Candy Bar & Sea Salt Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Post Halloween, I found myself drowning in leftover fun-size chocolate that I knew I couldn’t possibly finish on my own, but the chocolate-lover in me also couldn’t bear to part with it. Craving something sweet beyond a simple candy bar, I decided to combine a few of my favourite things: chocolate, cookies, and flakey sea salt. This recipe is pretty straightforward, and I won’t sugarcoat things (pun intended), these cookies are ADDICTIVE. Beware, and don’t forget that you’re essentially eating a cookie *and* a chocolate bar each time you have one. So bad, but so worth it.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 dozen fun-size candy bars or packages (I found Mars, Snickers, Rolo, Caramilk, and M&Ms to work best because of their soft centres)
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
•  1 teaspoon baking soda
•  1 teaspoon regular salt
•  1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
•  3/4 cup granulated sugar
•  3/4 cup packed brown sugar
•  1 teaspoon vanilla extract
•  2 large eggs
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chunks or chips
• 1 tablespoon flakey sea salt, or Himalayan salt, for finishing

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375° F.
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter, eggs, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla extract until creamy (I like to use my electric beater, but you can do this by hand with a whisk or spatula if you don’t have one).
3. In a small mixing bowl, combine flour, baking soda and regular salt. Gradually mix this in to your sugar mixture. Stir in chocolate chunks.
4. Drop by heaping tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets. Slightly press fun-size chocolates into cookie tops so they’re secure and won’t fall off while baking.
5. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, or until golden brown.
6. As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, lightly sprinkle them with flakey sea salt or Himalayan salt. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.