salted double dark chocolate cookies

These double chocolate cookies are rich, super chocolatey, and perfectly chewy. They’re finished with big flakes of salt for a delicious crunch and balance to the bittersweet cocoa. 

I love to scour cookbooks and the internet for recipes like this: simple and really, really good. Over the years, I have gathered hundreds of scraps of paper, notes and Evernote pages devoted to scribbled down recipes. They’re filled with names of recipes, cookbooks, chefs and blogs that have been on my radar to try and hopefully share.

There are so many fantastic recipes in the world, a huge part of the cooking struggle is finding a great one in the plethora of the average.

And these salted double dark chocolate cookies are so good, I’m upset I didn’t get to them sooner. The cookies have a deep, dark, addictively rich flavor– especially if you use the best cocoa powder in the world.

This recipe recommends refrigerating the dough for 24- 36 hours. This helps the dough fully hydrate, relax and chill for the most uniformly chewy- crispy texture. But to be honest, I usually skip it. I don’t notice enough of a difference to wait a full day to bake a batch of these chocolatey cookies. That being said, I do recommend scooping the dough and popping it in the freezer while the oven preheats. This will help to lessen the spread while baking.

do cookies need salt?

Yes. In fact, all desserts need salt. Even just a small amount enhances the flavor and makes the chocolate taste so much more intense and rich.

I love to go a step further and sprinkle these dark chocolate cookies with flaky salt. The delicate sea salt highlights the chocolate flavor and give these cookies an irresistible edge.

what kind of salt do you use for cookies?

The best kind of salt to use for baking is fine grained table salt. It disperses most evenly throughout the dough. That being said, I tend to use coarse kosher salt for convenience– it’s readily available and easy. Either way, these double chocolate cookies always turn out fantastic.

This recipe is written using kosher salt, so reduce the amount to a total of 1/2 tsp if you use table salt.

And for those gorgeous salt flakes on top? There’s no better option than Maldon sea salt!

how do you know when dark chocolate cookies are done?

The easiest way to tell when these double dark chocolate cookies are done is the finger test. Carefully touch the edge of a cookie with your finger. The edge should be firm and it will remain intact when the cookies are done. If the edge falls in or indents, the cookies need a little more time. The centers will be soft.

Though it’s hard to tell with dark chocolate cookie dough, you can also notice a slight darkening on the edge of the cookies if you look closely enough.

I love my cookies to be chewy, so I tend to err on the side of less time in the oven. You can leave them in for a few extra minutes if you want them to be crunchier. Just be sure to get them out before they burn!

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more tips on how to make this double chocolate cookie recipe:

• The better the cocoa powder and chocolate, the better the cookie. Ever since I learned about Cacao Barry Extra Brute cocoa from Stella Parks, I’ve been obsessed with it.
  • The flavor is so deep and rich, it makes an incredible difference in the final cookies. The cocoa powder is pricey, but I figure if I’m going to make and eat cookies, they might as well be as delicious as possible.
• I love the 72% cacao dark chocolate “pound plus bar” from Trader Joe’s, but any good dark chocolate will work great.
• Chop the chocolate as small or as large as you’d like. I love big chunks of chocolate in my cookies, chopped about 1/2-inch large. Just ,ake sure the chocolate pieces aren’t larger than the amount of dough you’re using (or if using a cookie scoop, make sure they fit inside). 
• If you rest the dough overnight, pre-scoop and chill it on the baking sheet. It’s not fun to hack out scoops of rock hard cookie dough, and warming it up defeats the purpose of chilling it overnight.
• If you bake these cookies the day of, make sure to pop the baking sheet of scooped dough into the freezer for 15 minutes before baking.
• I make these cookies in all sizes, but prefer the 3 1/2 tbsp size (using scoop size 16), which yields about 14 cookies.

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