0 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) butter,
at room temperature, plus extra for greasing the baking sheets
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons brown
sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1
cup flour
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons standard cocoa powder
1/2
teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt for
sprinkling
About 1 1/2 quarts premium ice cream, such as vanilla or
chocolate
1. In the bowl of a stand mixture using the paddle
attachment, or in a large bowl using a hand mixer, beat the butter, one-half cup
sugar and the brown sugar at medium speed until light, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the
egg and mix well to incorporate. Add the vanilla and mix until thoroughly
combined.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together the salt, flour,
cocoa powder and baking soda. Mix the dry ingredients into the butter mixture,
one-half at a time, until thoroughly combined, scraping down the sides of the
bowl as needed. Form the dough into a disc, wrap with plastic wrap and chill for
2 hours or longer.
3. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the
remaining one-third cup of sugar in a small bowl.
4. Shape the
dough into 1-inch balls. If the dough starts to become sticky, return it to
the refrigerator to chill briefly. Roll the cookies in the sugar. Lightly press
down on the balls to flatten them to one-half inch. Place 5 to 6 small grains of
sea salt on half the cookies (these will be the tops of the sandwiches), spacing
the salt crystals out on top of the balls as much as possible.
5.
Place the balls 2 inches apart on lightly buttered baking sheets. Bake
until the surface puffs and begins to deflate, and the cookies darken slightly,
10 to 12 minutes. Rotate the pan halfway through for even baking. Cool the
cookies for 1 minute on the baking sheet, then transfer the cookies from the
sheet to a wire rack to cool.
6. To assemble, spread a generous
one-fourth cup ice cream (slightly softened) over a bottom cookie, and carefully
cover with a top cookie containing the salt crystals. Press firmly but gently to
avoid breaking the cookies. Run a knife or offset spatula around the edges to
clean up any ice cream hanging over the edge. Freeze for at least 1 hour to firm
the ice cream. Repeat with all the cookies.
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I finally figured out ... the only reason to
be alive is to enjoy it.
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