Korova Cookies

1¼ cups flour

⅓ cup cocoa

½ teaspoon baking soda

11 tablespoons sweet butter, room temperature

⅔ cup light brown sugar, packed

¼ cup sugar

¼ teaspoon fine sea salt or Fleur de Sei, french salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

5 ounces bittersweet chocolate chopped small

Sift flour, cocoa and baking soda together. Beat butter in medium mixing bowl until creamed. Add both sugars, salt and vanilla. Beat for another minute or two. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the sifted dry ingredients. Mix only until the dry ingredients are incorporated. The dough will look crumbly, and that's just right. Work the dough as little as possible. Fold in chopped chocolate.

Turn the dough out onto a smooth work surface and squeeze it so that it sticks together in large clumps. Gather the dough into a ball, divide it in half, and working with one half at a time, shape the dough into logs that are about 1½ inches in diameter. Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and chill them for at least 1 hour. Wrapped air tight, the logs can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for one month.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Slice logs into rounds that are ½ inch thick. Don't be upset if the rounds break, just squeeze the broken off bits back onto the cookie.

Bake only one cookie sheet at a time, and bake each sheet for 12 minutes. The cookies will not look like they are done and will not be firm, that's the way they are suppose to look. Place the cookie sheet onto a cooling rack and let the cookies stand until they are cool. Makes about 36 cookies.

Cindy's Tips:

• I usually double this recipe.

• If you can't find chocolate to chop, you can use chocolate chips.

• Anyone who is a chocoholic will love these.