[Cookie 038] Grammy's Chocolate Cookies

Hello, friends, let's pick up where we left off, shall we? If you remember correctly, Martha left me a little down in the dumps after her last recipe--the Chocolate-Ginger Brownies. Though several of you were not as dismayed as I was in their end result, I assure you all that these cookies here are far, far superior. A capital chocolate cookie, if there ever was one. Basic, but perfect. Grammy's Chocolate Cookies (please, hold the laughter regarding the corny name) are yet again another one of Martha's excellent, simple, traditional cookies.

So, I began this recipe almost immediately after baking the previous batch of "theoretical brownies," as I shall now refer to them because in theory they should have been tasty. Anyway, the reason I baked these right afterward was because I needed to bring a little dessert to a dinner party I was attending, and I just could not bring myself to bring the brownies (trust me, you didn't taste them...they were yucky). Needless to say, I was in a little bit of a tizz and quite frustrated, and so it was only natural that I dump the huge metal canister that we keep about 10 pounds of sugar in on top of the 2 eggs that I was going to use for the next recipe. Sugar, everywhere. Eggs, everywhere. Disaster, everywhere.

Here's a lovely picture of my dad consoling me as we clean up the huge mess. My brother was so kind to photograph me in the midst of my freak out session (sarcasm), but I don't think he really captured how pissed off I was that he was photographing my tantrum.

So, I bet you just loved seeing that totally irrelevant picture, right? Moving on. Fortunately, after the mess was dealt with, the recipe went off without a hitch! Creamed the butter and eggs, check. Added the chocolate, check. Ate lots of raw dough, check and check.

The completed dough is pretty easy to work with (as you can see in the photo, it comes together quite....easily....on the paddle of the KitchenAid). And then, you roll the dough into balls, and roll them in sanding sugar, and bake. But wait, let me introduce you to my new best friend(s) in the kitchen. COOKIE SCOOPS, OMGZ!1

Look at that baby. Beautiful. Handy. Makes all my cookies the same size, and that's really all I want in life. Those who know me, know that I like things to be just so. Some call this little tick OCD, but I call it care and precision. Plus, it's just so easy to scoop the dough and plunk it onto the Silpat (which now has to share the title of BFF in the kitchen). No messiness of using 2 spoons to awkwardly form the dough into balls. God, I am so in love.

Okay, right. So we scooped the dough with the Super Scooper, which I shall call this wonder tool, and you have every right to tease the hell out of me for calling it this. End results of the cookies? Perfectly soft, chocolatey, and crispy on the outside. Plus, they were all perfect circles and looked just like the photo in the book! Success! Make this cookie!

Grammy's Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup Dutch cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups (2 sticks plus 4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 cups sugar, plus more for dipping
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, 2 cups sugar, and eggs on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add vanilla, and mix to combine. Gradually add dry ingredients, and combine with mixer on low speed. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, and chill until dough is firm, about 1 hour.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with Silpat baking mats. Roll dough into 1-inch balls. Roll each ball into sugar. Place on prepared baking sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake until set, about 8 minutes. Cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

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{End Results}
Baking Difficultly: 1/5
Ingredient Accessibility: 4.5/5 (Sanding sugar being the only thing you might need to look for)
Tastiness: 4/5
Attractiveness: 4/5 (Thanks to the cookie scoop)
Is it worth it?: Yep! Easy, tasty, and everyone will like them!

{Pairings}
Drink: Milk. Duh.

Song: I Want a Little Sugar in My Bowl -- Nina Simone
Activity: Making cookie towers with your perfectly shaped cookies!