Salted Ultra-Crisp Chocolate Cookies
Makes about 4 dozen
Many chocolate cookies are actually dense, fudgy brownies baked into rounds. These are nothing like that. Thin and ultra-crisp, these chocolate cookies, made with unsweetened cocoa powder and chopped bittersweet chocolate, are not particularly sweet with a light sprinkle of sea salt on top. The food processor batter can be unwieldy in the work bowl; stop the motor often to scrape down the sides. The batter will look like chocolate cement when it's finished. Make sure there are no dry patches on the bottom of the work bowl. Form balls right from the food processor, set them on parchment-lined baking sheets, then press them with a glass dipped into water. Make sure your glass is smooth on the bottom. The rounds are finished baking when the centers are firm. The cookies have a rich chocolate flavor and the salted tops are delightful, all enough to make your Val/Gal/Palentine swoon.
2 cups flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 egg yolk
4 tablespoons cold water, or more if needed
Coarse sea salt (for sprinkling)
1. Set the oven at 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a bowl, combine the flour, salt, confectioners' and granulated sugars, and cocoa powder. Stir well to blend them. Press any chocolate or confectioners' sugar lumps against the side of the bowl to break them up as you stir.
3. In a food processor, combine the butter, vanilla, and chopped chocolate. Pulse for 2 to 3 minutes or until they are blended, scraping down the sides as needed. Add the egg yolk and pulse again.
4. Add the flour mixture in three additions. Pulse each one to blend it in before adding another. Scrape down the work bowl as needed. Sprinkle the mixture with 3 tablespoons of the water and pulse again until the batter forms a thick cement-like mixture. Add 1 more tablespoon cold water if there are dry patches on the bottom of the work bowl.
5. Using a small soup spoon, scoop up enough batter to form a small walnut and roll in your hands to make a ball. Set on the baking sheet. The ball should be about 1¼-inches in diameter. Continue until you have 12 balls. With the bottom of a plain glass dipped into water, press each ball to a 2-inch flattened cookie. Dip the glass in water before each press. Use a small paper towel to dab any drops of water on the parchment paper (so the cookies do not steam from the excess liquid). Sprinkle the cookies with a pinch of salt.
6. Continue shaping, pressing, and salting cookies until you have a second sheet.
7. Bake the cookies for 18 minutes, turning the position of the baking sheets from back to front halfway through baking, or until they are firm to the touch in the centers. Transfer the cookies, still on the parchment paper, to wire racks to cool completely.
8. Shape and bake the remaining batter in the same way.
9. Store the cookies in an airtight tin, layered with parchment paper, for up to 1 week.