Over the years I have made many cookies. In the pastry realm of recipes, I’ve always considered cookies to be one of the easiest and most straight forward. And in Santa Fe we are lucky enough to have pastry chefs who know their way around the kitchen when it comes to cookies. This week we picked up a cookie box from Momo + Co. for the holiday week and with each new cookie I taste out of the box, I am fairly sure it’s the best I have ever had. Not to mention the macarons at Chaine in Burro Alley which would give any Parisian macaron a run for its money. But there is also something about making a simple cookie at home. It’s one of my favorite things to do with my kids. I love how much fun they have measuring (and spilling) and waiting for the cookies to emerge from the oven.
The Quest for the Perfect High-Altitude Cookie
Around eight years ago when my family moved to New Mexico my cookies started coming out of the oven and were a little bit off. Sometimes they were too puffy and other times too dry. I was puzzled because I had always assumed that high altitude baking was primarily for cakes. So I set out to figure out how to make a chocolate chip cookie that was crispy on the outside but chewy on the inside. I also wanted the cookie to stay chewy over the next couple of days when stored at room temperature in an airtight container. After many attempts in the Santa Fe altitude, I’m happy to report that my family has declared this the best cookie I have ever made. This is a big win for me and I hope it will be a big win for you too.
Adapting a Classic Recipe
I found an old chocolate chip cookie recipe that had worked well for me years ago. I wish I could remember where it came from to give a proper thank you to its origins, probably a baking blog or back of a bag of chocolate chips. Then I adjusted it with some basic high-altitude techniques: I increased the temperature, decreased the cooking time, slightly decreased the leavening agents and sugars and increased the liquid (here I added an extra egg). Then for a bit of salty richness, I do what Snoop Dog does, which is add creamy peanut butter to his chocolate chip cookie dough. And to finish it off, right before the cookies go into the oven I sprinkle some flakey sea salt over the top. And since I always keep Stokli’s High Desert Salt by the stove, I use this which adds a hint of New Mexico red and green chiles and lavender too.
If you don’t have a hand mixer, don’t worry! You can use a handheld electric mixer, or make this the way everyone used to, with a wooden spoon and some elbow grease. It might take a little longer, but it will get the job done, resulting in the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever made from sea level to the mountains.
PrintHigh Altitude Chocolate Chip Cookies
Learn how to make the best high altitude chocolate chip cookies with this easy recipe. Perfect for chewy, crispy cookies every time!
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 24-48 cookies
- Category: dessert, high-altitude
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: american
Ingredients
- 2 c. (240 g.) all-purpose flour
- 1/4 t. baking soda
- 1/2 t. baking powder
- 1/2 t. kosher salt
- 3/4 c. (12 T. / 170 g.) unsalted butter, cold
- 2 T. creamy peanut butter
- 1/2 c. (100 g.) granulated sugar
- 1/2 c. (100 g.) packed brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 t. vanilla paste or extract
- 1 1/2 c. dark chocolate chips
- flakey sea salt for sprinkling on top
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400 F. Line 2 large baking sheets with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
Making the Cookie Dough
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter, peanut butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar. Mix on medium speed until the butter mixture is thoroughly combined and there are no lumps.
Now add the eggs and vanilla and mix again until fully incorporated. Turn off the mixer and add the flour mixture. Turn the mixer on low at first, so you don’t have a cloud of flour fly into your face. Once the flour begins to turn into a dough, you can turn the mixer speed to medium to fully mix everything together. Along the way you may need to stop the mixer to scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula so nothing is stuck on the sides.
Once the cookie dough has come together, add the chocolate chips and mix just until combined. Scoop the dough with a spoon or a cookie scoop into whatever size cookies you want to make, leaving around 2-inches of space between each one. Sprinkle a small amount of flakey sea salt on top of each cookie.
Baking and Cooling
If you are making a standard size cookie (around 2 tablespoons of dough), bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes, until the edges begin to turn golden brown. Let rest on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack or plate to finish cooling.
