I have an obsession. It started last March when Danielle brought back some chocolates from Switzerland that were infused with different flavors. Not just nuts, or coffee, or cinnamon. Heavy duty flavors like lemon, or chiles, or salt. Yes. Salt.
I’m only slightly embarrassed that I didn’t come up with it myself, but either way, it turns out that this combination could quite possibly be the BEST THING THAT I HAVE EVER TASTED IN MY LIFE. It combines the best of both worlds. I have never been the kind of person who prefers one type of snack over another; some people can eat an entire bag of potato chips in one fell swoop, but sicken at the thought of eating a pint of Ben and Jerry’s in 10 minutes. I can do both. I have done both. I have often mused over the question: if I could only eat one thing for the rest of my life, and actually survive, would I choose something sweet or something salty? For me it usually comes down to the best fried chicken in the world vs. chocolate fudge brownie ice cream. I can never decide.
Until now. Chocolate laced with sea salt is my new best friend.
Recently I was at a party and there were brownies. I have been trying to eat like a normal person and so I wasn’t going to have one. But I kept hearing people talking about how good they were. So I tried one. They were salty. I was in love. I asked the woman who made them, “Do these have sea salt in them?” Her eyes twinkled a bit as she said, “Why yes, they do. I love salty desserts.” A comrade.
So now I am revisiting every chocolate cookie recipe to see where I can add some good salt. A quick internet search yielded a bunch of recipes, but because we’re only talking about 2 ingredients here -salt and chocolate-I think just a little tweaking of tried and true recipes will be just fine. We make some super rich chocolate shortbread cookies here; I baked a few off with a sprinkling of sea salt on top. Oh my. They were delicious.
So, with all the chocolate that’s floating around this week, I urge you to step outside of your comfort zone a little, and try this combination. Heck, you could simply sprinkle a little salt on a Hershey’s Kiss to see if you like it! (Stick to good sea salt or Kosher salt, though. Table salt won’t cut it). And who knows, if you’re ever stuck on a desert island, maybe you’ll stock up on salty chocolate too.