Very Chocolate Cookies

Recipes by Clotilde Dusoulier, drawn from the book Chocolate & Zucchini

• Ready In: 30 mins
• Yields: 48 bite-size cookies

Ingredients

• 1⁄3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1⁄3 cup  wholewheat flour
• 1⁄4 cup cocoa powder
• 1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
• 5  ounces chocolate
• 1⁄4 cup  cacao, nibs
• 1⁄2 cup butter
• 1⁄2 cup sugar
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1  teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flours, cocoa powder, and baking soda. Set aside.
2. Melt half of the chocolate (2 1/2 ounces) in a double boiler or in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring from time to time to dissolve. Set aside. Chop the remaining 2 1/2 ounces chocolate into chip-size bits, combine with the cacao nibs, and set aside.
3. Put the butter in a food processor and process until creamy (you can also do this in a medium mixing bowl with a sturdy spatula). Add the sugar, salt, and vanilla, and mix until combined. Add the melted chocolate and mix again.
4. Add the reserved flour mixture and mix until just combined. Transfer the dough to the bowl you used for the flour mix: the next stage needs to be done by hand. Fold the chopped chocolate and cacao nibs into the dough, working with a wooden spoon and/or your hands. The dough will be quite thick: don't overmix it.
5. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and cill for 20 minutes. (You can chill it for up to a day - the dough will be a bit harder, but if will soften as you work with it. You can also wrap it tightly and freeze it for up to a month.).
6. Preheat the oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove the dough from the fridge. Carve out rounded teaspoons of dough, shape them into slighly flattened balls with the tips of your fingers, and place them on the prepared baking sheet, seprating them by 1/2 inch. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the tops are just set: the cookies will still be a little soft, but they will harden as they cool. Transfer the sheet of parchment paper cautiously to a rack and let cool completely. The cookies will keep for 4 days in an airtight container at room temperature, or they can be frozen for up to a month.