Mint-Infused Chocolate Chip Cookies

I'll be honest with you: I hardly ever crave chocolate & mint. My twin brother loses his mind over York Mints & Girl Scouts' Thin Mints, and I'll snack on a box of Junior Mints at the movies from time to time... but it isn't a constant craving like, say... peanut butter & chocolate or something salty and caramel-y. OR, even better: something chocolatey and salty AND caramel-y (that is the way to my heart).

But when Molly Yeh posted the recipe for these mint-infused chocolate chip cookies with sea salt, I was a believer. And it wasn't just because of the chocolate and mint; it was because of the way the mint is added to the dough. Ordinarily, the majority of recipes I've seen for anything including mint call for peppermint extract or some sort of artificial flavoring; instead, these heavenly little dudes have mint-infused butter, which is then creamed with your sugars.

If you aren't sold yet, you're a hard one to please. But this should help: you scoop your dough into 1/4 cup mounds and sprinkle on flaked salt.

Still not sold? Get out.

For those of us who are sold, get to baking!

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1/2 cup firmly-packed fresh mint, chopped

1/2 cup packed brown sugar (light or dark)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Flaked salt (for topping cookies)

DIRECTIONS

In a small saucepan, heat the butter and mint over medium heat until the butter melts, stirring occasionally. Continue to cook until mint is fragrant and butter is frothy, 3-5 minutes. Set aside to cool for 30 minutes.

Press butter mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl, using a spatula or back of a spoon to make sure you don’t miss all the good stuff. Add both sugars to your butter mixture and beat on high speed until mixture is smooth. Add egg and vanilla extract and beat for another minute. Set aside.

In another large bowl, whisk flour, baking soda and salt until incorporated. Gradually add the dry mixture to the wet, beating well between each addition. Gently fold in chocolate chips.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill dough for at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with parchment or a baking mat. After dough has chilled, retrieve the bowl from the fridge and use a dough scoop (or your hands) to mound ¼ cups of dough onto the baking sheet. Sprinkle lightly with flaked salt (you’ll sprinkle again after they’re baked) and bake cookies for 10-12 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. The cookies should be lightly golden around the edges and puffy in the center.

Leave the cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool. While they’re cooling, sprinkle with more flaked salt (if you wanna) and store covered and completely chilled for a few days.