Double chocolate cookies

Instructions

1. Step 1

   Put 115 g unsalted butter and 100 g chopped dark chocolate in a heatproof bowl, set it over a pot of barely simmering water on low heat and stir until completely melted. Melting over a water bath keeps the chocolate from scorching or seizing. The mixture is ready when it's glossy and smooth with no bits of chocolate left and feels just warm when you lift the bowl off.

   Low heat.

   Mark step 1 as done

2. Step 2

   Add 150 g brown sugar and 50 g granulated sugar to the chocolate and whisk vigorously for about a minute. Whisking hard dissolves some of the sugar, and that dissolved sugar is what creates the shiny, beautifully cracked top. The mixture is ready when it's thick and has turned a shade lighter brown.

   Mark step 2 as done

3. Step 3

   Add 50 g eggs along with 5 g vanilla extract and keep whisking for about another minute. The eggs bind everything together and give the centers their chewiness. Stop when the mixture looks like a thick, glossy chocolate sauce and falls from the whisk in ribbons.

   Mark step 3 as done

4. Step 4

   Sift 160 g all-purpose flour, 40 g cocoa powder, 4 g baking soda and 3 g salt together into the bowl, then fold gently with a spatula. Cocoa powder clumps easily, so sifting keeps the cookies from having pockets of dry powder. The dough is ready when there are almost no streaks of flour left, though it doesn't need to be perfectly smooth yet.

   Mark step 4 as done

5. Step 5

   Tip in 120 g chocolate chips and mix a few more turns so they're spread evenly through the dough. Combining this with the flour mixing means you don't overwork the dough and make the cookies tough. The dough is ready when it's soft, as thick as a dense brownie batter and dotted evenly with chocolate chips.

   Mark step 5 as done

6. Step 6

   Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about thirty minutes. With so much melted chocolate the dough is very soft, and chilling firms it up so you can scoop neat balls. It's ready when it's firm enough to roll into balls without sticking to your hands.

   Suggested time: about 30 minutes.

   Mark step 6 as done

7. Step 7

   Heat the oven to 175°C, divide the dough into balls the size of a ping-pong ball and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet about five centimeters apart. The dough spreads as it bakes, so leave plenty of room. You can press a few extra chocolate chips onto each ball so the finished cookies look even more tempting.

   Mark step 7 as done

8. Step 8

   Bake one sheet at a time on the middle rack at 175°C for 10 to 12 minutes. Chocolate cookies are hard to judge by color, so look at the surface to tell when they're done and avoid overbaking them dry. They're ready when the tops are cracked and set and the edges are firm but the centers still feel slightly soft to a light touch.

   Bake at 175°C for about 10 to 12 minutes.

   Mark step 8 as done

9. Step 9

   Leave the cookies on the sheet for about ten minutes, then move them to a rack to cool. The soft centers keep cooking from the heat of the sheet and set into a chewy middle. They're ready when you can lift one without it breaking in half and the edges have crisped up.

   Suggested time: about 10 minutes.

   Mark step 9 as done