Monday, June 3, 2013

Slightly Salted Soft Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies


Oops!  Where did May go?  I’ve only baked about three to four times since the middle of April and most of it was recipes that I’ve either shared before or didn’t have time to photograph or write up.  These cookies, however, are the exception.  I was incredibly pleased with the way they came out, especially since I made the recipe up in my head while I was lounging in the corner nook of the couch in the basement and pretending to watch tv.  I think they will be my standard soft chocolate cookie from here on out, much in the way the Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies (with Rye Flour!) recipe has become my go-to recipe for chocolate chip cookies.  What I love about these cookies is that they taste exactly the way their name sounds.  There is a hint of saltiness, an abundance of chocolate, and the texture is perfect.  I made them to bring to a meeting at work, and everyone who tried them liked them.  If you’ve been daydreaming about soft chocolate cookies, look no further than this recipe!
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Notes:
These cookies aren’t crazy salty, but they do have a subtle salty finish.  Don’t forget that the chocolate chunks or chips are a divided use.  You’ll need to melt ½ cup (76 g) and leave the other ¾ cup (120 g) as chunks or chips to stir into the dough.  When you melt the chocolate, don’t leave it to sit around for forever or it will become cold and make it harder for you to scoop the cookies.  If you are a slow measurer, sifter, and butter creamer, you may want to sift the dry ingredients first and then melt the chocolate.  Just make sure the chocolate isn’t hot when you add it to the butter mixture or it may cook the eggs.  I chopped up a Trader Joe’s 72% dark chocolate bar for these cookies.  My "regular" cocoa powder is Natural High Fat Cocoa from Penzeys Spices, and the black cocoa powder is from King Arthur Flour.  If you don’t have black cocoa powder, you can use your regular cocoa powder, but the cookies won’t be as dark or chocolaty.  I pulled these cookies out at nine minutes, and they were perfectly baked.  You want the cookies to set, but not to bake so much that they get hard, so pay attention to them.  They should still be soft when you pull them out of the oven.  You’ll definitely want to use a piece of parchment paper or a Silpat mat when you make these because you’ll need to immediately slide the parchment paper (with the cookies still on it) off the cookie sheet and onto the cooling rack so they don’t overbake. 

Ingredients:
1¼ cup (196 g) dark chocolate chunks or chips, divided use
1½  (186 g) cups all-purpose flour
½ cup (49 g) cocoa powder
2 tablespoons (15 g) black cocoa powder
½ teaspoon (4 g) salt
1 teaspoon (6 g) baking soda
1 cup (228 g) unsalted butter
1 cup (229 g) light brown sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Melt, Sift, Cream, Beat, Stir, Scoop, Bake:
Adjust the oven racks to the upper and lower thirds of the oven, and preheat to 350ºF.  Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or Silpat mats, and set aside.  In a small saucepan, over low heat, melt ½ cup (76 g) of the chocolate chunks, stirring regularly.  Reserve the remaining ¾ cup (120 g) of chunks or chips to stir in later.  Once the chocolate has melted, remove it from the heat, and set it aside to cool slightly while you prepare your other ingredients.  In a medium-sized bowl, sift together the all-purpose flour, cocoa powders, salt, and baking soda, and set aside.  In a separate bowl, cream the butter with the sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy.  Add the egg and vanilla, and beat until incorporated.  Add the slightly-cooled melted chocolate and beat until incorporated.  Add the flour mixture in thirds, scraping the bowl and beater between each addition.  Beat until no more flour streaks remain.  Stir in the reserved ¾ cup (120 g) chocolate chips or chunks.  Use a tablespoon-sized cookie scoop to scoop the dough out onto the prepared cookie sheets.  Bake for 8-10 minutes at 350ºF until the cookies are set but still soft. Once the trays are out of the oven, immediately slide the parchment paper (with the cookies on it) off of the cookie sheet and onto a cooling rack.  Allow the cookies to cool on the parchment paper.  Store in an airtight container at room temperature between layers of wax paper.  These cookies freeze well.   

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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Very yummy! Douglas made them and they tasted great!

CLO

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