Soft Chocolate Sugar Cookies

These are a big hit at our house. I make them with a really high-quality, deep, rich cocoa powder. You can multiply the recipe as many times as you need to for as many cookies as you'd like.

From: Mel's Kitchen Cafe


INGREDIENTS
1/3 cup (2 1/3 ounces) granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (8 1/8 ounces) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (2 1/4 ounces) unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
14 tablespoons butter
1 3/4 cups packed (12 1/4 ounces) dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk

INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Pour the granulated sugar on a plate or shallow dish like a pie plate and set aside. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and baking powder.

In a large bowl, melt 10 tablespoons of the butter in the microwave. Take care not to overheat; microwave the butter until just melted. Stir in the remaining 4 tablespoons butter until melted. Allow the butter to cool for 5-10 minutes (it should be about 90-95 degrees on an instant read thermometer).

Whisk the brown sugar, vanilla and salt into the melted butter until the mixture is completely smooth. Whisk in the egg and egg yolk until smooth. Stir in the flour mixture until just combined.

Roll the dough into balls, about 2 tablespoons for each cookie. Roll the balls in the granulated sugar and place on lightly greased or lined (with parchment or silpat liners) baking sheets. Using the bottom of a glass, flatten the cookies to about 1/4-inch thick, more or less. Sprinkle the cookies with a bit more granulated sugar (just a pinch per cookie).

Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, until they have puffed and have cracks running through the top, about 12-14 minutes. Don't overbake or the cookies will be dry. Transfer the cookies to a baking rack to cool completely.

Note: It is really important that the butter isn't too hot when you start adding other ingredients to it. If you don't have a thermometer to test temperature, let the butter sit for the full 10 minutes. It should be at warm room temperature but not hot at all.