Separately, mix flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.
Add "dry" mixture to "wet" mixture in thirds. After each third, beat until well-mixed.
Form into "walnut-sized" balls (2.5 cm / 1 inch) and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake at 375°F (190°C) for 10 minutes. They will spread to about twice the radius.
When they are done, they will still be very soft. Allow to cool on cookie sheets for 2 minutes to avoid smooshing them.
Move to racks to cool more.
Variations:
Double chocolate cookies: Add 1-2 cups (250-500 mL) chocolate chips. I don't recommend white chocolate chips. They look good, but most modern ones are actually "cream chips" that contain no real chocolate (or creme) and don't taste like much of anything.
Peanut butter cookies: Replace the cocoa powder with powdered peanut butter. This gives a much softer cookie than my normal peanut butter cookie recipe. Don't add orange zest.
Notes:
I used to add 3 tsp (15 mL) vanilla extract. I took it out because I couldn't taste the difference.
Originally, I didn't have the orange zest. People tell me they are better with it.
