Grammy's Chocolate Cookies

I’ve fallen down on my responsibilities. I was passed the torch (or more literally, the flour) of keeping my coworkers well fed with baked goods when Kiesha left us for New York. (She passed on about 5 different kinds of flour to me on her last day. It was a good 15lbs worth of stuff.) That was about a month ago, and I have yet to bring in a single thing for them. For months, my fellow coworkers had become accustomed to having sweet treats nearly every week as Kiesha (52 Weeks of Baking) baked her way through the year, but in her absence, they’ve been deprived. I’m failing miserably. It’s not that I haven’t been baking! I have! It’s just been for everyone else—friends, family, Boyfriend’s coworkers. But nothing for my own. It’s time to change that. I woke up this morning with the urge to bake, so today, fellow employees, you get goodies.

I didn’t have a whole lot of time to put together my creation, so I went straight for Martha’s Cookie Book. I have about 100 pages marked to try, but I always come back to Grammy’s Chocolate Cookies. They’re just so good. I debated whether to make them again or try something new, but then I realized, I’m not sure I’ve ever shared them with my coworkers, and I know I haven’t shared them with you, so they practically are brand new! Grammy’s it is! I just wonder who Grammy is. Can she adopt me?

Halfway through making them, I noticed they’re a lot like the Snickerdoodles I just made. But they’re so tasty, I don’t even mind having 2 very similar cookies in a row. Normally I would follow the recipe directions and flatten the dough, although mine is usually more of a rectangle than a disk shape, wrap it in plastic wrap, then chill it for an hour before slicing it into 1 inch cubes to roll, but like I said, not a whole lot of time. So I just chilled the dough in the mixing bowl with a piece of plastic wrap pressed down on top for about a half an hour, and used my cookie scoop to measure it out. It made slightly smaller cookies, but not a terribly big difference overall. Also, in the past when I’ve made them, I used sanding sugar to coat the cookies. However, today I didn’t check my supplies before I started, so when I went to roll the dough into balls, I found I wouldn’t have enough for all the cookies, so I used granulated sugar instead. I miss the crunch the sanding sugar gives the cookies, but taste-wise, there’s nothing different.

These cookies are rich, chewy, chocolately treats. They're so soft, they just melt in your mouth. It’s almost impossible to have just one. It’s a good thing I won’t have them in my house very long between baking and sharing, because I can’t help but grab a handful every time I see them. Before I realize it, I’ve eaten half the batch! But not today. These are for my friends at work. So for the first time ever, I will show some restraint, and share these treasures instead of eating them all. Okay, maybe I’ll save just a few for myself… But that first one I already ate doesn’t count.

And a side note to self: I’m apparently not the greatest multi-tasker. Baking while writing a blog post and talking on the phone is not the best idea. One batch of cookies got overcooked by who knows how many minutes because I never reset the timer after rotating halfway, and then somehow assumed I’d already removed the cookies from the oven even though I never got up off the couch… They’re only slightly crunchy… Then as I’m putting the next batch in, my cell phone almost ended up in the oven with the cookies. Try explaining that one to the phone company. And then once again, forgot to reset the timer. It’ll be a miracle if these cookies actually make it to work after all!

P.S.- I finally got about 2 1/2 dozen to work in one piece. Well, mostly one piece. Some of them broke on the journey.. But everyone enjoyed them, so that's what really counts!

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Grammy's Chocolate Cookies
From Martha Stewart's Cookies
Makes about 3 1/2 dozen



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

1. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl.
2. In bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla, and beat to combine. Reduce speed to low and gradually add in flour mixture; beat to combine. Turn out dough onto clean work surface and form dough into a flattened disk, wrap with plastic wrap, and chill until firm, about 1 hour.
3. Preheat oven to 350F. Shape dough into 1 1/4-inch balls. Roll each in sugar. Place on baking sheets lined with parchment paper, about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake until set, 10 to 12 minutes, rotating halfway through. Remove from the oven and place sheets on a rack to cool for 5 minutes. Transfer cookies from baking sheet to wire rack to cool completely.