Salted chocolate cookies

I never used to have the knack for making cookies.  Most recipes I tried would either come out too crunchy, too crumbly or not cooked enough.  Sometimes they would be too small, and other times they would all bleed into each other in the oven so that I ended up with one giant supercookie.  Which isn't such a terrible thing, but doesn't look all that pretty when you serve them.

Then I discovered Orangette, and what will henceforth be known as the magic chocolate cookies.  These things are amazing.  Chocolate-y but not overwhelmingly so, just the right level of chewiness, and low fat.  And they come out right every time.  I'd definitely recommend trying them.

But since this blog is primarily for new recipes...here, have a second Orangette chocolate cookie ;)  This caught my eye the other day and while I don't usually like mixing savoury and sweet ingredients, the idea of combining chocolate and salt was intriguing.  Well, I'm pleased to say the risk paid off.  The salt cuts the sweetness nicely as long as you don't add too much - just a few flakes is enough.

Salted Chocolate Cookies
(Taken from Orangette)

225 g (8 oz) bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (ideally 70% cacao)
155 g (1 ¼ cups) all-purpose flour
50 grams (½ cup plus 2 tbsp) unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
115 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
225 g sugar, plus more for rolling the logs
2 large eggs
¼ tsp table salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
75 ml (1/3 cup) whole milk
coarse sea salt, for finishing

Pour water into a saucepan to a depth of about 2 inches. Bring to a simmer. Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl that will rest securely on the rim of the saucepan, and put it on top of – but not touching – the water. Heat the chocolate, stirring occasionally until it melts and is smooth.  Just make sure that no steam from the saucepan gets into the chocolate as moisture is apparently bad for it.  Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

Whisk together the flour, cocoa, and baking powder in a medium-sized bowl. In another bowl, beat the butter on medium-high speed until creamy. Slowly add the sugar, and continue to beat until the mixture is completely smooth and soft, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Beat in the salt and the vanilla, and then add the melted chocolate, beating to incorporate. Add the milk, and beat until combined. Finally, add the flour mixture and beat on low speed until just incorporated. The dough will be quite thick and stiff.

Depending on what size cookie you’d like, divide the dough into 2 or 4 portions. Put each portion on a large piece of cling film, and roll it into a log, using the film to help shape it. Twist the ends to seal. Chill overnight, if you have the patience for it.  I was making mine as dessert, so I used half of the mixture the night I made the dough.  It worked fine, although it was quite difficult to cut into thin circles.

When you’re ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350°F, and line a baking sheet with parchment  paper.Put another sheet of parchment paper on your work surface. Take a few spoonfuls of sugar, and pour them onto the parchment, making a ridge of sugar of approximately the same length as your dough logs. Remove a log from the fridge, unwrap it, and roll in the sugar to evenly coat. Using a thin, sharp knife, cut into slices (the size of which depends on how thin or fat you like your cookies!). Put these on the baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches between each cookie. Sprinkle each cookie with a few flakes of coarse sea salt.

Bake for 10 minutes, or until the top of the cookies looks set but still feels a little soft to the touch. Transfer to a wire rack, and leave the cookies on the pan to cool. Repeat with the remaining dough.

The recipe says these cookies last for up to a week, but I have a feeling they won't be around that long.