Reverse Chocolate Chunk Cookies

The ‘reverse’ here is the whole charm. Instead of pale dough hiding dark chips, you start with a deeply chocolate dough loaded with cocoa powder and fold in chunks of creamy white chocolate. The result is a near-black cookie freckled with melty pale pools, as good-looking as it is rich.

A double dose of sugar does specific work. Brown sugar keeps the centers soft and chewy with a hint of caramel, while white sugar helps the edges set. Creaming the butter and sugars until light and fluffy beats in the air that gives these their tender, brownie-like crumb.

White chocolate is the right partner for all that bitter cocoa, its sweet, vanilla creaminess balancing the dark dough so neither one takes over. Scoop, space them well apart, and bake until the edges are set but the centers still look soft.

Pro Tips

• Pull them when the edges are set but the centers look underdone. Dark dough hides browning, so go by time and feel, not color.
• Cream the butter and sugars thoroughly. That aeration is what gives the cookies their light, brownie-like texture.
• Chop a white chocolate bar into chunks instead of using chips for bigger, gooier pools.
• Sift the cocoa if it’s lumpy so it blends in evenly and you avoid bitter pockets.

Variations

• Swap the white chocolate for a mix of milk and dark chunks for triple-chocolate cookies.
• Add chopped macadamia nuts to play off the white chocolate.
• Press a few extra chunks onto each dough ball before baking for a bakery-style look.