Posted by: Maggie
Once in awhile you come across a recipe so perfect that you want to run and tell everybody - your friends, your coworkers, the singing homeless man on the street corner...but then you remember that most of them don't care about the intricacies of baking, and their eyes glaze over when you talk about it, and so you come here to rave about the recipe and become very glad that there are like minded individuals on the interwebs.
So, as I was saying, this is the perfect double chocolate cookie recipe. Not only were the cookies about half an inch thick each, there is chocolate in four formats - powder, baking bars, chips, and candy. If that alone doesn't win you over, I don't know what will.
This recipe probably makes about 30 large cookies. I wrapped half the dough tightly in plastic wrap and stuck it in the fridge to make more for my weekend guests. Co-blogger Annie and her boyfriend Scott are coming to DC! I'm in an adult kickball league here, and we're doing a Christmas themed bar crawl on Saturday that is usually once of the most fun days of the year, so they decided to come down from Phily to attend with Jeff and I. People dress up as various Christmas related characters or in ugly Christmas sweaters. Last year my boyfriend was Cousin Eddie from Christmas vacation, sans metal plate:
Here's what you'll need:
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
16 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
10 tablespoons (1 ¼ sticks) butter, softened to room temperature
1 ½ cups packed light brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup M&Ms
Extra M&Ms for garnish
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and adjust oven racks to upper- and lower-middle positions.
Whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
On 50% power, melt the chocolate in the microwave for 2 minutes. Stir, and continue to microwave at 50% power for 20 second intervals until completely melted.
In a small bowl, beat the eggs and vanilla lightly with a fork and set aside. Beat the butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy, for about 10 seconds. Beat in the brown and white sugars until combined. The mixture will look grainy - this is normal! Reduce the speed to low, and gradually beat in the egg/vanilla mixture until thoroughly incorporated, about 45 seconds. Add the chocolate in a steady stream and beat until combined, about 45 more seconds. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
With the mixer at low speed, gradually add in the flour and mix until just combined. Lastly, stir in chocolate chips and M&Ms. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature until the consistency is fudge-like, about 30 minutes. (I don't really know what this accomplishes, but the directions said to do it and my cookies were amazing. Anyone know why?)
While your cookie dough is hanging out, line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a silpat (this is a must). After dough has "rested" roll into 1 1/2 inch balls and place 1 1/2 inches apart on baking sheet. Slightly press down on dough ball and press a few extra M&Ms on top for decoration.
Bake until the edges of the cookies have just begun to set but the centers are still very soft, about 9-10 minutes, rotating the baking sheets from top to bottom halfway through the baking time. Cool the cookies on the sheets about 5 minutes or until set and transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
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