last confession

People often ask of any number of my treats, “What’s the secret ingredient,” when I don’t really think there is one. This time, I have an answer for them: King Arthur’s Double Dark Cocoa.

I’ve tried several dark chocolate cocoas, and I’ve yet to find one with the same rich depth of flavor that King Arthur has achieved in their signature blend. Do I think this will be a really good cookie with another dark cocoa? Sure. Do I think you will notice the difference if you go the extra step of getting the good stuff? Abso-freaking-lutely!

King Arthur’s description says it is a blend of Dutch-process and black cocoa powders, so you could experiment with a mix of your own, or you can just buy it here: Double Dark Cocoa.

step one

Prep.

It is important that ingredients are the right temperature. The butter and eggs need to be room temperature. If you forgot to take the eggs out of the fridge — or just can’t wait to make these cookies — you can speed this up by letting them sit in a bowl of warm water. Warm, not hot. If the eggs are cold enough to chill the water after a few minutes, change it out as needed. To speed up bringing the butter to room temperature, cutting it into cubes will take the needed time from 45-60 minutes to around 30 (depending on how warm your kitchen is).

Gather your ingredients and tools.

There are very few occasions when I won’t tell you to sift your cocoa. Most cocoa powder is prone to lumps, and some mixing processes won’t be enough to get rid of them. You do not want lumps here. Sift the cocoa.

Add the rest of the dry ingredients to the bowl of cocoa and whisk (gently!) until it is uniform all the way to the bottom of the bowl.

step two

Add the butter and sugar to the mixer bowl and mix at low to medium-low until the sugar is no longer loose in the bowl, give everything a good scrape, then turn the speed up to medium for 45-60 seconds. You want to see the mixture become fluffy, lightened in color, and significantly less grainy if you rub a bit between your fingers. (The texture should look kind of like mashed potatoes.)

Next, add the egg and vanilla. Start mixing on a low to medium-low speed to avoid splattering. Once the yolk is broken and beginning to incorporate, increase the speed a notch or two. Give the bowl and beater another good scrape before adding the dry ingredients.

step three

Add one-third of the dry ingredients to the mixer, then mix at the lowest setting until almost totally combined. I strongly recommend turning the mixer off, then adding the next portion — otherwise, it can be messy.

When the final addition is just shy of looking fully incorporated, give everything a good scrape, then mix at medium-low just until no flour streaks remain.

Scoop the dough out onto a length of plastic wrap, squish it into a flattened ball, wrap it tightly, and tuck it in the fridge. Chill for 30. (This is when I preheat my oven, clean up, prep my pans, and get my scoop and bowl of sugar ready.)

step four

Heat the oven to 350°. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, and pour about 1/4 cup of granulated sugar into a shallow bowl.

Scoop the chilled dough using a #40 portion scoop (~1.6 tablespoons), give a quick roll, then coat in the sugar.

Place the balls of dough 2 inches apart on the baking sheet.

step five

If your trust your oven to bake VERY evenly, you can bake two trays at a time with racks in the upper and lower third of the oven — I still recommend rotating, top to bottom and back to front, halfway through the bake time.

Check the cookies at 8-9 minutes. You’re looking for them to be puffed but stiff soft, with edges that look just set, and tops which are beginning to crackle. Because they will continue to bake a bit once the sheet is removed from the oven, you won’t want to go longer than 10 minutes.

Allow the cookies to sit for 4-5 minutes before moving to cooling racks to cool completely.