his
cookie is a chocolate lover's delight. Not only are they made with a whole
pound of chocolate, but they also contain both white and dark chocolate chips.
You will recognize them by their distinctive shiny cracked surface which reveals
a dark, soft textured interior. It is important to use a high quality,
semi sweet or bittersweet chocolate that you enjoy eating out-of-hand because
the flavor of the chocolate takes center stage.
You will notice that this
cookie batter is not like most where we cream the butter and
sugar and then beat in the eggs and flour. Instead, the
batter is made by whipping air into the sugar and eggs (similar to a sponge cake
batter). Melted butter and chocolate, along with just a little flour, are then
folded in. The batter does need to be chilled so it is firm enough to form
into cookies. You could make the batter a day ahead if you like. The
important thing with these cookies is not to over bake them or they will be
dry. They are done when the surface of the cookies have cracked but they
are still shiny. You may want to bake one or two testers to get an
accurate baking time. These cookies are best the day they are made but
they can be stored in an airtight container for a day or two. Since this
recipe does make 24 large cookies, you may want to half the recipe.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177
degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Place the pecans on a baking
sheet and toast for 8-10 minutes, or until lightly brown and fragrant. Let
nuts cool and then chop coarsely. Set aside.
Sift
or whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and espresso powder into small
bowl. Set aside.
Melt the chocolate and butter in a stainless
steel bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat and set aside.
In the bowl of your electric mixer
(or with a hand mixer), beat the sugar
and eggs until pale yellow and thick, about 5 minutes. When you slowly
raise the beaters the batter will fall back into the bowl in slow ribbons.
Beat in the melted chocolate mixture and vanilla extract. Fold in the dry ingredients to the
chocolate batter and mix only until incorporated. Stir in the chocolate chips
and nuts. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate the batter until firm,
about 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350
degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Line two baking
sheets with parchment paper.
Drop batter by 1/4
cupfuls onto prepared cookie sheets, spacing evenly. With moist fingers, press batter to form 3 1/2 (9 cm) to 4 inch
(10 cm) rounds. Bake cookies about 12 - 14 minutes or until the tops of
the cookies become dry and cracked, but are still shiny. Do not overbake these cookies.
Remove from oven and place
baking pan on a wire rack to cool. When cookies are firm, remove from
baking pan and let completely cool on rack.
These cookies are best
the day they are baked but can be stored in an airtight container at room
temperature for a few days.
Makes about 24
large cookies.
Adapted
from Bon Appetit Christmas Cookbook
1 cup (115 grams)
pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped (could
also use walnuts or hazelnuts)
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