Death by Chocolate Cookies

This is the perfect "I need cookies" at the last minute recipe. Which is exactly what happened to me the other night...someone wanted to take cookies with on a last minute kayaking trip!

I remembered this recipe that is very similar to a brownie, and does not call for creaming soft butter, which is good because all of my butter was in the fridge and quite hard! I used up the last few squares of bittersweet chocolate that I had, and had to use chocolate chips for the balance. I also didn't have quite enough white chocolate chips, so I used half white and half dark.

Heat the oven to 350F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a double boiler, melt

8 ounces of finely chopped chocolate, or chocolate chips

Stir the chocolate occasionally, to make sure it melts evenly and doesn't scorch on the bottom.

When the chocolate is almost completely melted, add in:

2 ounces butter, cubed

Stir until the butter has melted. Remove from the heat.

Whisk in:

3/4 cup brown sugar

The chocolate and butter mixture will start to appear grainy, this is normal.

Now whisk in:

2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Add the eggs on at a time, whisking until completely combined in between additions. The graininess of the mixture will disappear once the eggs are added.

Add the dry ingredients:

1/2 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder

The batter will start to get stiff; switch to a rubber spatula towards the end.

Last, but not least, stir in:

1 cup chocolate chips

Place spoonfuls of cookie batter onto your prepared trays, spacing them evenly. They do spread slightly.

I used about 2 tablespoons of batter per cookie, with a yield of 22 cookies.

Place the trays in the oven and bake until the cookies are set, but still soft to the touch in the centre, and slightly shiny and cracked on the outside. This took about 12 - 14 minutes.







  Remove from the oven and cool before bringing out the milk, and having a well deserved snack!

• The total time to make these treats is really as long as it takes for the chocolate to melt and the oven to heat up. Everything else can be measured and ready to go while this is happening...
• I do prefer to use all bittersweet chocolate; you get the intense chocolate taste with less sugar. However, I will use whatever is available...that said, it's best to stick to dark chocolate as white is more temperamental when it comes to melting.
• The temperature of the butter is not important, which is what makes this so quick and easy.
• The cookies really are like little brownies, so as far as additions to the batter, don't stop at just chocolate. Think of your favourite brownie, and go from there. Some suggestions: dried fruit such as tart cherries or cranberries; chocolate chips or chunks or any kind and/or combination; toffee bits; nuts, lightly toasted and roughly chopped; lightly toasted coconut.
• Vanilla really is my favourite flavour, but others can be used. Some to try, that all work really well with chocolate are: orange zest; ground cinnamon; espresso powder; instant coffee dissolved in a bit of water to make a paste; use 1 tablespoon of peanut butter and 3 tablespoons of butter; finely ground Earl Grey tea; mint extract; chili powder.
• The cookie batter is best made and baked right away, however the cookies can be frozen once they're baked...if you have any left!
• Use a scoop of your favourite ice cream and 2 of the cookies to make an ice cream sandwhich. The cookies can be made a bit bigger for this, assembled and kept in the freezer until it's time for dessert.