Black Cocoa Cookies
For a while, I was referring to these as Oreo drop cookies because they taste like an Oreo but in a drop cookie form. I know, super creative. But you may be wondering, how exactly do they taste like Oreos? Well, it all comes down to one special ingredient - black cocoa powder. Black cocoa powder derives its name, in yet another uncreative way, simply from its color. Compared to other types of cocoa powder (mainly natural and Dutch-processed) it has an incredibly dark, almost black hue to it. That color, as well as its distinct flavor, are due to the cocoa powder being treated with an alkalizing agent. While natural cocoa powder is not treated with any alkali and therefore retains its lighter color and sharper, more acidic chocolate flavor and Dutch-processed is lightly treated with alkali, thus reducing the acidity, creating a smoother chocolate flavor and richer color, black cocoa is treated with even more alkali. This gives it that trademark black color and further softens the flavor of the chocolate.
When describing the flavor of black cocoa to anyone, I always immediately mention Oreos. I feel like everyone has had an Oreo and it really is the most famous, ubiquitous product we have that uses this specific type of cocoa powder. Despite its deep, dark color, it actually imparts a very mild, even muted, chocolate flavor. Even though Oreos are a chocolate sandwich cookie, they don’t give you that rich, chocolatey flavor.
And in playing around with black cocoa powder, I wanted to make something that highlighted both that distinct flavor and color. As an homage to the original Oreos, these cookies include white chocolate. Even if you don’t really care for white chocolate, I think its presence is very pleasant here. I also included a little bit of bittersweet chocolate because I can’t help myself and wanted a touch of the classic chocolate flavor!
While black cocoa powder has been around for a while, it has predominantly been in commercial and professional baking settings, and has only become more easily available for everyone to purchase in recent years. That being said, it isn’t yet an ingredient that can be picked up at any super market, so the easiest place to find it is online. I know King Arthur sells a black cocoa powder and there are definitely other brands that can be found as well. If you live in an area with a culinary or baking speciality store, there’s a good chance they’ll have some available as well.
All of that being said, if you don’t want to go through the hassle and expense of purchasing a speciality ingredient, that’s totally fine! And I get it. Just swap out the black cocoa for a dutch-processed cocoa. While you won’t get the exact flavor that I went on about for far too long, they will still be a delicious chocolate cookie.
But if you do take the plunge and are looking for ways to use it up in other recipes, I would play around by swapping out 1/3 of the called for cocoa powder for black cocoa in your favorite chocolate cake, cupcake, or brownie recipes. The color will turn out deeper and more rich, and there will be another layer to the chocolate flavor.
Makes: 14 cookies
Active time: 15 minutes
Total time: 2 hours 30 minutes up to 24 hours
Ingredients
203g (1 1/2 cup) all purpose flour
50g (1/2 cup) black cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
170g (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
158g (3/4 cup) brown sugar, packed
55g (1/4 cup) granulated sugar
2 eggs, large
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4oz white chocolate, roughly chopped
2oz bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped
flaky sea salt, optional
Method
In a medium bowl, scale 203g (1 ½ cups) flour, 50g (½ cup) black cocoa powder, ¾ teaspoon baking soda, and ½ teaspoon salt. Whisk to combine and set aside.
Roughly chop 4 oz white chocolate and 2 oz dark chocolate and set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the 170g (1 stick + 4 tablespoons) butter, 158g (¾ cups) brown sugar, and 55g (¼ cup) granulated sugar with the paddle attachment on medium until light in color and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
Add the 2 eggs one at a time, waiting until the first in fully mixed before adding the second. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl and paddle between each egg as well. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla along with the second egg.
Add the dry ingredients into the mixing bowl and mix on low until it is about 75% incorporated.
Add in the chopped chocolate and continue mixing until just combined. Remove the bowl and give the dough a stir and scrape down the sides and bottom to make sure everything is well incorporated.
Scoop the dough with a 3 tablespoon cookie scoop onto a small sheet tray. No need to space apart, as this is just while they chill in the fridge for a bit. Cover the tray with plastic wrap and let it chill in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours, but up to 24 hours.
Preheat the oven to 350F. Prepare two large sheet trays with parchment paper and arrange the chilled cookie dough scoops 2 inches apart on each tray. No need to round or squish down the scoops, as they will spread nicely while baking. Lightly sprinkle each scoop with some flaky salt.
Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes. Chocolate dough can be very hard to tell when it is done, since you do not have the visual queue of browning. To check for doneness, lightly touch the edges of the cookies. They should feel just set and firm, while the center of the cookie should still be a little soft. The cookies will continue to bake and set up on the trays when they are out of the oven.
Let cookies cool on the trays for about 5 minutes, then move to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
Store cookies at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Unbaked dough can be scooped and frozen for up to 3 months. Bake directly from frozen, just add a couple extra minutes to the bake time.