Grammy’s Chocolate Cookies

I make a lot of sugar cookies because everyone in my family loves them. But, I decided to change it up a bit this time and make chocolate sugar cookies. What? I don’t think I have ever had a chocolate sugar cookie. Have you? I’ve had plenty of brownie cookies, but this one is different. It truly is a chocolate flavored sugar cookie.

Grammy’s Chocolate Cookies won grand prize in Martha’s Cookie of the Week Contest. I just love old family recipes, so I decided to give these a try. This is a really easy recipe but I have to say, the results are amazing! These cookies bake up with the very slightest crispness around the edges with a super soft, chewy and fudgy middle. Perfection. The sugar they are rolled in before baking creates a beautiful, enticing sparkly coating covering the whole cookie top. You know they are good when my husband, who doesn’t even like chocolate, had some this afternoon warm from the oven and more for a night-time snack while we watched Walking Dead (amazing show by the way…I don’t know how I am going to wait until fall for the new season!). I just love when I find a perfect recipe like this one. They are so good, I know I will make them again and again until it becomes a family recipe to pass on to my own children. Thanks for the great recipe Grammy!

Grammy’s Chocolate Cookies

Yield: 3 1/2 dozen

2 cups plus 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch processed cocoa powder I used Valrhona for the best flavor and the really dark color

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 cups sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

sanding sugar for rolling I used regular granulated sugar

Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla, and beat to combine. Reduce speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture; beat to combine. Form dough into a flat disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill until dough is firm, about 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment. Roll dough into 1 1/4-inch balls. Roll each ball in the sugar. Place on prepared baking sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake until set, about 10 to 12 minutes, rotating halfway through. Start checking at about 8 minutes. These are dark cookies so it can be hard to gauge when they are done. Pull them out a bit underdone and they will finish cooking on the sheet. Cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Cookies can be stored between layers of parchment in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.

Source: Martha Stewart’s Cookies: The Very Best Treats To Bake And Share