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You are here: Home / chocolate / The Best Laid Plans… Go Awry and End Up Fine: Bittersweet Decadence Cookies

The Best Laid Plans… Go Awry and End Up Fine: Bittersweet Decadence Cookies

May 15, 2008 By Laura 7 Comments

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I had this wonderful plan today to try these new Bon Appetit cookies that have been making the rounds over on the CLBB. Full of lots of dark chocolate and made with egg whites but no butter or flour they look super intriguing—and are getting great reviews.

Then I realized they called for loads of confectioner’s sugar—the one kind of sugar I am bad at keeping on hand.

By then I had already pulled out the Scharffen Berger semi sweet chocolate bars and was dreaming of something more chocolate than not—not buttery, not vanilla, not anything really other than deeply, darkly chocolate.

So I pulled this old standby out instead. It is from Alice Medrich’s Bittersweet, which is enough of a recommendation right there. It is the book I turn to when I want something more chocolate than not—Medrich believes in reducing traditional accompaniments such as butter in an effort to make things more chocolatey. There are times when I don’t agree with this—for example when I am craving a Lisa Yockelson Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake. But when I want that high cacoa percentage and not much else kind of baking, Medrich is whom I turn to. She keeps it simple—and the results are divine, decadent, and very, very chocolatey. High quality chocolate is a must in her recipes.

I once made this recipe for my in laws—I was excited about it, because my mother in law in particular likes indulgent chocolate desserts. And I forgot the flour. When you look at the recipe you will see why this was possible. It was pretty embarrassing—but actually the results were not half bad. She insisted they were fine—but of course she hadn’t had the cookies made correctly (plus I am sure she was trying to make me feel better).

Bittersweet Decadence Cookies

Adapted from Bittersweet, Alice Medrich

¼ cup AP flour
¼ t baking powder
1/8 t salt
7 oz. 60-63% cacoa chocolate, coarsely chopped (Scharffen Berger semi sweet, for exs)
2 T unsalted butter
2 large eggs
½ cup + 1 T sugar
1 t pure vanilla extract
2 cups walnuts or pecans, broken or chopped into large pieces (I left out—I am not a nut fan; this will reduce your recipe by a few cookies and make the cookies a bit flatter, but otherwise is fine)

6 oz. of same chocolate, chopped into chucks (heat gently in the microwave to make chopping easier; set aside in fridge or freezer if they get too soft)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together thoroughly; set aside.

Place 7 oz of chocolate and the butter in a large heatproof bowl in a double boiler and stir frequently just until melted and smooth. Remove the chocolate from the pan and set aside. Leave the heat on under the saucepan.

In a large heatproof bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar and vanilla together thoroughly. Set the bowl in the double boiler and stir until the mixture is lukewarm to the touch. Stir the eggs into the warm (not hot) chocolate. Whisk in the flour mixture, then mix in the nuts (if using) and the chocolate chunks.

Scoop gently rounded tablespoons of the batter 1 1/2 inches apart on cookie sheets. Bake until the surface of the cookies looks shiny, cracked and set but the center is still gooey, 12-14 minutes. Swap the sheets top to bottom and front to back halfway through the baking.

Place cookie sheets on racks and let cool or carefully slide the cookies onto the racks to cool.

Filed Under: chocolate, cookies

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Comments

  1. Kitchen Queen Victoria says

    May 15, 2008 at 9:35 pm

    Laura,

    It’s 10:30pm. I finished a big plate of whole wheat rigatoni with marinara a few hours ago and have been telling myself for the last 30 minutes that, after such a high-fiber dinner, I am not hungry. Not at all. Nope… then I see this. I am actually drooling– these cookies look fantastic! And I adore dense, chocolatey chocolate cookies. Must make them soon!

    Now I am going to see what kind of chocolate is in the pantry. I wish I lived in your neighborhood, I’d be dropping by in a minute! 🙂

    ~Vicci

    Reply
  2. RecipeGirl says

    May 16, 2008 at 12:45 am

    If I didn’t just eat a huge chocolate chip cookie, this would be great to munch on right now!

    How funny… my MIL is huge on anything chocolate too.

    Reply
  3. Anonymous says

    May 16, 2008 at 7:08 pm

    I’ve never tried but I remember reading if you whirl regular sugar in a food processor it turns to powdered sugar. Not sure if you have to add anything to it.

    Reply
  4. Laura says

    May 16, 2008 at 7:45 pm

    Processing regular sugar will make superfine sugar, not powdered sugar. For powdered sugar you need cornstarch, I think–at any rate since it is not expensive like superfine sugar, I find it easier to just buy. 🙂

    Reply
  5. Amy says

    May 20, 2008 at 10:13 pm

    You can use cornstarch, or potato starch will work too (that’s what we do during Passover when we can’t have corn!). Useful to know about in a pinch. I can get you the proportions if you want them.

    Reply
  6. Laura says

    May 20, 2008 at 10:25 pm

    Hey Amy, if you wouldn’t mind just posting it on here for other people to see also that would be great. Of course I have 10 lbs of the stuff now so I probably won’t be using the recipe anytime soon, but it would be great to have!

    Thanks 🙂

    Reply
  7. Amy says

    May 20, 2008 at 11:16 pm

    1 cup less 1-1/2 tsp granulated sugar

    1-1/2 tsp potato starch (presumably cornstarch works in same proportion although I can’t be sure)

    Whirl together until fine using spice grinder, coffee grinder, or food processor.

    I also did a quick websearch and found another recipe with smaller proportions – 1/3 c. granulated sugar to 1/2 tsp. potato starch.

    Reply

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Hi! I’m Laura and I am a recovering history major who has re-channeled all of my passion for learning about the history of different countries to learning about their food culture. That doesn’t mean every dish on here is strictly authentic, but it does mean that even my adaptations are not undertaken lightly. My goal is to show you–by doing–that these dishes are possible in your kitchen. Including desserts because I have quite the sweet tooth! Read More…

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