Chocolate-chunk cookie-muffins with Fleur de Sel

A sweet hybrid

Published originally on my blog on 29 January 2012

I have told you this before; I'm not a huge lover of cookies. But every once in a while, I come across one that steals my heart away, one that makes me want to eat it again and again.

Granted, these are rare incidences and even rarer when it comes to cookies or biscuits that are not in my Greek repertoire, yet somehow I become hooked. I'm powerless to resist their allure, which of course leads to the complete disregard of my just one dessert/chocolate/piece of cake-a-week rule. Yes, I have to restrain myself like that.

So, I discovered something more exciting than a simple cookie. I discovered the cookie-muffin. Ok, some of you may already be familiar with the concept but up until a year ago, I wasn't.

Cookie-muffin or muffin-cookie, call it what you will, is cookie dough baked in a muffin tin. What you end up with, is basically a larger, moister cookie with a crunchy exterior and a soft and chewy interior. In this particular case, a soft and chewy interior filled with chocolate chunks that ooze out of the cookie-muffin when it's warm from the oven, and become solid little pieces of chocolate heaven once it's cooled. The Fleur de Sel accentuates the taste of the chocolate and gives the cookie-muffin an extra layer of flavor that you instantly notice when you take the first bite.

Ever since I discovered this sweet hybrid, my idea of a cookie changed drastically. The possibilities were endless. I ended up making every kind of cookie I knew into a cookie-muffin. Not all of them worked, but it was worth the try.
I based the recipe for this chocolate chunk cookie-muffin on a chocolate chip cookie recipe by master chocolatier Jacques Torres. I have to say, the original recipe is superb and it is definitely worth a try, but as I tinkered with it several times, I came up with something that better suits my tastes. Plus, Torres says you need to refrigerate the cookie dough for 24 to 36 (!) hours and I'm notorious for my lack of patience when it comes to things like that.

The main differences ingredient-wise, apart from quantities, are the omission of the baking soda, the substitution of the cake flour for all-purpose flour and the substitution of the light brown sugar for dark brown sugar. I love the strong molasses flavor of dark brown sugar, and the color it imparts to the cookie-muffin is so much more appealing to me than the paleness of the average choc-chip cookie.

I always try to find the right words to describe whatever kind of food, savory or sweet dish, or treat I share with you, and even though I know that the word 'delicious' is rather trite, there are times when that exact word is all I want to say, and mean it.
So, here it goes; this chocolate chunk cookie-muffin is simply delicious, reader.

Chocolate Chunk Cookie-Muffins with Fleur de Sel

You can use Fleur de Sel (hand-harvested sea salt) or any other good quality coarse sea salt; Maldon sea salt flakes would be great as well.

I used chocolate with 70% cocoa solids but if you have a really sweet tooth then you can definitely use a 55%.