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Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Triple Chocolate Cookies

There aren't many women I know who do not love chocolate. In the offices I work in, chocolate is usually an easy fix to any problem. During my workday, I often hear things such as "I really need chocolate, who has chocolate?" The good news is that I usually do have chocolate!
I am off for summer break right now, but during the school year I am involved in weekly meetings. One week we had a particularly stressful and busy meeting day, so I decided to whip up some chocolate cookies for my coworkers and myself to alleviate some of the stress. I chose to make these perfectly chewy cookies which are loaded with chocolate and guaranteed to satisfy all of your chocolate cravings.
This recipe comes from Baking Illustrated, and it is shared on many food blogs. The recipe calls for melting the baking chocolate, but I was stressed when I was making them and I accidentally forgot that step and added in a new one. It is ok though, because they still turned out great! I also did not have any semisweet baking chocolate on hand, so I substituted with a high quality bittersweet chocolate. The cookies were pretty much devoured at the office.
I haven't made these cookies in a while, and I am craving chocolate. I also just bought a bar of Scharffen Berger chocolate. Who wants me to bring them some triple chocolate cookies? I just need a small excuse to whip up a batch of them right now...

Recipe for Triple Chocolate Cookies

INGREDIENTS
1 cup of all-purpose flour
1/4 cup of Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 tsp. of baking powder
1/4 tsp. of salt
8.5 ounces of SCHARFFEN BERGER 70% cacao bittersweet baking chocolate, chopped very finely using a food processor
1 tsp. of instant coffee powder
2 large eggs
1 tsp. of vanilla extract
5 Tbsp. of unsalted butter, softened but still cool
3/4 cup of light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup of granulated sugar
1 cup of semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:
In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder. Sift, then set bowl aside.
In a small bowl, mix together the eggs and vanilla with a fork. Add in the coffee powder. Stir, and let the coffee powder dissolve in to the egg mixture.
Put the butter in a large mixing bowl. Use an electric hand mixer on medium speed to beat the butter until it is smooth and creamy. Add in the brown sugar and white sugar, and beat until the sugars are well combined. Turn the mixer to low speed and gradually beat in the egg mixture in to the sugar mixture until it is well incorporated. Then add in the finely chopped chocolate until it is combined in to the mixture. With the mixer still on low speed, add in the dry ingredients. Beat until just combined, making sure not to over beat. Use a spoon or spatula to fold in the chocolate chips in to the batter. Cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap and let it stand at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a 1 3/4-inch cookie dough scoop, scoop the dough in to mounds and place on baking sheet. Make sure to leave 1 1/2-inches of space between the mounds of dough.
Bake the cookies for 10 minutes. Halfway between baking, rotate the pan 180 degrees in the oven. After cooking is complete, take cookies out of the oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Makes about 20 delicious cookies.

NOTE:
When I first started baking, I did not understand why some recipes called for regular cocoa powder and others called for Dutch-processed cocoa powder. Author and popular food blogger, David Lebowitz, shares great information on his blog about cocoa powder. If you're new to baking, I suggest you check it out!

3 comments:

  1. Those look SO good!
    Where do you find the Scharffen Berger chocolate?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Shawn! I have found the chocolate at Whole Foods, but they also sell it at the Fresh Market (Harbor Center). I've seen it there on sale for around 7, but it is usually about 8.25 for a 9.7-oz bar.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Amazon has it too. You have to buy in bulk, but it is a bit cheaper.

    ReplyDelete

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