Chocolate Chocolate-Chip Cookies

74 comments - 02.15.2017

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I often get asked when I put pictures of things that I’m baking on social media, “Where can I find that recipe?” or less-delicately, “Recipe…puleeeze!!!” The appetite for recipes is voracious and thankfully, I’ve got hundreds of them here on the blog, as well as in the books I’ve written. I’ve never counted, but I’d venture to say I’ve got nearly a thousand recipes out there. (And I’m including the ones in the two books I’m working on at the moment, simultaneously, which explains my odd behavior these days.)

Websites go down, and books go out of print, which happened with my first two books. But I was fortunate to be able to resurrect them in Ready for Dessert, a compilation of recipes from those first two books, as well as additional recipes that have become my favorites over the years.

It was fun to go back and revisit, and update, recipes. And I got to make a few changes; We have high-percentage, bean-to-bar chocolates, a variety of flours are more readily available than there were a decade ago, and even the most elusive ingredients can be found online, delivered within twenty-four hours.

Fortunately these Chocolate Chocolate-Chip Cookies, which I featured in Ready for Dessert, can be made with ingredients you can find in any supermarket, something I always keep in mind when writing recipes. In spite of how easy it is to find things online, I like being able to make a batch of cookies whenever the mood strikes. And I seem to always be in the mood for these ultra-chocolate cookies, with crisp, brownie-like tops, and meltingly soft chocolate centers.

Baking times for cookies are always tricky, and for these, it’s especially critical. Much depends on how cold the dough is, oven temperature, baking sheet material (I use restaurant-style baking sheets), and other factors, which merits an entire book, written by someone with a tremendous amount of patience.

When baking these cookies, follow the visual clues more than sticking to a precise number of minutes. I’ve given both, but encourage you to use the baking time as a guide and to check them a few minutes before. You may want to bake one first, to find out exactly the right time for your oven. Once you’ve got it down, you’re good to go with the rest.

Chocolate Chocolate-Chip Cookies

Adapted from Ready for Dessert

These super chocolate cookies are packed with flavor. The trick is to bake them just enough so they're almost cooked through, but not quite. For those who are gluten-free, you can substitute 6 tablespoons (52g) of teff flour for the regular flour. The cookies may spread a bit more if using something other than wheat flour. If you try another flour, I might go with the full 1/2 cup (70g) of something like buckwheat or gluten-free oat flour. If you try them with something else, feel free to let us know in the comments how they work out.

Servings cookies

1 pound (450g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
4 tablespoons (60g) butter, salted or unsalted
1/2 cup (70g) flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder, preferably aluminum-free
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 3/4 cups (350g) sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups (320g) chopped bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, or chocolate chips
1 cup (140g) walnuts, pecans or almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped

Melt the chocolate and butter in a large bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water. Stir occasionally, until the chocolate is smooth. Remove from heat and set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
In a stand mixer fitted with the whip, beat the eggs, sugar, and vanilla on high speed until a well-defined ribbon is formed, about 5 minutes. On low speed, mix in the melted chocolate. Remove the bowl from the mixer and fold in the dry ingredients, then the chocolate chips and nuts using a spatula. (If the dough isn't stiff enough to scoop, cover and chill for about an hour.)
Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
Using a spring-loaded ice cream or cookie scoop (or two soup spoons), scoop up mounds of dough and place them evenly spaced apart on the baking sheet, leaving about 2-inches (5cm) of space between them. (The scoop I use is a #40, about 1 1/2-inches/4cm across. If using two spoons, they should be in mounds about the size of generously rounded tablespoons.)
Bake the cookies, rotating the baking sheets midway during baking, until they feel just slightly firm in the center and begin to lose their shine in the crevices, about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove the cookies from the oven and let cool.

Notes

Storage: The dough can be refrigerated up to five days and can be frozen for up to two months. The cookies can be kept 1-2 more days in an airtight container at room temperature.