Perfect chewy chocolate cookies

I like my chocolate cookies chewy: not too soft, not too hard, just moist and chewy, with some resistance when I bite into them.  To get them the consistency I crave plus maintain the crackled top, I had to mess around with the fat content and the leavening.  I think these are just about perfect, since I started with the recipe for the vanilla cookies that I shared the other day and tinkered from there:


Chewy Chocolate Cookies

2 c +2 T flour
3/4 c cocoa
1 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
10 T butter
6 T sour cream
2 c sugar
4 T oil
2 eggs
2 t vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 with the rack in the middle.  In a medium bowl, stir together the flour through the salt.  In a glass measuring cup, melt the butter.  In a large bowl, mix the sour cream and sugar well.  Pour the melted butter over and beat well.  Add the oil, eggs, and vanilla, incorporating each slowly.  Stir in the flour mixture by hand and refrigerate the dough for at least an hour.

Line sheets with parchment and plan on 8 cookies on each tray.  Dip out 2T size portions of dough and roll them in sugar.  Place on sheets and pat them out to about 3".  Sprinkle tops with additional sugar.  Bake one tray at a time for 12 to 13 minutes, turning tray after 6 minutes.  After removing from the oven, allow cookies to sit on baking sheet for 5 more minutes and then transfer them to a cooling rack.