Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Cookies
Submitted by Madeline:D
Dark chocolate sea salt cookies, intensely cocoa-rich slice-and-bake sables studded with bittersweet chocolate and flecked with fleur de sel. Slightly underbaked for a soft, fudgy center and a salty-sweet finish.
YIELD
24 servingsPREP
25 minCOOK
12 minREADY
40 minThese slice-and-bake cookies are for serious dark chocolate lovers. The dough is deeply cocoa-rich, studded with chunks of bittersweet chocolate, and, crucially, flecked with fleur de sel, whose little salty bursts make the chocolate taste even more intense.
This is an icebox cookie, so you shape the dough into logs and chill them firm before slicing into rounds. That makes them make-ahead friendly and gives clean, even cookies straight from the fridge.
The most important step is to underbake them. Pull them at 12 minutes, when they look not-quite-done and feel soft; they firm up as they cool into a tender, almost fudgy cookie. Overbake and you lose that melting texture.
Sandy, rich, salty, and dark, they’re closer to a French sable than a chewy chocolate chip cookie.
Let them cool until just warm, when the chocolate chunks are still a little molten.
Chef Tips
- Chill the logs at least 2 hours so they slice cleanly into neat rounds.
- Use a sharp, thin knife and wipe it between cuts for tidy slices.
- Underbake them; they should look soft at 12 minutes and set as they cool.
- Use good bittersweet chocolate and quality cocoa, since the flavor leans on them.
Variations
- Roll the log edges in extra sugar or flaky salt before slicing.
- Add a little espresso powder to deepen the chocolate.
- Fold in chopped nuts along with the chocolate chunks.
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the Cookies:
Sift the flour, cocoa and baking soda together.
Beat the butter on medium speed until soft and creamy. Add both sugars, the salt and vanilla extract and beat for 2 minutes more.
Add flour mixture until just combined. Mix in chocolate chips.
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 1½ inches in diameter.
Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and refrigerate them for at least 2 hours.
Bake:
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F.
Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.
Working with a sharp thin knife, slice the logs into rounds that are ½ inch thick.
Arrange the rounds on the baking sheets, leaving about one 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.
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