Excerpt
Editor's note: This recipe was originally published with an error in the ingredients list. The published amount of flour reads: 1/4 cup. In fact, the amount should read: 1 1/4 cup. Ms. Knickerbocker and her publisher regret the error.
Crispy-Creamy Chocolate Cookies
These chocolate cookies, crisp on the outside and creamy inside, are an adaptation of a Pierre Hermé (the famous Parisian baker) chocolate cookie. Once rolled into logs and wrapped, the dough keeps for 3 days in the refrigerator and can be frozen for up to a month.
1/3 cup excellent-quality processed, sweetened cocoa powder, such as E. Guittard or Scharffen Berger
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
11 tablespoons (1 stick plus 3 tablespoons) unsalted butter
2/3 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon sea salt or fleur de sel
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 ounces excellent-quality bittersweet chocolate (such as E. Guittard), roughly chopped
Sift together the cocoa powder, baking soda, and flour. In a large mixing bowl, using a mixer, cream the butter until smooth, add the brown sugar and granulated sugar and blend again. Add the salt and vanilla and blend for about 1 1/2 minutes. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix on the lowest speed until the ingredients are incorporated. The dough will be crumbly. Stir in the chopped chocolate.
Turn the dough onto a work surface. Press the mixture together with your hands, forming a ball. Cut the ball in half and work each half into a log about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap each log in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 325° F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
Slice the logs into 1/2-inch-thick rounds. Place the rounds on the baking sheets, 1 inch apart. If the cookies break apart, press them back together.
Bake one sheet at a time for 12 minutes. The cookies will not be firm nor appear to be done. Remove them from the oven and let them cool on the sheet on a wire rack until they are barely warm. Store the cookies in an airtight container.
Makes 4 dozen cookies.