Thin and Chewy Salted Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies

Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and ginger in a medium bowl. Set aside.

Place the granulated sugar and orange zest in a large bowl and rub them together with your fingertips. This helps release the oil of the zest into the sugar, infusing it with orange flavour.

Add the brown sugar and the cooled butter to the orange zested sugar. Hand whisk together to form a thick applesauce like mixture.

Add in the egg, egg yolk, vanilla paste, and almond extract. Slowly whisk again until just smooth.

Spoon the flour mixture onto the wet ingredients and gently fold together using a rubber spatula until no flour streaks remain.

Fold the chopped chocolate into the cookie dough to evenly distribute. Careful not to overwork or stir the dough too much.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3 hours or even better overnight. 

Chilling the dough, firms the butter to prevent over spreading while baking and also allows the flavours to develop. 

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350℉ / 180℃ / 160℃ Fan (convection). Line a rimmed baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or two pieces of parchment paper. 

Once thoroughly chilled, take a 1.5 tablespoon cookie scoop, measure the dough into balls. Gently pack each ball together with your hands to form a thick tall mound. 

Place six dough balls about 2-3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. Keep remaining dough in the fridge until ready to bake.

Bake for about 11-12 minutes, until the edges are golden brown and the center is mostly set. 

Remove the pan from the oven and sprinkle each cookie with flaky sea salt.   Leave cookies on the hot tray for 5 minutes to finish baking before transferring directly to a wire cooling rack. 

Repeat with remaining cookie dough, making sure the baking tray is cool each time.