1In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together on medium high speed until fluffy and light in color, about 2-3 minutes.
2Add the egg and vanilla extract, and then beat on high speed until combined.
3Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
4In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt together until combined.
5With the mixer running on low speed, slowly pour into the wet ingredients.
6Beat on low until combined and then beat in the chocolate chips.
7Cover dough tightly and chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours and up to 3 days.
8Remove cookie dough from the refrigerator and allow to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes (or 20 minutes if chilled longer than 3 hours).
9Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C).
10Line large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
11Scoop and roll dough into balls, about 1.5 Tablespoons of dough each.
12Roll each ball very lightly in granulated sugar, then generously in the confectioners’ sugar.
13Place 3 inches apart on the baking sheets.
14Bake the cookies for 11-12 minutes or until the edges appear set and the centers still look soft.
15If they aren’t really spreading by minute 9, remove them from the oven and lightly bang the baking sheet on the counter 2-3x.
16Return to the oven to continue baking.
17Cool cookies for 5 minutes on the baking sheet.
18Transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
19Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Ingredients
0.5 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
0.5 cup granulated sugar
0.5 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
1 unit large egg, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
0.5 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
0.125 teaspoon salt
1 cup mini or regular size semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1 cup confectioners’ sugar, for rolling
Equipment
large bowlhandheld or stand mixerpaddle attachmentseparate bowlwhisklarge baking sheetsparchment papersilicone baking matsmedium cookie scoopcooling rack
Tips
Chilling the cookie dough is important because it helps the flavors to develop, prevents spreading, and makes the otherwise sticky cookie dough easy to handle.
If the cookies aren’t really spreading by minute 9, remove them from the oven and lightly bang the baking sheet on the counter 2-3x to help initiate spread.
To prevent powdered sugar from melting, coat cookie dough balls in a little granulated sugar first, then generously in confectioners’ sugar.
Bake cookies on dry days if possible, as humidity can cause confectioners' sugar to melt.
Baked cookies can be frozen in single layers between sheets of parchment paper for up to 3 months.
Unbaked cookie dough balls (not coated in confectioners’ sugar) can be frozen for up to 3 months.