BEST CHOCOLATE COOKIE RECIPE

They are big, gooey, exceedingly chocolaty - thanks to the unsweetened, bittersweet and milk chocolate as well as the cocoa powder in the dough - and exceedingly chunky - thanks to the two different kinds of chopped chocolate pieces and nuts. You’ll never eat just one at a sitting. Your friends and family will beg you for this chocolate cookie recipe. Honest.

A quick note on the chocolate: these cookies are very good made with store-bought chocolate chips, but they are stupendous made with hand-chopped excellent quality chocolate. Because I think the cookies are worth the time, effort and expense of using really good chocolate for both the dough and the mix-ins, I pull out my best bittersweet (or semisweet) chocolate and melt some for the dough.

I then chop some into generous chunks to stir right in before baking. I also use hand-chopped good quality milk or white chocolate. Because some hand-chopped pieces will be big and small, and some will melt better than others, you’ll have a different chocolate treat with each bite. That's enough about my best chocolate cookie recipe; let's bake up a batch.

CHOCOLATE COOKIE RECIPE (CHUNKERS)

1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
3 TBS unsalted butter, cut into 3 pieces
6 oz bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 oz unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2/3 cup white sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
6 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped into chunks (or 1 cup store-bought chocolate chips)
6 oz premium quality milk or white chocolate, chopped into chunks (or 1 cup store-bought chocolate chips or chunks)
1-1/2 cups salted peanuts or toasted pecans, coarsely chopped

PREHEAT oven to 350 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.

Sift together the flour, cocoa, salt and baking powder; set aside.

Set a heat-proof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Add the butter, bittersweet chocolate, unsweetened chocolate and heat, just until melted - the chocolate and butter should be smooth and shiny but not so hot that the butter separates. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs and sugar on medium-high for 2 minutes or until pale and foamy. Beat in the vanilla. Reduce to low speed and add the melted butter and chocolate, mixing only until incorporated.

Scrape down the bowl and then on low,. add the dry ingredients. Mix just until the dry ingredients disappear into the dough, which will be thick, smooth and shiny.

Fold in the semisweet and milk (or white) chocolate chunks and nuts. At this point you will have more “crunchies” than dough. The dough can be wrapped in plastic and kept refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Drop the dough by generously heaping tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch of space between the mounds of the dough.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the tops of the cookies look a little dry but the interiors should still be soft. Slide off the baking sheet and using a metal spatula, lift the cookies onto a cooling rack to cool to room temperature.

Repeat with remaining dough, baking only one sheet at a time and making sure to cool the baking sheets between batches.

When the cookies are cooled and the chocolate is still gooey and you want it to be a bit firmer, just place them in the refrigerator for 10 minutes. A tremendous chocolate cookie recipe by Dorie Greenspan.