12.21.2011

Countdown to Christmas: Double Chocolate Sea Salt Cookies

Yesterday we extolled the virtues of Chow, and today, we want to tell you about The Tasting Table. The Tasting Table is an email newsletter with recipes, food and drink news, restaurant reviews, travel tips and more fun stuff for foodies. Recently they sent us a recipe for Double Chocolate Sea Salt Cookies, and the recipe didn't call for butter but olive oil. While we love our butter (see every recipe we make...), we were intrigued at how these would turn out.

We made the dough on Sunday, and in our rush to "get things done" we didn't take any pictures of the dough-making process (bad bloggers!). Sorry! We chilled the dough overnight and baked the cookies Monday afternoon. The recipe said it would turn out fifty cookies. Fifty? We ended up with 90!!! Plenty of cookies to go around. And while they weren't as chocolatey as we would have liked (see note below), we are really enjoying the texture and the way the sea salt flakes play up the sweet chocolate flavor. Verdict? A yummy, grown-up cookie for the sophisticated palate.

Note: Next time (and yes, there will be a next time), we will upgrade to a better chocolate (we used Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate chips which are very good, but maybe not quite good enough for this recipe). We think a better quality chocolate will up the chocolatey goodness to where we want it.


Double Chocolate Sea Salt Cookies

Ingredients:
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
⅔ cup whole-wheat flour
¼ cup natural cocoa powder
¾ tablespoon baking powder
⅔ teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups granulated sugar
5 large eggs
⅔ cup extra-virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
flaky sea salt


In a heatproof medium bowl, add the chocolate. Set a medium saucepan filled with water over medium heat, bring to a simmer and set the heatproof bowl over the saucepan; melt the chocolate, stirring frequently. Once the chocolate is melted, carefully remove the bowl from the heat and set aside to cool slightly.

In a medium bowl, sift together the all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, cocoa, baking powder and kosher salt.

In a standing mixer fitted with a paddle, mix together the reserved chocolate, sugar, eggs, olive oil and vanilla. When the ingredients are well combined, slowly add the sifted dry ingredients. Mix well, until a sticky yet firm dough forms. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator and chill for at least three hours or up to overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and divide the chilled dough into ½-inch balls. Space the dough balls far enough apart so there is room for spreading. Press a pinch of flaky sea salt into the top of each ball. Bake until firm and the tops begin to crack slightly, 12 to 14 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool. Serve at room temperature.


6 comments:

Laura @ Sprint 2 the Table said...

I make these all time time, except mine have almonds in them. I love the flaky salt with the rich cocoa. The super-flakey salt you used in gorgeous!

Happy holidays!!

easyfoodsmith said...

The addition of sea salt to these delicious looking chocolate cookies has intrigued me. Bookmarked

kat said...

We do a version of these too & I think they're my favorite on the cookie tray

The Chocolate Priestess said...

Looks good! I buzzed you for the recipe so others can see it, too.

Dreams of cakes said...

This is delicious! Thanks for sharing.

Kiri W. said...

Oooooh my. I love salted chocolate, and these cookies look like absolute heaven!