Grammy's Chocolate Cookies

Last week I posted about finding the holy grail of sugar cookies and today I'm posting the holy grail of chocolate cookies. And while the former came from my husband's grammy (who was not a grammy at all, as she was called mamaw) this chocolate cookie recipe comes from the grammy of Anne Feldman, a grand prize winner of Martha Stewart's Cookie of the Week contest.

I just love how these cookies are so chewy and soft. They're definitely a good thing (sorry, I couldn't resist).

Grammy's Chocolate Cookies (from Martha Stewart.com)

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup Dutch cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups (2 sticks plus 4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar, plus more for dipping
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1.Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

2.In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, 2 cups sugar, and eggs on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add vanilla, and mix to combine. Gradually add dry ingredients, and combine with mixer on low speed. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, and chill until dough is firm, about 1 hour.

3.Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with Silpat baking mats. Roll dough into 1-inch balls. Dip top of each ball into sugar. Place on prepared baking sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake until set, about 8 minutes. Cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

This is the original recipe but I did make a few changes. First, I like salted butter. A lot. So I used that instead of unsalted. Secondly, when you've got a hankerin' for cookies, chilling dough is torture so I skipped that step and the cookies still turned out great. Thirdly, Silpat? Nope. Fourthly (sorry Grammy), I used a cookie scoop and didn't bother rolling them in sugar.