By Caroline Lubbers, Whipped, The Blog
Courtesy of Stresscake
Makes about 3 dozen
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 pound 60%+ bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (4 ounces)
1/4 pound 60%+ bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped into 1/4" chunks or chips (4 ounces)
1/2 cup unsalted butter (4 ounces/1 stick)
1-1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (or chocolate extract if you have it)
1/2 teaspoon large flake sea salt
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and line 2-3 sheet pans with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
2. Melt the first 1/4 pound of finely chopped chocolate with the butter. You have two options: Double boiler method: in a heatproof bowl over simmering water, stirring until fully melted. Microwave method: in a microwave safe bowl, 45 second bursts at 50% power, stirring between bursts until fully melted. (My preference.)
3. Let the chocolate cool slightly while you sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
3. Transfer the melted chocolate to the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and on medium, add the sugar, eggs, and vanilla and mix until combined.
4. Reduce speed to low; gradually mix in flour/cocoa mixture.
5. Add the chocolate chunks/chips and stir on low until just combined. Note: the dough can be frozen up to two months at this point. Easiest is to shape it into balls, freeze on a sheet plan then transfer to a Ziploc once frozen. Or shape into logs, wrap tightly in plastic then slice-n-bake. Frozen dough’s can go right from the freezer to the oven, just add a few minutes to the baking time.
6. With a small ice cream scoop (1-inch) or a teaspoon, scoop Tablespoon size balls of dough and space cookies 2 inches apart on prepared sheet pans. Note: I refrigerated the dough overnight, which made it very firm and rather difficult to scoop. As shown in the pictures here, I flattened each dough ball so the cookies would bake more evenly. If you use room temp dough, you don’t have to do the flattening part as they will spread nicely in the oven.
7. Sprinkle a small pinch of sea salt on top of each cookie.
8. Bake 12 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through baking – top to bottom and front to back. The cookies will be quite soft coming out of the oven – once cool, they should be crisp on the outside but still soft on the inside. Adjust baking time if necessary.
9. Let cool on pans then carefully remove and place on serving tray. Cookies will keep for a few days, tightly wrapped.
