Finally, add the remaining chocolate chips and combine well—and you will need to do this by hand.
- Roll the dough in golf-ball sized balls and arrange on the parchment-lined cookie pan. Flatten the dough balls gently with your hand.
- Bake until the tops of the cookies have little cracks on top but aren’t browned around the edges, about 11 minutes, quickly turning the pan around halfway during the baking process.
- Put the cookie sheet on a wire cooling rack and allow the cookies to cool for about five minutes before you transfer them from the pan to finish cooling. This recipe makes about 36 cookies.
Notes
Nutrition
Do you have a favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, or any cookie baking secrets you’d like to share? Drop a comment below!
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About Eliza Cross
Eliza Cross is the author of 17 books, including Small Bites and 101 Things To Do With Bacon. She shares ideas to simplify cooking, gardening, time and money. She is also the owner of Cross Media, Inc. and founder of the BENSA Bacon Lovers Society.
Ohhhh, myyyyy. Can’t wait to make.
they look heavenly! just got a new kitchen aid so I can’t wait to try and make the dough in half a second!
These look divine!
These cookies are just to-die-for! Seriously, all the flavors into this soft cookie is an absolute winner!
I’m never making regular chocolate chip cookies again! The sea salt is delicious with the chocolate… SO good.
That salt just takes these to the next level! So soft and delicious, a great cookie recipe, thank you!
I’m a big fan of sweet and salty desserts like these fabulous cookies. They are irresistible.
The only thing that could make a chocolate chip cookie better is making it salted…yum!!!
These cookies were SO delicious. The addition of salt took them over the top. Thanks for the great recipe.
These cookies always turn out super soft, chewy and perfectly sweet! One of my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipes to make!
The sea salt in these cookies takes them to the next level.
Yum. So delicious and one of my new favorites.