Makes about 40 cookies
THE FIRST CHRISTMAS I WAS A MARRIED LADY, I STARTED MAKING A VERSION OF these cookies, with the intention of them becoming a tradition for our new little family. By the next year, with some tweaks and an extra hit of salt to make them even more crave-worthy, they’d broken out of the holiday cookie tin and become a year-round fixture in my cookie-baking rotation. Especially when I discovered they make a splendid enclosure for a summertime ice-cream sandwich.
2 cups/256 g unbleached all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
¾ cup/72 g unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon flaky sea salt, such as Maldon
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
1 cup plus 4 tablespoons/282 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup/225 g dark brown sugar
1 cup/200 g granulated sugar, plus ½ cup for coating cookies
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
8 ounces/225 g bittersweet chocolate (60% to 70% cacao), finely chopped
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and flaky and fine salt.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, about 30 seconds. Add the brown and granulated sugar and the vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time. Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture. Stir in the chopped chocolate.
Cover the bowl and chill until firm, about 1 hour.
Position racks to the upper and lower thirds of the oven and pre-heat it to 350°F/180°C. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Pour the remaining ½ cup of granulated sugar into a shallow bowl. Using a cookie scoop or 2 spoons, portion the dough into rounded tablespoons. Gently roll the dough portions into balls and roll in the sugar to coat completely. Evenly space the dough balls about 2 inches/5 cm apart on the prepared baking sheets.
Bake until the edges of the cookies are set and can be lifted off the sheets with a fingertip, but are still quite soft in the centers, about 12 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through the baking time. Cool on the sheets for several minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely. The cookies keep sealed in an airtight container for up to 1 week.