Chocolate chip cookies wrapped in a rich chocolate border with a sparkling crackle of raw sugar around the outside. They're crispy enough to snap in half, but chewy enough that your mouth won't dry out eating them.
Prep Time 45 minutesmins
Cook Time 15 minutesmins
Chilling Time 2 hourshrs
Total Time 2 hourshrs56 minutesmins
Servings 32cookies
Ingredients
340gramsunsalted butter(room temperature)
283gramspowdered sugar
28gramsbrown sugar
3large eggs(room temperature)
4gramsvanilla bean paste(2 tsp, or vanilla extract)
85gramssemi-sweet or dark chocolate(finely chopped, NOT chocolate chips)
255gramsall-purpose flour
14gramscorn starch(2 TBSP)
for the chocolate dough
85gramsall-purpose flour
42gramscocoa powder
7gramscorn starch(1 TBSP)
½cupturbinado sugar(aka sugar in the raw, for the outside)
Instructions
Mise en place
Combine flour and salt for the base dough in one bowl.Combine flour, corn starch, and chopped chocolate for the chocolate chip dough in another bowl. Combine flour, cocoa powder, and corn starch for the chocolate dough in third bowl.Set the bowls aside until needed.
Make the base dough
Cream room temperature butter and both sugars together in the bowl of a stand mixer on medium speed for about 1-2 minutes until a silky smooth paste forms. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Beat 30 seconds more.
With the mixer running on low-medium speed, add eggs one at a time, letting them fully emulsify in the butter before adding the next one and scraping down the bowl between additions. Add the vanilla bean paste with the final egg. Once the mixture is fully combined, scrape down the bowl and beat 60 seconds more at medium speed. The mixture might look slightly curdled, that's okay.
Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually add flour and salt in batches, mixing just until combined. Do not overmix.
Portion the dough. Remove one-third of the dough to a separate bowl and set aside. You can use a kitchen scale if you want to be precise, but eyeballing is fine. The one-third portion should be around 320g, and the remaining ⅔ portion should be around 643g.
Make the chocolate chip dough
Scrape down the sides of the remaining two-thirds of dough in the mixing bowl. With the mixer running on low, add the flour, corn starch, and chocolate chunks in a few additions. Mix just until combined. Do not overmix.
Line your counter with a sheet of plastic wrap. Scrape all of the dough out of the bowl and onto the plastic. It will be very sticky but get as much of it as you can, especially the chocolate chunks. Use the plastic wrap (and parchment paper using the technique included in the blog post above) to roll the dough into a log about 1½-2" thick. Place it in the fridge to chill for at least 1 hour.
Make the chocolate dough
Transfer the remaining one-third of the dough base back to the mixer bowl. With the mixer running on low, add the flour, cocoa powder, and corn starch mixture. Mix on low-medium speed until combined. You don't want to see any streaks of vanilla dough. Do not overmix.
Line your counter with a sheet of plastic wrap. Scrape the chocolate dough onto the plastic, press it into a ½" thick rectangle, wrap tightly and chill in the fridge until ready to shape.
Assemble, shape, and bake
Remove the log of chocolate chip dough from the fridge. If one side has flattened slightly, roll it back into a log shape. The dough will get sticky as it warms up from the heat of your hands, so use the saran wrap and parchment paper to help shape it if it starts sticking to you.
Roll the chocolate dough into a rectangle ⅛" thick between two sheets of plastic wrap (or parchment paper). How wide and long it needs to be will depend on the size of your cookie dough log.
Peel the plastic off the top of the chocolate dough. Place the chocolate chip cookie dough log in the middle. Use the plastic wrap to lift one side of the chocolate dough and wrap it over the log. Tip the log forward and start peeling the plastic off, letting the log roll forward onto the other half of the chocolate dough. Trim any excess dough and use it to patch any holes if there are places where the chocolate dough doesn't quite reach.
Use the parchment paper technique in the blog post above to shape the dough back into an even log, then roll the log in turbinado sugar, wrap in plastic wrap, and place back in the fridge to chill at least 30 minutes before slicing.
Preheat oven to 325°F. Slice dough into ¼" rounds, rolling the log 90° between slices to keep the round shape. If your kitchen runs hot or the dough is feeling a little warm and sticky, pop the sliced cookies in the fridge on a sheet pan to chill before baking (they'll need an extra minute or two in the oven if you chill them first).
Bake on parchment or silicone lined sheet pan 13-17 minutes. The cookies won't take on color but will expand slightly in the oven. They'll still be slightly soft when they're done and will harden up as they cool. You'll know they're done when they're no longer shiny on top. Let cool on sheet pan 5 mins before transferring to cooling rack to cool completely.
RECIPE NOTES
The bake time is 13-17 minutes because how long the cookies need depends on how thick you cut them and how thick your dough log is. Thinner cookies and a smaller dough log will bake faster than thicker cookies and a thicker dough log will need additional time.
After you divide the plain dough mixture, make the chocolate chip portion of the dough first. That way you don't have to clean out your mixing bowl before making the chocolate dough.