Super Fudgy Dark Chocolate Cookies and the Computer Haitus is Over!

First off, I have a brand new computer. It is perfectly shiny and wonderful although I am having a bit of trouble figuring out how to work this and that but still, all in all, I'm pretty pleased and Oliver is extremely relieved that I will now stop stealing his computer.

As an apology for my long absence I give you the best cookies I have eaten in years. It was all I could do to restrain myself from eating all 2 1/2 dozen. They are that good. These cookies are essentially a brownie baked into cookie form and they practically require that you have a tall glass of milk to drink with them. They have a crackly, shiny, slightly crispy top and a rich, fudgy interior. Each deeply chocolaty bite is further intensified by the generous amount of chocolate chips in the batter. The simultaneously rich and melt in your mouth light texture of these cookies is created by beating the eggs, vanilla and sugar until it becomes light and thick before adding in the rest of the ingredients.

This recipe istaken from Martha Stewart's website here and is one of the few recipes that I didn't adapt heavily. The only changes I made were to use whole wheat flour instead of all purpose (which actually worked marvelously) and decrease the amount of chocolate chips since 12 oz seemed a little extreme to me. Also, it is VERY important not to over bake these cookies, when you first pull them out, the middle will seem almost batter-y, this is fine, they'll bake a bit longer on the pan as they cool.




Martha Stewart's Outrageous Chocolate Cookies
Makes 2 1/2 dozen

8 ounces semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2/3 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled (I used Whole Wheat)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 package (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chunks (I used one heaping cup)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat chopped chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe bowl in 20-second increments, stirring in between, until almost melted; do not overheat. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
In a mixing bowl, beat eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla on high speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low; beat in melted chocolate. Mix in flour mixture until just combined. Stir in chocolate chunks.
Drop heaping tablespoons of dough 2 to 3 inches apart onto baking sheets. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are shiny and crackly yet soft in centers, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on sheets 10 minutes; with a thin metal spatula, transfer to racks to cool completely.