These Chocolate Chip Cookies Will Change Your Life

Chicken adobo stewed in soy sauce and vinegar was always the dinner my parents cooked for us when they needed to fix up a quick but delicious meal. For my signature chocolate chip cookie recipe, I wanted to incorporate all of adobo’s nuanced and comforting flavors. I am a big fan of incorporating savory into my desserts, and this recipe is no exception.

Miso chocolate chip cookies have been everywhere lately, and I thought that soy sauce acts as an excellent alternative source of salt. For an acid to help with activating the baking soda, apple cider vinegar is mixed into the dough. To add a hint of herbal flavor, I steep a couple bay leaves in the butter while it’s browning.

Last but not least, toasted pink peppercorns adorn the cookies. When you take a bite with some of the chopped dark chocolate, the peppercorns help accentuate the fruitier, more floral notes of the chocolate while adding a hint of spice.

As a kid, I’d wince every time I took a bite of a whole black peppercorn while eating adobo. For these cookies, I opted for pink peppercorns specifically since they’re milder and less harsh on the tongue.

Brown the butter:

Place the butter and bay leaves in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently with a rubber spatula until the butter melts and gets golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Pour the brown butter into a large bowl and discard the bay leaves. Set aside until cool enough to touch, about 10 minutes.

Combine the wet ingredients:

Add both sugars to the brown butter and whisk by hand until well combined. Mix in the egg, egg yolk, soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, and vanilla.

Combine the dry ingredients:

In a separate medium bowl, mix together the flour and baking soda until the baking soda is evenly distributed.

Make the batter:

Gently whisk the flour mixture into the butter mixture until no flour streaks remain. With a rubber spatula, fold in the chocolate.

Rest the cookie dough:

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a lid and chill the dough in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Ideally, you’d want to let it rest overnight to allow more time for the flavors to meld. After an overnight rest, the cookies have an intense caramel flavor once baked. If you’re resting the dough overnight, just make sure you let the dough sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to make it easier to scoop into balls.

Scoop the cookies:

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with silicone mats.

Using a 3-tablespoon cookie scoop, portion the dough into balls. Place six dough balls on one of the prepared baking sheets, making sure to leave at least 2 inches of space between the balls. Place the bowl of remaining cookie dough back in the fridge until the first sheet is done baking.

Toast the peppercorns:

In a small skillet, toast the pink peppercorns on low heat until they start to smell fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Grind the peppercorns with a mortar and pestle until they’re coarsely crushed.

Sprinkle some of the crushed pink peppercorns and flaky sea salt on top of the dough balls before popping the baking sheet into the oven.

Bake the cookies and serve:

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies are golden brown. Before taking the cookies out of the oven, drop the sheet against the oven rack a couple times at a height of about 4 to 5 inches to create outer ripples in the cookies. Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack to cool completely.

Repeat the process with the remaining cookie dough and the other lined baking sheet until all the dough is baked.

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