Ultimate Chocolate Sugar Cookies

I'm not joking - these are the ultimate chocolate sugar cookies. They're buttery, crisp on the outside, slightly chewy on the inside, and they deliver a truly decadent chocolate experience. I mean, why stop at a "just OK chocolate experience"? The chocolate should melt on your tongue. Let's face it, a good cookie should make you weak in the knees. That said, you better sit down for these.

And get this - you probably have all the ingredients in your pantry and fridge right now!

About chilling the dough: Once you catch a whiff of this fudgy dough, you'll want to bake the cookies right away. Resist the temptation. The dough must chill for at least 1 hour (and up to 2 days). Why? Because you want the cut-out cookies cold and firm when they hit the oven, so they hold their shape and don't spread out as they bake.

Time-saving trick: You know how most recipes tell you to shape buttery dough into a disk before chilling? That's fine, but after the disk is cold, it's nearly impossible to roll out! You need all your muscle just to make a dent. In the recipe below, you roll the dough out before chilling. Don't worry about it sticking to your counter - it's rolled between 2 pieces of parchment paper and slid onto a baking sheet before heading into the fridge. Oh, and there's another benefit - the rolled out dough chills in a fraction of the time (when compared to a thick disk).

About the cookie cutters: I used heart-shaped cutters for Valentine's Day cookies, but any shape works. My heart-cutters are about 3-inches wide, and I got 24 cookies out of this dough. If you use smaller cutters, you'll get more cookies. Or, you could use bigger cutters and make like 2 cookies. Two people would be very happy.

Ultimate Chocolate Sugar Cookies

3/4 cup unsalted butter (12 tablespoons), softened to room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (regular or dutch process)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt

In a large mixing bowl fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Add the sugar and beat until fluffy and pale. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt (don't skip this step, sifting removes clumps and aerates the dry ingredients). While mixing on low speed, gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Mix until blended (no lumps).
Transfer the dough to a large sheet of parchment paper and shape into a flattened ball (yes, like a disk, but we're not keeping this shape!). Cover with another piece of parchment paper and roll out until the dough is about 1/4-inch thick. Transfer the dough (still sandwiched between the 2 pieces of parchment paper) to a baking sheet and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (and up to 2 days). Don't skip this step - chilling gets the dough nice and firm, and prevents the cookies from spreading when they bake.
Once the cookies are chilled, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line 2 to 3 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats (the amount of baking sheets you need will depend on how big/small you cut your cookies).
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and, using a cookie cutter, cut into desired shapes (re-rolls scraps to use up the dough, but work quickly to keep the dough cold).
Transfer the cookies to the prepared pans and bake for 10 minutes (cookies will still seem soft).
Cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely (simply slide the parchment paper or mat onto the wire rack).

Makes 2 dozen 3-inch cookies