Yup, I’m back again with another one of my slightly off-kilter flavor combinations; this time smoked bourbon. How do you smoke bourbon, you ask? Well that is actually a tough one, but this actually uses just a little bit of smoked sea salt AND bourbon, which doesn’t make them taste particularly smokey. Or salty. Or all that bourbon-y really. But they do have a nice, warm almosty sweet earthy flavor. And they are crispy (which is from adding alcohol to the cookie dough. So if that is your thing, get to baking!
Ingredients
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
4 tablespoons bourbon
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon smoked sea salt, plus extra for sprinkling
1 cup chocolate chunks
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
Directions
Preheat oven to 350F and prepare baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat.
In the work bowl of your stand mixer, cream together the two sugars until fluffy. Then add in the bourbon, vanilla, smoked sea salt and continue creaming for 90 seconds to 2 minutes. Add the flour and baking soda and stir until just combined. Add in the chocolate chunks and mix completely.
Using a 2 tablespoon disher, scoop dough into balls and place on prepared cookie sheets, approximately 2 inches apart. These will spread! Sprinkle smoked sea salt on top and bake for 8-10 minutes. The cookies should be very soft still, but golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
