300gchopped dark chocolate(or dark chocolate chips)
sea salt flakes for sprinkling
Instructions
Pre-heat oven to 180°C (convention)/ 160°C (fan-forced/convection). Line 2 large baking sheets with baking paper.
Melt butter in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan on low heat. This will take a few minutes, so make sure you are stirring the butter constantly. Make sure the heat is really low to avoid the butter from browning. (Alternatively, melt butter in a heatproof dish in the microwave at half power for 2 minutes).
In a medium mixing bowl, place the flour, baking powder and salt. Toss gently to combine.
Pour the melted butter in a large bowl. Add the sugar and whisk with a balloon whisk until pale and creamy. Add the eggs and vanilla and whisk briefly until eggs are just combined and mixture is smooth.
Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture. Using a wooden spoon or silicone spatula, mix until just combined. Add the chocolate chips and fold briefly, drawing from bottom to top until the cookie batter is just evenly mixed and no dry flour bits remain. Do not overmix.
If it is a warm day and the dough looks too soft, glossy or sticky; refrigerate it for 5 minutes to slightly firm up the dough.
Using a cookie/ice cream scoop (1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons), drop cookie dough balls on the prepared baking sheet. Make sure they are at least 3 inches apart.
Sprinkle cookie balls with sea salt flakes. Very gently press the top of the cookie balls with your fingers to flatten the top.
Bake in the pre-heated oven for approximately 10-12 minutes (I bake for 12 minutes!). If your oven is smaller, rotate the pan halfway through this baking period to ensure even browning of the cookies.
Remove from the oven. Leave the cookies on the baking sheet for another minute or two and then transfer them onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Store cooled cookies in an air tight container in a cool part of your kitchen for up to 7 days.
Notes
I like to bake the cookies, one sheet at a time (even though my oven is 90cm long and can easily accommodate 2 sheets). This ensures even cooking.If you have a smaller oven, you will need to bake multiple times. Make sure you start your bake with a cool sheet every time.The cookie scoop and press method produces that beautiful crinkle edged cookie shape. If you don't have a cookie scoop, you can roll 2 tablespoons of the dough into a ball, place it on the tray and press to flatten it for each cookie.Spelt flour can be substituted for plain flour or half plain and half spelt flour.I often like to mix up my chocolate bits - 100g milk chocolate and 200g dark chocolate (like in the cookies pictured here). But my favourite is good quality all dark chocolate roughly chopped, so each cookie has different sized chocolate shards. Lindt 70% cocoa or dessert chocolate is a great one for this recipe.Rapadura sugar is unrefined palm sugar. It looks similar to brown sugar, just more rustic. It has a deep caramel flavour. If you can't find rapadura sugar, just substitute with coconut sugar or brown sugar. The addition of granulated sugar introduces a lovely texture to the cookies.Cookie dough can be rolled in parchment paper and then sealed in freezer bags in the freezer for up to two months. Bring frozen dough to room temperature before baking.