1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 stick plus 3 tablespoons (11 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature 2/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar 1/4 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon fleur de sel or 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chips, or a generous 3/4 cup store-bought mini chocolate chips Sift the flour, cocoa and baking soda together. Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until soft and creamy. Add both sugars, the salt and vanilla extract and beat for 2 minutes more. Turn
off the mixer. Pour in the flour, drape a kitchen towel over the stand
mixer to protect yourself and your kitchen from flying flour and pulse
the mixer at low speed about 5 times, a second or two each time. Take a
peek — if there is still a lot of flour on the surface of the dough,
pulse a couple of times more; if not, remove the towel. Continuing
at low speed, mix for about 30 seconds more, just until the flour
disappears into the dough — for the best texture, work the dough as
little as possible once the flour is added, and don’t be concerned if
the dough looks a little crumbly. Toss in the chocolate pieces and mix
only to incorporate. Turn
the dough out onto a work surface, gather it together and divide it in
half. Working with one half at a time, shape the dough into logs that
are 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and
refrigerate them for at least 3 hours. (The dough can be refrigerated
for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months. If you’ve frozen the
dough, you needn’t defrost it before baking — just slice the logs into
cookies and bake the cookies 1 minute longer.) GETTING
READY TO BAKE: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325
degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats. Working with a sharp thin knife, slice the logs into rounds that are 1/2 inch thick. (The rounds are likely to crack as you’re cutting them — don’t be concerned, just squeeze the bits back onto each cookie.) Arrange the rounds on the baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch between them. Bake
the cookies one sheet at a time for 12 minutes — they won’t look done,
nor will they be firm, but that’s just the way they should be. Transfer
the baking sheet to a cooling rack and let the cookies rest until they
are only just warm, at which point you can serve them or let them reach
room temperature. SERVING: The cookies can be eaten when they are warm or at room temperature — I prefer them at room temperature, when the textural difference between the crumbly cookie and the chocolate bits is greatest — and are best suited to cold milk or hot coffee. STORING: Packed airtight, cookies will keep at room temperature for up to 3 days; they can be frozen for up to 2 months. |