Missy, I just made Meryl's Thick and Chewy Double Chocolate Cookies - FAB!!
I just made these, and they're fabulous! Extremely chocolate-y, chewy, with a nice shiny exterior, like a brownie. I used a 1 tablespoon-sized scoop, and got 65 cookies out of the recipe.
I baked it at 330º convection mode, for 10 minutes. The cookies don't spread too much, and look kinda puffy when they came out of the oven, so I rapped the sheet on the counter to deflate them just a little. (That trick seems to make chewy cookies.)
I didn't add any chocolate chips, but I'm sure if you add them, they wouldn't hurt smileys/smile.gif Use chopped couverture (sp?) chocolate instead of chocolate chips - I think that would make it gooey and melty, like the ones in Levain's pictures.
Here's Meryl's comments:
"I made these Sunday night and they're great! Deep chocolatey, very soft and moist, almost like a moist brownie. I added 6 Tbsp Ghirardelli semisweet chocolate chips to half the batter and liked those the best, although they're good without them too. Next time I'll add about 3/4 - 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips to the entire batter."
THICK AND CHEWY DOUBLE CHOCOLATE COOKIES
"Semisweet chocolate chips may be added for a bigger chocolate punch; if used, they will slightly increase the yield on the cookies.
Resist the urge to bake the cookies longer than indicated; they may appear underbaked at first but will firm up as they cool."
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tsp. salt (I used 1/2 tsp)
16 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped (I used Ghirardelli)
4 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp instant coffee or espresso powder (I used espresso powder)
10 Tbsp. (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened but still firm
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
DIRECTIONS:
Sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl; set aside.
Melt chocolate in medium heatproof bowl set over pan of almost simmering water, stirring once or twice, until smooth; remove from heat. (To melt the chocolate in a microwave, heat at 50% power for 2 minutes, stir, then continue heating at 50% power for 1 more minute. If not completely melted, heat an additional 30 to 45 seconds at 50% power).
Beat eggs and vanilla lightly with fork, sprinkle coffee powder over to dissolve, and set aside.
In bowl of standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment (or with hand mixer), beat butter at medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 5 seconds. Beat in sugars until combined, about 45 seconds; mixture will look granular. Reduce speed to low and gradually beat in egg mixture until incorporated, about 45 seconds. Add chocolate in steady stream and beat until combined, about 40 seconds. Scrape bottom and sides of bowl with rubber spatula. With mixer a low speed, add flour mixture and mix until combined, about 40 seconds. Do not overbeat. (Stir in chocolate chips if using). Cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature until consistency is scoopable and fudgelike, about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, adjust oven racks to upper- and lower-middle position and heat oven to 350 F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Leaving about 1 1/2 inches between each ball, scoop dough onto cookie sheets with 1 3/4-inch diameter ice cream scoop. (spring-loaded recommended).
Bake, reversing position of baking sheets halfway through baking (from top to bottom and front to back), until edges of cookies have just begun to set but centers are still very soft, about 10 minutes. (Cookies will have small cracks on top). Do not overbake! (I did one sheet at a time on the lower middle oven rack).
Cool cookies on sheets about 10 minutes. Slide parchment with cookies onto wire racks, and cool to room temperature. Remove cooled cookies with wide spatula.
MAKES ABOUT 3 1/2 DOZEN COOKIES
VARIATION:
THICK AND CHEWY TRIPLE-CHOCOLATE COOKIES
Add 12 oz (about 2 cups) semisweet chocolate chips to batter after dry ingredients are incorporated. (I used less - see my notes above)
Edited from Cook's Illustrated, September 1999
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