Description
From Melissa Weller’s A Good Bake
As always, for best results, measure with a digital scale.
Notes:
Salt: The only change I have made here is to add twice the amount of salt: 1 teaspoon (6 g) as opposed to 1/2 teaspoon (3 g). I love a cookie with a good balance of salt and sugar, but I also know I have a high salt tolerance, so please use your judgment when deciding how much to use. I do not find these to be the slightest bit salty when I use 6 grams of salt, and I am even using salted butter (which I use for everything).
Cocoa: Melissa’s preferred brand is Valrhona, which is Dutch-processed, though she says you can use whatever cocoa powder you have on hand. I have been using Droste’s cocoa in this recipe, which is also Dutch-processed. In Sarah Keiffer’s chocolate sugar cookie recipe in her new book 100 Cookies, Dutch-processed cocoa is called for, so if you have both Dutch-processed and natural on hand, go for the Dutch-processed.
That said, I swear by Hershey’s cocoa powder for my favorite fudgy brownies, and I will give that a go in this recipe next time around… stay tuned.
Scoop/Scale: If you have a 2-tablespoon scoop, that will help when portioning the dough balls. I am uncharacteristically fussy about portioning cookie dough balls, and I always weigh the balls to ensure each is identical. Here, each dough ball should weigh 50 grams.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (240 g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (43 g) cocoa powder, see notes above
- 1 teaspoon (5 g) baking soda
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon (3 – 6 g) sea salt, see notes above (I use 6 g)
- 16 tablespoons (226 g) softened butter
- 1.5 cups (300 g) dark brown sugar
- 1 egg (50 g)
- 1 teaspoon (5 g) vanilla extract
- granulated sugar for rolling, 1/4 to 1/2 cup (50 to 100 g)
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350ºF.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl and whisk to combine the ingredients. Set aside.
- Put the butter and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Fit the mixer with the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes, stopping to scrape down the mixer once or twice, until the mixture is light and fluffy.
- Turn off the mixer, add the egg and vanilla, and beat until the egg is thoroughly incorporated, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until no flour is visible, stopping to scrape down the mixer once during the process.
- Pour the granulated sugar into a small bowl. Portion out the dough using a 2-tablespoon scoop or measure or a scale — each portion should weigh 50 grams. You should have about 16 to 18 balls total. Roll each portion between your hands to form a ball; then roll in the sugar — coat each ball as generously as you are able to in the sugar. Transfer 6 balls to the prepared sheet. Bake for 12 minutes; remove from heat and allow cookies to cool completely on the sheet pan. Repeat this process, baking 6 cookies at a time.
- Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 3 months.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: chocolate, sugar, cookies, simple, Christmas
