Description
These chewy chocolate chip cookies are uniquely enhanced with crunchy rainbow candy-coated fennel seeds, adding a fun and unexpected twist. Perfectly soft and rich with dark chocolate chips, they’re topped with flaky sea salt to balance the sweetness.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Wet Ingredients
- 1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 egg, plus 1 egg yolk
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Add-ins
- 1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup rainbow candy-coated fennel seeds
Topping
- Flaky sea salt, for topping
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) to ensure it’s at the perfect temperature for baking the cookies evenly.
- Prepare Dry Ingredients: Sift together the all-purpose flour and baking soda into a bowl to remove lumps and evenly distribute the leavening agent; set aside.
- Cream Butter and Sugars: In a large mixing bowl, cream the room-temperature unsalted butter with the dark brown sugar and granulated sugar for about 5 minutes until light and fluffy, which helps create a chewy texture.
- Add Eggs and Vanilla: Incorporate the pure vanilla extract, one whole egg, and an additional egg yolk along with kosher salt into the creamed mixture, blending for another 5 minutes to combine thoroughly.
- Combine Dry and Wet Ingredients: Gradually stir the sifted flour mixture into the wet ingredients until just combined, then fold in the dark chocolate chips and rainbow candy-coated fennel seeds evenly throughout the dough.
- Scoop Dough: Using a medium-sized ice cream scoop, portion out the cookie dough onto two half-sheet pans lined with parchment paper. Space them out well, about 6 per pan, as they will spread and bake into thick, fat cookies.
- Bake Cookies: Place both sheet pans in the preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden but the centers remain soft.
- Add Finishing Touch: Once out of the oven, immediately sprinkle the cookies generously with flaky sea salt to heighten the flavor contrast and enhance the overall taste.
Notes
- Ensure butter is truly at room temperature for best creaming results.
- Using an ice cream scoop helps keep cookie sizes uniform for even baking.
- Do not overbake; cookies should be soft in the center when removed.
- The candy-coated fennel seeds add a creative, slightly licorice flavor and a unique crunch—feel free to adjust quantity to taste.
- Flaky sea salt as a topping balances the sweetness and enhances chocolate flavor.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 280
- Sugar: 18g
- Sodium: 150mg
- Fat: 14g
- Saturated Fat: 8g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 34g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 3g
- Cholesterol: 45mg
