Triple Chocolate Cookies

My, oh my! I should have named these cookies “Really Decadent Evil Cookies that Must be Destroyed!” But, alas, it is not my recipe so I didn’t think I should take it upon myself to give these cookies a new name. This recipe came from America’s Test Kitchen.

I try really hard to slow down on Sunday afternoon. If it’s raining after church I love to put on my jammies, make myself something warm to drink, and curl up in front of the television with my blankie. Before looking for old musicals or heading over to Food Network or HGTV, I always check my PBS listings to see if I’ve planted myself in front of the television in time to catch America’s Test Kitchen. I love that show! These people know food, products, and cooking techniques and they share the secrets they know.

One recent Sunday afternoon I watched them make Triple Chocolate Cookies and I knew I had to try them. Let me just say, these are every bit as good as I thought they would be. Have Mercy! I had to get rid of them. They simply could not stay in the house! So I brought them to work on Monday. Um… there were three dozen cookies at the beginning of the day. By lunch there was nothing left but a few crumbs on the plate. To fully understand the seriousness of this situation you need to know that there were only six of us gals in the office that day and two of us are not allowed to eat tempting morsels such as these. Do the math! Four women consumed three dozen cookies in a matter of a few short hours.

See what I mean? Evil.

Now, if you have someone you need to impress… or someone you need to bribe I highly recommend making a batch of these cookies.

However, if would be left alone with these gooey, decadent morsels of chocolatey goodness, DON’T DO IT! Trust me on this, my friends. They will sit there on the counter all innocent like. Then you will hear them softly call your name. The next thing you know there will not be a single cookie left. Then you will have to run 20 miles every day for the next month to get them off your thighs. Actually… they might be worth it.

Triple Chocolate Cookies

(From America’s Test Kitchen)

Ingredients:

• 3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips (I use Ghiradelli)
• 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into cubes
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons instant coffee
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Melt unsweetened and bittersweet chocolates with the butter on top of a double boiler. Make sure the water does not reach the bottom of your bowl. Your water should be at just barely simmering. Stir to melt the chocolate then remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly.

While the chocolate is cooling, combine the eggs and sugar in a mixing bowl and beat on medium-high speed for four full minutes. (The mixture will begin to look like cake batter.) According to America’s Test Kitchen, this is what gives the cookies stability since they contain such a small amount of flour.

In a small bowl or cup, combine the coffee crystals with the vanilla. Let the mixture sit for about 15 minutes or until the crystals dissolve in the vanilla.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt with a wire whisk. Set aside.

After beating the eggs and sugar for four minutes, add the coffee/vanilla mixture and beat for 20 seconds. Add the chocolate mixture (not hot or it will cook the eggs) and beat for 30 seconds on low speed until the mixture is combined.

Add the flour mixture and the chocolate chips and fold into the batter.

NOTE: At this point you will look at the gooey bowl of chocolate fudge and think that you must have done something wrong. This can’t possible work. However, give it time. Let the batter sit on the counter for 30 minutes and it will begin to set up as the chocolate continues to cool.

After 30 minutes, line three cookie sheets with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Use a small ice cream scoop (or a heaping tablespoon) to scoop out batter onto cookie sheets 2 inches apart.

Bake one cookie sheet at a time for 13 minutes. The cookies will look undercooked but take them out anyway. They continue to cook and set up as they cool. Set the cookie sheet on a cooling rack and do not touch them for 30 minutes, or until completely cooled.

Complete each batch, allowing each to cool completely before removing cookies from cookie sheets. Store in tightly sealed container (if you have any left to store).

Makes three dozen.

Sweetest Blessings,
LeAnn