Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Chocolate Decadence Cookies

Chocolate Decadence Cookies - made December 17, 2010 from Alice Medrich's Cookies and Brownies (book #27)

ETA: I mistakenly attributed this recipe for Lisa Yockelson's A Country Baking Treasury but I got my recipes mixed up and this is from Alice Medrich's Cookies & Brownies baking book instead.  Sorry, Alice.  Want to know what baked fudge tastes like?  Then make these cookies.  Not only is the flavor pure chocolate but these stayed thick and didn't spread much which is what I look for in a good cookie.

These are super simple to make.  The dough can be made ahead of time, portioned into dough balls and frozen until you're ready to bake them.  Time them in the oven and don't be afraid to underbake them.  Unlike chocolate chip cookies, chocolate cookies actually taste better at room temperature rather than warm from the oven.  That's because you can savor the chocolate taste better.  When it's warm, it's still almost like liquidy dough.  But when cool?  Baked fudge.  And of course, as always, use good chocolate.  It makes a difference.  Once again, I omitted the nuts from this cookie, not just because I don't like nuts in my cookies but also because for a pure chocolate cookie, I didn't want any other flavor getting in the way.  Chocolate is king.


2 large eggs
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups walnuts or pecans, coarsely chopped or left in large pieces
6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

1.     Preheat the oven to 350˚F (unless you’re planning to refrigerate the dough first).  Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven.
2.     Whisk the eggs, sugar, and vanilla in a small bowl to combine thoroughly.  Set the bowl in a larger bowl of hot tap water while preparing the rest of the ingredients.
3.     Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in another small bowl and mix thoroughly together with a whisk or fork.
4.     Melt the chopped 8 ounces of bittersweet chocolate and the butter in the top half of a double boiler over barely simmering water, stirring frequently.  Remove from heat and let cool until chocolate is warm, not hot.  Add the egg mixture to the chocolate, stirring just until thoroughly combined.  Stir in the flour mixture, then the nuts and chocolate chips.
5.     Scoop slightly rounded tablespoons of batter and place them 1 ½” apart on the cookie sheets.  Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the surface of the cookie looks dry and set and the centers are still gooey.

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