Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

Forget electronics.  I asked for ambidextrous cookie scoops for Chanukah.  And a brown apron in the style I bought over the summer, because it's very comfortable but I don't want to ruin the yellow one.  The scoops came in 1, 2, and 3 Tb sizes.  I prefer small cookies and expect to use the #60 (1 Tb) the most often.  The largest actually got used first, when I realized it was the perfect size for scooping latkes.  It's also good for tamale masa and smaller scoops of ice cream.  The 2 Tb (1 oz) probably won't get used much.  I'm not into large cookies because you don't get to eat as many.

So of course I had to make some kind of scooped cookie the next time I was baking a dessert.  Preppy Kitchen posted these the same week.  I like John's recipe selections, but some of the recipes themselves need a bit of tweaking.  His drop cookies in particular have the flaw of using all butter instead of part margarine or another oil-based fat.  This recipe doesn't have you chilling the dough, but every time he chills a butter-based cookie dough, they end up baking unevenly.  If you are pre-making this to freeze in balls for later, always use margarine instead of butter.  I'm changing it here to margarine only and omitting the salt.  You could use half unsalted butter and half margarine without burning these.

Which brings up another point.  It is very easy to burn a dark cookie.  You can't tell if they're done by color.  It's important to know your oven before making these.  I know not to bake cookies the full amount of time on the bottom rack and rotated these halfway through.  Every oven has its own hot spots, so if you've never made cookies in yours before, experiment with Tollhouse or peanut butter first.  Those will be close enough in consistency and ingredients to give you a rough idea how these will react.

John weighs all his ingredients, which is the proper way to bake, but I got lazy and just did cup measuring for this.  If you're going to do flour by volume, make sure to fluff it first or spoon it into the measuring cup, as flour settles in the bag.

1 C flour
*1/3 C unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 C (1 stick) margarine
1/2 C light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/3 C granulated sugar
1 egg, room temperature
2 tsp vanilla
1 C semisweet chocolate chips (or chips of choice)

1.  Preheat oven to 375º.  Line two baking sheets with parchment or a silpat.

2.  Sift together flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda.  I'm usually not huge on sifting, but cocoa powder tends to clump.  Set aside.

3.  In a stand mixer with the paddle (or electric hand beater), cream together margarine and both sugars until smooth.  Scrape down bowl.  Add egg and vanilla and beat again until light and smooth, 3-5 minutes.  Scrape down bowl and run a few more seconds to make sure everything is mixed.

4.  Add flour mixture to bowl and beat in on low until mostly combined.  Add chips and beat on low until evenly distributed.

5.  Scoop or spoon batter onto lined sheets in 1 Tb mounds two inches apart.  Bake 5 minutes, then switch racks and bake 3 more minutes.

6.  Allow cookies to sit on baking sheets 5 minutes to firm up before transferring to a wire rack.  Cool completely before storing in an airtight container or freezing for longer storage (dough can also be scooped onto parchment and frozen for later baking).

Makes about 2-1/2 dozen

Difficulty rating  π