Chocolate Fleur de Sel Cookies

First, I would not consider myself a baker. I do not measure therefore baking is not my speciality. I typically add a little of this and a little of that when it comes to cooking that is okay. My problem is that I like the results of baking a lot more than cooking. I have a sweet tooth and I have a special love for cookie dough. Anyways, yesterday I was motivated to make some chocolate fleur de sel cookies. A friend had made some for me and I just had to try them for myself. And....they turned out to be a success! This is a cookie that will satisfy one of those salty/sweet cravings and is not for the faint of heart.

I used a recipe from Pierre Herme, a famous French pastry chef. Check out what he has to offer here. I went to one of his shops in Paris and the stuff he makes looks too pretty to eat. You can buy them online for $24.

Ingredients

1 1/3 c all-purpose flour

1/3 c unsweetened cocoa powder

1 t baking soda

11 T (5.5 oz) unsalted butter, softened to room temp

½ c packed light brown sugar

¼ c granulated sugar

1 ¼ t fleur de sel (fine white sea salt)

½ t pure vanilla extract

5 oz dark chocolate, very finely chopped

Directions

Sift flour, cocoa powder and baking soda, whisk to combine. In the bowl of an electric mixer on medium, beat the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, salt and vanilla, periodically scraping the bowl. DO NOT over mix, you don’t want to incorporate too much air. Using a rubber spatula, scrape the bottom and sides of the mixing bowl. On low speed add the flour mixture and mix just until it disappears. Mix in the finely chopped chocolate, do not over mix.

Turn the dough out onto the table (you may need to lightly dust the table with flour.) Gather into a ball, slice in two and roll each half into a log – you can determine the diameter of your cookies – I like 1.5” diameter. Wrap each log snuggly in plastic wrap and chill until firm, about two hours. Can be chilled overnight or frozen (warm to a firm chill in order to cut)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees f. Line two sheets with parchment or silpat (I have also tried just spray oil and it works fine). Using a sharp knife, cut the dough log crosswise into a ¼” slice and transfer slices to the baking sheet. (Sometimes you may need to reshape your slices if they crumble a bit – this is the indication that your dough is too cold or that the chocolate is not fine enough. But simply press the dough back together.)

Bake oven, preferably one sheet at a time (unless you have convention oven) for about 12 minutes. Do check them if have cut them very thin. The cookies will puff slightly and the surface may crack. Let cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes then loosen from tray to fully cool. Store airtight or freeze.

I will definitely be making these again!