Wednesdays Unplugged – Double Dark Chocolate Cookies

“If this day were the answer to a question, what would the question be?”

– Sarah Susanka

NOTE: I spend my Wednesdays Unplugged from appointments. It’s my day to stay home, enjoy cooking and welcome our kids and grandkids for dinner in the evening. We end our meal with quotes from the Norwegian ‘Quote Cup’ passed on to me from my grandmother. I share a quote and a recipe here each week, along with an update and photos of what has been going on in our lives. I love trying new recipes…and love getting recipes you would like to share!

This is our daughter-in-law’s birthday week, and she is a great puzzler. I discovered Quordle wooden puzzles with puzzle pieces in fantastical shapes to add to her collection. John is a puzzler of a different sort… he loves Lego buildings…his latest, the national capitol building.

RECIPE OF THE WEEK

When it is your birthday week at our Wednesday night dinner you get to pick the menu. Laura’s dessert request was dark chocolate cookies. Chocolate crinkle cookies from the Birchwood Cafe have been favorites, but I decided to try something different. These from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe are officially called Big Fat Double Dark Chocolate Cookies, but I couldn’t bring myself to make them that big. The recipe is supposed to make 10 big fat cookies (4-4.25 ounces of dough per cookie)… I made 20 cookies, and they were still big!! Our granddaughter commented on the great flavor… deep, gooey and delicious… would be wonderful warm with ice cream.

DOUBLE DARK CHOCOLATE COOKIES

• 1 cup cold salted butter straight from the fridge, cut into tablespoon-size pieces
• 1 cup lightly packed brown sugar (light or dark)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs, cold from the refrigerator
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups cake flour
• 1/2 cup dark or Dutch-process unsweetened cocoa powder (Hershey’s special dark cocoa)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 to 2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips or chunks

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line two half sheet pans with parchment paper and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the cold butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar. Start the mixer on low and gradually increase to medium speed. Mix for 4-6 minutes, until the mixture is creamy and very well combined.

Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until combined and the batter is light in color, 2-3 minutes.

Add the flour, cake flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together.

When just a few dry streaks remain, add the chocolate chips and mix just until combined and there are no dry spots.

Scoop very large balls of dough and place several inches apart on prepared baking sheets, 5 cookies per pan. (I made them about half that size.)

Bake for 9-10 minutes until set on the outside but still soft in the middle. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheets to cool for 5-7 minutes before removing to a cooling rack. These cookies are amazing warm (with ice cream), chilled, or at room temperature.