so many things i’m overdue for blogging about! and yet I’m still going to start with a post about food. these cookies are amazing. i mean, so amazing that i made a batch last month and over the next two weeks, as ben and i consumed them (parceled carefully out of the freezer one at a time to keep us from eating them all at once), we continued to congratulate ourselves, nearly every time, at being so awesome at making cookies. seriously. that good. (and we are that lame.)
most of the credit belongs elsewhere, though my tweaks (adding the chunks of chocolate, and the sea salt on top) were key to the cookie’s success. the base of the cookie comes from Best New Recipes, from Cook’s Illustrated, and i found the recipe and instructions on Smells Like Home. that version is reprinted below, with my edits.
seriously, these cookies are almost life-changing. eat them still warm (or reheated in the microwave, about 15-20 seconds per cookie), with cold milk. don’t skip over the espresso powder even though it can be a bit hard to source, as it lends an amazing depth to the chocolate flavor. you can order it here. and i don’t think i even have to say this, but: don’t mess around with cheap chocolate like nestle, hershey’s, or trader joe’s brand. go for scharffen berger or guittard. there’s a reason they cost more.
2 cups (10 oz) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (1 1/2 oz) dutch-processed cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp table salt
12 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
12 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped, separated
4 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp instant coffee or espresso powder
10 tbsp unsalted butter, softened but still cool
1 1/2 cups packed (10 1/2 oz) light brown sugar
1/2 cup (3 1/2 oz) granulated sugar
1/4 cup large-grain sea salt
Combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and 1/2 tsp table salt in a medium bowl. Whisk together; set aside.
Melt all of the semi-sweet chocolate and 4 oz of the bitter sweet chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over simmering water until completely melted and smooth; remove from the heat. In a small mixing bowl, combine the eggs and vanilla. Sprinkle the instant espresso powder over the egg mixture and set aside to allow the granules to dissolve.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter at medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 5 seconds. Mix in the sugars until well combined, about 45 seconds – the mixture will look granular. Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually beat in the egg mixture until incorporated, about 45 seconds. Add the chocolate to the bowl in a steady stream and continue beating until combined, about 40 seconds. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. With the mixer at low speed, add the dry ingredients and mix just until incorporated, being careful not to overbeat. Just before dry ingredients are fully incorporated, add the remaining bittersweet chocolate chips and mix them in. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature until the consistency is scoopable and fudge-like, about 30 minutes.
While the dough rests, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or prep with cooking spray. Scoop the dough with an ice cream or cookie dough scoop into a 2″ diameter ball. Dip the top side of the dough into the dish of sea salt. If too much sticks, brush some of it off. I found that it worked if there was about 5 large grains per bite, maybe 25 in total, but it will vary greatly according to the salt you have. Too much will be overwhelming and too salty, not enough will fail to stand in contrast to the sweet flavors. It’s good to test the quantity of salt on a first, smaller batch and then adjust for the remaining batches. Transfer dough to the prepared baking sheets, spacing the dough balls about 1 ½ inches apart.
Bake until the edges of the cookies have just began to set but the centers are still very soft, about 10-12 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through baking. Cool the cookies on the sheets about 10 minutes then transfer to cooling racks and allow to cool completely. Cool the baking sheets before baking more batches with the remaining dough.