Salted Chocolate Sparkle Cookies
Makes 3 dozen tiny cookies
Adapted liberally from The Art of the Cookie
3.5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped (or about 1/2 cup [90 grams] good quality chocolate chips)
1 1/4 cup (156 grams) flour
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (35 grams) unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon (2 grams) baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons (56 grams) butter, room temperature
1/2 cup (100 grams) brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla
about 1/4 cup coarse sugar for rolling
flaky salt for finishing
Melt the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water, stirring occasionally until smooth, then remove from heat and set aside. While the chocolate melts, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.
Beat the butter and brown sugar together in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add the egg and the vanilla and beat until smooth. Add the melted chocolate and mix until combined then add the flour mixture all at once and stir until all the flour is incorporated. The dough will be quite stiff.
Divide the dough into two equal portions and shape each into a log roughly 1 1/2-inches in diameter. Wrap each log in parchment paper and twist the ends to seal. Refrigerate for at least an hour or up to several days. If you are pressed for time (or perhaps are like me and can not wait) you should be able to get away with chilling the dough in the freezer for about 30 minutes.
When you are ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with parchment.
Working one log at a time, remove the parchment. If the dough has lost any of its roundness while chilling, gently roll the dough back and forth on the countertop to reshape. Sprinkle a few tablespoons of coarse sugar on the parchment and roll to completely cover the log with sugar. Slice into 1/2-inch rounds, place on the prepared sheet and sprinkle each cookie with a pinch of flaky salt. Repeat with the remaining log.
Bake for 6 minutes or until the top is barely set and just beginning to crack. Be sure to watch the cookies carefully as they will go from perfectly soft to perfectly crispy quite fast.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an air-tight container at room temperature.