With some time to kill before I left to Tahoe on Tuesday (which was amazing, by the way.. but more on that later), I decided to bake some cookies. I skimmed through my baking bookshelf and pulled out my good ol’ favorite: Baking: From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan. Every recipe that I’ve tried from that book has always been more than pleasant, so I figured why not? Now, I’ve made these cookies before… but they weren’t too successful the first time around. The first time I made them, the dough was crumbly and refused to form into desirable shapes– heck, they wouldn’t form into any shape! Even after freezing them and cutting the dough, it would shatter into tiny pieces with every movement of my knife. Being the cookie dough tester that I am, I just ate the dough as is and was amazed. The dough was beyond DELICIOUS! I probably snacked on half of the cookie dough the first time around because I couldn’t bake them (the recipe doesn’t use any eggs, either… so eating the cookie dough is practically harmless!) The cookie dough tasted so good that I was determined to try this recipe again.
I followed the recipe exactly as stated and made sure to press the dough firmly together when rolling into logs. I didn’t give up this time! If the cookie broke apart after cutting them into slices, I pressed the cookie dough back together with my hands and formed them into discs (this happened quite a bit). I found an easy way to do it.. You roll the dough into a ball, then flatten it between your palms. To shape the dough, you then put your left hand into a shape of a “c” and move the dough around inside the “c”, gently pressing your forefinger to your thumb. This will make an even circle shape while your right hand keeps the surface even by pushing and forming the dough together. I have no idea if that made sense to you, but I tried to explain my method the best I can! Sorry if it’s confusing. :/
The second time around was a total success! Boy, were these worth it. The fine sea salt in it makes all the difference. I might even dare to say that these are my favorite cookie! If you don’t already have Dorie’s book, I highly recommend getting it! It’s a great first baking book and an essential for your desserts. You can buy it online HERE.
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 stick plus 3 tablespoons (11 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon fleur de sel or 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chips, or a generous 3/4 cup store-bought mini chocolate chips
Makes about 36 cookies.
Sift the flour, cocoa and baking soda together.
Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until soft and creamy. Add both sugars, the salt and vanilla extract and beat for 2 minutes more.
Turn off the mixer. Pour in the flour, drape a kitchen towel over the stand mixer to protect yourself and your kitchen from flying flour and pulse the mixer at low speed about 5 times, a second or two each time. Take a peek — if there is still a lot of flour on the surface of the dough, pulse a couple of times more; if not, remove the towel. Continuing at low speed, mix for about 30 seconds more, just until the flour disappears into the dough — for the best texture, work the dough as little as possible once the flour is added, and don’t be concerned if the dough looks a little crumbly. Toss in the chocolate pieces and mix only to incorporate.
Turn the dough out onto a work surface, gather it together and divide it in half. Working with one half at a time, shape the dough into logs that are 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and refrigerate them for at least 3 hours. (The dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months. If you’ve frozen the dough, you needn’t defrost it before baking — just slice the logs into cookies and bake the cookies 1 minute longer.)
GETTING READY TO BAKE: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.
Working with a sharp thin knife, slice the logs into rounds that are 1/2 inch thick. (The rounds are likely to crack as you’re cutting them — don’t be concerned, just squeeze the bits back onto each cookie.) Arrange the rounds on the baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch between them.
Bake the cookies one sheet at a time for 12 minutes — they won’t look done, nor will they be firm, but that’s just the way they should be. Transfer the baking sheet to a cooling rack and let the cookies rest until they are only just warm, at which point you can serve them or let them reach room temperature.
SERVING: The cookies can be eaten when they are warm or at room temperature — I prefer them at room temperature, when the textural difference between the crumbly cookie and the chocolate bits is greatest — and are best suited to cold milk or hot coffee.
STORING: Packed airtight, cookies will keep at room temperature for up to 3 days; they can be frozen for up to 2 months.
Oh, these look delicious. I have to try them myself.
These look great! I like that you were able to get good slices, mine kept falling apart 🙁
What makes them fall apart?
These cookies are terrible on their own – very one-dimensional.
It’s got no egg and baking soda will make them hard and brittle. Also leaves a metallic aftertaste.
Definitely better with coffee or milk.
bana- i definitely recommend it. just don’t be too scared when they are more crumbly than you expect!
marta- i actually had to reshape most of mine doing the method stated. it worked like a charm!
sam- they don’t have any egg, so that’s probably why the dough is so crumbly. it doesn’t have anything to hold it together. if you have a real problem with it, i’d recommend taking a tablespoon or so of flour out of the original recipe.
the hungry monkey- i’m sorry you didn’t enjoy them. 🙁 they really were fantastic for me. i guess everyone’s different. and normally i don’t even like harder/crumbly cookies! mine were actually not hard at all, they just had a crumbly texture like that of shortbread. i actually kept some cookies for 3 days later to see how it would last, and they lasted perfectly. they never got hard for me.. perhaps you overbaked them? they do look a bit underbaked when taking them out, but i made sure to take them out at 12 minutes and no more. hope that helps!
Ah I see! Things like that are a bit discouraging but I might give them a try any way! Can I use salted butter instead of unsalted?
I made these today and they turned out pretty good. I didn’t have too much trouble with crumbling, I lost a couple of mini chocolate chips when cutting but that was about it. However, when I took them out of the oven I tried to move them to the cooling rack immediately and that was a mistake because they fell apart when I picked them up. Instead I let them sit for a minute or two on the sheet and then transfered them over.
As far as taste I thought they were good, a bit more sophisticated alternative to a chocolate chip cookie.
I just made these for the first time and had the exact same problem you did with the dough just crumbling to bits. It’s good to know I’m not the only one with that problem and also not the only one who ate half the dough, haha 🙂
I owe you from a distance in time. I made these tonight and after, the first batch, was ready to either add an egg or to throw out the rest of the batter.
Instead, I got back on the computer and looked for others who made this and I found you and your dough that would not hold together.
WHile mine are not beautiful, the second batch held a shape.
Thanks.
when i trouble to cutting log of dough, i make them little balls and put a piece of plastic wrap on them. then press with a glass to make like discs. 😉