Part of my job entails attending a steady stream of meetings, which in my world means that I eat too many snacks. I’m not complaining. I especially like anything that has the classic triple threat of sweet, salty and crunchy in one morsel.

During a recent meeting I spied a bin of homemade cookies. This is a rarity — most of us just buy something. Not only were these homemade, there were a lot, meaning the baker had accounted for each snacker enjoying one or four. I liked that confidence. I took two.

This was a very crisp cookie, but I couldn’t identify the chunks within the dough. Definitely chocolate chip, not a sneaky raisin one, but there was something else. Now, I’m not a complete purist; I’ll throw pretzels into my cookies, but I wasn’t sure about the nature of this experiment.

It’s important to note that I am particularly focused on the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe. I have a near obsession with a thick and chewy version that possesses some crunchiness as well. I have my go-to recipe and I rarely waver from it.

So when I took a bite of the crisp cookie and immediately grabbed another, it meant something big in my little cookie world. That unidentifiable add-in? Arare, also called kakimochi or mochi crunch. Lucky we live Hawaii, where that kind of flavor genius can be born. The salty, crunchy addition had me revisiting my purist perspective.

So I went to work. Since someone had already perfected the crunchy cookie, I decided to try for a softer version — a little less chewy than what I normally bake, but definitely not cakey. Too thick a cookie would swallow up the crunch.

I added an egg yolk and a teaspoon of cornstarch to achieve richness with less browning. As for the arare crackers, I used a mixed package with uniform-sized pieces. These were less dense than some of the dark crackers, with no spicy or seaweed flavors.

But maybe I’m missing the point. Furikake flavor? Crispy mochi cookie with white chocolate chips? Candied Spam? I don’t like messing with perfection.

Those crisp chocolate chip cookies had me reconsidering my position: Maybe there’s no reason to stop toying with perfection.

KAKIMOCHI CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened but not melted

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg plus 1 yolk

1 teaspoon vanilla

2-1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips or chunks

1 cup arare crackers (mochi crunch)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment. In bowl with mixer, beat butter with paddle attachment about 1 minute. Add sugars and mix another minute.

Scrape down sides of bowl and add eggs and vanilla. Beat about 3 minutes until everything is completely incorporated and mixture is lighter in color.

In separate bowl, whisk flour, baking soda and cornstarch. Add this to butter mixture all at once, and slowly mix until just incorporated and dough is less crumbly. Add chocolate chips and crackers, stirring once more until combined.

Place 6 to 8 scoops cookie dough on the sheet. Each cookie will be about 3 tablespoons of dough.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes, checking every 30 seconds after 10 minutes. Remove cookies when edges are just beginning to brown. They will look underdone but dry on top. Makes 18.

Nutritional analysis unavailable.

Mariko Jackson blogs about family and food at thelittlefoodie.com.