Salted Chocolate Chocolate Cookies

Remember those compost cookies I posted on not long ago? Well, since I made them the first time (and loved them) I messed with the recipe a little bit to make a yummy chocolate version. I swapped out some of the flour for cocoa powder, used chocolate chips for all of the candy component (although white chocolate chips would be great!), and used baked potato chips and pretzel sticks for the salty elements. The result was a fabulous salty-sweet chocolate combo that really works with these buttery cookies. So go for your own spin on these treats - it's bound to be successful if you don't change the ratio of wet to dry.

I also tried freezing the dough in scooped-out portions for a week; they took a little longer to bake when I put them directly into the oven, but turned out just fine.

Here's my salted chocolate version:

1 C unsalted butter
1 C granulated sugar
3/4 C light brown sugar
1 T corn syrup (optional, if used will make the batter shiner)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 1/2 C all purpose flour
1/4 C Dutch process cocoa powder
2 tsps baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsps Kosher salt
1 1/2 C chocolate candies (chocolate chips, M&Ms, etc.)
1 1/2 C salty snack foods (crushed potato chips, pretzels, etc.)

1. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. Cream the butter, sugars, and corn syrup together in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment (the whip attachment or a hand mixer would whip in too much air). Beat them at medium-high speed for 2-3 minutes until fluffy and pale yellow. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber scraper.
3. At a lower speed, add the eggs and vanilla. Beat at a medium-high speed for 10 minutes. The mixture will become pale in color and almost double in size.
4. After the 10 minutes, at a low speed add the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, mixing just for 45-60 seconds until all the dry ingredients are just incorporated.
5. Add your chocolate candies for 30-45 seconds, followed by your salty snacks, all at a low speed. Do not overmix, just mix until these ingredients are evenly distributed in the batter.
6. Portion the dough onto the cookie sheets (as you can see, they will run together if you put 12 on a pan!). Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of one hour, maximum 1 week.
7. Heat the oven to 400 degrees. When the oven is ready, remove one cookie sheet at a time from the refrigerator and bake for 9 to 11 minutes. Check them at 9 minutes to see if the middle of the cookie is browned to the same color as the edge of the cookie; if the middle is still pale and doughy, leave in the oven for the additional minutes.
8. Cool the cookies completely on the pan. Store in air-tight containers.