.75 oz best quality cocoa powder, preferably Dutch process
1cuprolled or steel cut oats, whirred to dust in a food processor or blender
½teaspoonbaking powder
½teaspoonbaking soda
1teaspoonespresso powder
8ozunsalted butter, slightly softened
½cuppacked dark brown sugar
½cupgranulated sugar
½teaspoonfine sea salt, very gently rounded
½teaspoonvanilla
¼cupGrade B maple syrup
1large egg
large handful coarsely chopped cashews
large handful broken salted pretzels
3ozbittersweet chocolate, cut into mix-in sized pieces
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350F. Arrange racks towards the bottom and middle of the oven.
Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, oats, baking powder, baking soda and espresso powder. Set aside.
Cream together the butter, brown sugar, sugar and sea salt until smooth--no light and fluffy here, folks.
Cream in the vanilla and maple syrup and mix until smooth.
Add the egg and mix until smooth.
On low speed, mix in the reserved flour mixture.
With clean hands, mix in your mix-ins. You can use a spatula if you prefer, but the dough is heavy and sticky.
Optional Step: Cover dough and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours. This allows the dough to "ripen" and the flavors to marry. It's not necessary, but it does make the cookies taste great.
Portion onto Silpat- or parchment-lined baking sheets.
Flatten each cookie slightly, and bake for 8 minutes, then rotate the pans on the racks. Bake for another 7-8 minutes until well-spread and firm on the edges.
Take the cookies out of the oven and let firm up on the sheets for 2-3 minutes before transferring to racks to cool completely.
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. For longer storage, place in zip-top freezer bags, suck out the air, and freeze for up to a month.
Notes
I chopped the chocolate with a serrated knife. This gave me larger chunks and a bunch of chocolate dust, all of which I put in the dough. The dust melts into the dough and the chunks act like chips. I highly recommend this. Dip your cookie disher in water between scoops. The dough is a bit sticky, and the water helps keep it from sticking in the disher. If you use rolled oats, whirring them to dust isn't really necessary. I did it to mine because all I had was steel cut oats. But, if you've never added oatmeal dust to your cookies, you really should try it--it is delightful. Leave half of the oats whole and whir the other half and experience the magic for yourself. Baking time is approximate, depending on your oven and how large you make your cookies. Mine baked for about 18 minutes. Smaller cookies may be done in as few as 10 minutes, so keep an eye on them.