Allison came for a visit, and these are her favorite cookies, so we decided it was time for a cooking lesson. They're simple, but very, very chocolate-y. It's an old recipe from the Rosie's All-Butter, Cream-Filled, Sugar-Packed Baking Book, but I didn't start making them until a few years ago. I suspect that the original restaurant that served them is long gone, in fact, I know it is. But the cookie endures.
As always, the quality of the cookie will depend on the quality of the ingredients, so I urge you to use good quality chocolate. And be sure to start off by toasting your nuts, so they have a nice crunch inside the cookie. Other than that, they're going to seem pretty familiar in technique, kind of a cross between a brownie and a cookie.
A word about chocolate. The percentage (e.g. 70% for the bittersweet) indicates the amount of chocolate liqueur in it. The rest is milk and sugar. If you substitute another brand, just try to approximate the percentage and you will get a similar result.
SOHO GLOBS
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate (Scharffenberger's 70%)
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate (Scharffenberger's 99%)
6 Tablespoons (3 ounces) unsalted butter
1/3 cup (1.4 oz) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon instant espresso powder
3/4 cup (5 3/8 ounces) sugar
3/4 cup (4 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Line several baking sheets with parchment paper.
Melt the semisweet and unsweetened chocolate and the butter in the top of a double boiler placed over simmering water. Let cool slightly.
With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the eggs, vanilla, and espresso powder in a medium-size mixing bowl until they are mixed together, about 10 seconds.
Add the sugar to the egg mixture and blend it all until thick, about 1 minute. Scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula.
Add the melted chocolate and blend 1 minute more. Scrape the bowl.
Add the flour mixture on low speed and mix until blended, 10 seconds. Fold in the chocolate chips and nuts by hand.
Using a #24 cookie scoop (it holds about 2 1/2 Tablespoons), drop them about 2 inches apart onto the prepared bakings sheets.
Bake the cookies until they rise slightly and form a thin crust, about 12-13 minutes. Immediately transfer the cookies from the baking sheets to a rack to cool. You don't want to overbake these.
Makes about 20 cookies.
These cookies are yet another one that improves after freezing. They get a little more dense and chewy.
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