I decided to revise my chocolate sugar cookie and change the cocoa type to Dutch-processed cocoa. As a result, I think it has a richer chocolate taste because of the different cocoa used. I also like the undertone of molasses from dark brown sugar which complements the chocolate.
I do not use dark brown sugar often, but I think it is perfect for this type of cookie.
Table of contents
Ingredients
- Butter unsalted
- Dark brown sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Egg
- Egg yolk
- All-purpose flour
- Cocoa powder
- Baking soda
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Superfine white sugar
My Ingredient Choices
Superfine White Sugar
To coat the cookie balls before baking, I used Domino Superfine sugar. You can certainly use regular white sugar if you do not have superfine sugar. To get the same effect, you can add your regular sugar to a food processor and pulse it a few times to make it finer. The fine sugar gives the cookie that cracked and pitted look.
Cocoa Powder
My favorite new cocoa is Guittard Cocoa Rouge Cocoa Powder (Amazon link). I found it here in Lancaster at the Wegman store, which was cheaper than Amazon. Of course, there are more expensive cocoa powders out there, but this cocoa is rated as a very good one that won't break the bank for home baking.
All-purpose Flour
All of my cookie recipes that call for all-purpose flour only get King Arthur All-Purpose Flour. There was a time during the COVID lockdown when there was a shortage of flour in all the grocery stores. But King Arthur was selling 3 LBS bags straight from their online store. That was a life savior.
Unsalted Butter
The choice of butter is strictly up to you. Salted or Unsalted is a personal preference. For me, I use Land-O-Lake Unsalted for the reason I like to know what salt is being added and how much. Salt amounts can differ from one brand to another. Land-O-Lake has always been consistent with its look and taste.
Kosher Salt
I have always used Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt for my cookies and meal prep. When researching brands to use for my baking, this brand seemed to be number one a lot of the time. Bon Appetit did a great article on "What is Kosher Salt" you might want to check it out.
Making Chocolate Sugar Cookies
Not much to prep for these cookies except weighing out some ingredients. In a bowl, weigh or measure your dark brown sugar and set it aside. Please note that I use soft brown sugar; if yours has hard clumps, you may want to consider getting a new bag or box. The mixer has difficulty creaming the butter and brown sugar together with hard lumps.
Next, weigh or measure the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cocoa powder, and salt in another bowl. Run a whisk through to blend.
Add the butter and dark brown sugar into your mixer bowl, starting on the low setting and increasing it until you reach a medium speed. Blend for 3 minutes. You should get a rich medium brown color that looks whipped.
Next, incorporate the vanilla extract and the eggs. Scrape down the sides and turn the mixer on to a low speed, gradually adding the flour mixture. Cover loosely and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 350°, and line 2 cookie sheet pans with parchment paper.
I take a paper plate and add superfine sugar to roll the cookie balls easily.
I use a medium cookie scooper to scoop out enough cookie dough so you can roll it in your hand to form a ball.
Add the cookie dough ball to the paper plate with the superfine sugar and roll it around to cover the outside.
These cookies spread some, so I only put nine cookie balls onto a cookie sheet pan. Press down very lightly on top of each ball, so they do not roll around on the pan. Since I worked with the cookie dough with my hands, the dough can get warm, so I put the whole pan into the fridge for 5 to 10 minutes to cool the butter down again.
Bate at 350° for 12 to 14 minutes. Let them firm up a bit on the pan after they come out of the oven before moving them to a cooling rack.
After they have cooled, an option for your cookies is to sprinkle a little sugar on top of each cookie.
Other Chocolate Cookies
Chocolate Sugar Cookies - Revised
Barbara HallIngredients
- 1 cup (227 g) Butter unsalted room temperature
- 1 ¼ cups (275 g) Dark brown sugar soft
- 1 tablespoon (1 tablespoon) Vanilla extract
- 1 (1 ) Egg
- 1 (1 ) Egg yolk
- 1 ⅔ cups (208.33 g) All purpose flour
- ¾ cups (64.5 g) Cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) Baking soda
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) Baking powder
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) Salt
- ½ cup (100 g) Superfine white sugar To coat cookie balls
Instructions
- In a bowl, weigh the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder. I whisk through the mixture to blend the dry ingredients and set aside. In a smaller bowl, weigh your soft dark brown sugar and set aside.
- Add the softened butter and dark brown sugar (use soft brown sugar) to a stand or with a handheld mixer. You want to mix on a medium speed for 3 minutes. Next, add the vanilla extract and blend. Now, add the egg and egg yolk and mix again until incorporated.
- Scrape down the sides and across the bottom of the bowl, and turn the mixer on at a low speed. Gradually add the flour mixture until incorporated. Avoid over-mixing the flour since you can always finish it with a spatula. Cover loosely and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Preheat your oven to 350°. Have 2 cookie pans lined with parchment paper and set aside. I get a paper plate and spread the superfine white sugar around the plate to coat the cookie dough balls. I take a cookie scooper (medium) and put a scoop of cookie dough in my hand and roll it into a ball. Then, roll the ball in the superfine white sugar to coat. Next, add the ball to the cookie pan. I take 2 fingers and press down lightly on the top of each ball. Flattening them just a little helps the balls not to roll. The cookies spread as they bake, so I only did 9 balls to a pan.
- Before I put the cookie pan into the oven, I put it back into the refrigerator for about 5 to 10 minutes for the butter to firm back up, then put them into the oven 1 pan at a time. Bake for 12-14 minutes, and keep an eye on them when they start to crack on the tops of the cookies; they are ready to come out of the oven. I leave them on the cookie pan for a minute and then carefully move them to a cooling rack. After they cooled, I took just a pinch of the white sugar and added it to the tops of the cookies; this, of course, is optional.
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