This is one of those cookies that ticks all the boxes for me: it’s intensely chocolatey, fairly simple to make (with minimal chilling time), and bakes up with the most beautiful shiny, crackly tops. The original recipe comes from Tartine No 3. I make just a few changes — mixing light and dark brown sugars as muscovado is hard for me to source, and adding a little cocoa and espresso powder for even more chocolate punch. The finishing salt really is essential on these guys — it tempers the sweetness and intensity of the chocolate and adds a touch of crunchy texture.

A few notes:

• I find the best way to get those coveted shiny, crackly tops is to bake the cookies as soon as the dough is firm enough to scoop. If you wait too long the dough dries out a bit and the tops aren’t quite as shiny.
• I like to scoop the dough using an OXO 1.5 Tbsp cookie scoop. Once all the dough is portioned, I go back and roll the each until they’re perfectly round. This helps the cookie bake into nice, uniform circles. If any are a little wonky after baking, you can nudge them into shape right when they come out of the oven using a small offset spatula. Or not. They’ll still be delicious.
• When eaten warm, the cookies will be very soft and molten inside. Let them cool and they’ll be a bit more chewy and brownie-like (which is what I prefer). Cookies keep well for a few days in an airtight container.

Brownie Cookies

Makes about 15 cookies / Barely adapted from Tartine No. 3

Ingredients:

• 227 good quality dark (70%) chocolate, chopped (I use Callebaut 70%)
• 30g unsalted butter
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 60g light brown sugar
• 60g dark brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• 1 tsp espresso powder
• 43g whole rye flour
• 6g (1 Tbsp) dutch processed cocoa powder
• Flaky or smoked salt, to finish

Method:

1. Bring a saucepan with an inch of water to a simmer. Combine the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl. Place the bowl on top of the simmering water (making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water) and melt, stirring occasionally. Once melted, remove from water and set aside.
2. Whisk together rye flour and cocoa powder in a small bowl.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the eggs, sugars, baking powder, salt, espresso powder, and vanilla. Turn the mixer on low to combine, then turn the speed up to medium-high and whip until the mixture is thick, foamy, and roughly tripled in volume (about 6 minutes).
4. Turn the mixer speed to low and slowly drizzle in the chocolate-butter mixture, mixing just to combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add the flour mixture and mix just to combine. Use a spatula to scrape up and over a couple times from the bottom to make sure the batter is well-mixed.
5. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for about 20-30 minutes, until the dough is firm enough to scoop but not hard.
6. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
7. Once the dough is sufficiently chilled, use a 1 1/2 Tbsp cookie scoop or spoon to portion the batter into about 15 even balls. Roll each one between your hands to make perfectly round — this will help them bake into lovely, perfect circles. Place the balls about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets and sprinkle with a generous pinch of flaky or smoked salt.
8. Bake one sheet at a time for about 9-11 minutes, until the cookies are puffed and beginning to crack. Cool on the sheets for 5-10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.