Giant Double Chocolate Cookies

I have always been more of a dessert person than a regular food person.  Although times have definitely changed, and I now eat more than my fair share of vegetables, I wasn’t always like this…In fact, I don’t think I ate lettuce before the age of seven. And if I did, it was probably slathered in ranch dressing.

Among my favorite desserts are cookies.  They’re small enough so you can eat
more than one, and they last over the course of a few days.  My favorite kind incorporate chocolate chips, and so when I stumbled upon this recipe on one of my favorite food blogs, I knew I had to try it.

Dough for Giant Double Chocolate Cookies

The recipe warned that these would be big, dense cookies, and the author of the
blog even said that she had to eat one over a two day period.  I’m much more gluttonous, though, so even though each cookie weighed a whopping 4 ounces (it actually felt heavy in my hand), I knew after one taste that I would have to eat the whole thing….There would be no leftovers.

However, I do agree with the blogger that the cookies taste best warm…so you might want to warm them up in the microwave for 20 seconds the day after you bake them.  The chocolate chips will be melted and gooey, and the cookie will have a moist, brownie-like consistency.

Surprisingly, the secret, standout ingredient in this recipe is coarse salt. After your taste-buds are overwhelmed with sugar and chocolate, the salt will add an extra dimension, and contrast nicely with the more sugary flavors.

I made these cookies over the long Memorial Day weekend, and everyone from my
sister’s boyfriend (who eats everything) to my Grandmother (who doesn’t) loved them…And I guarantee that with one bite, you will love them, too.  They are truly the best double chocolate cookies…ever.

Giant Double Chocolate Cookies

Giant Double Chocolate Cookies (slightly adapted from Annie’s Eats)

Yield: 12 very large cookies
Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) cold, unsalted butter, cubed (yes, cold butter…don’t let it come to room temp)
1¼ cup sugar
2 large eggs
½ cup dark cocoa powder (I used Ghiradelli’s)
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
¼ tsp. coarse Kosher salt
1 tsp. baking powder
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips and 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar.  Beat together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.  Blend in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl as needed.  Mix in the cocoa powder until well blended.  Add the flour, salt and baking powder to the bowl and mix on low speed just until incorporated.  Fold in the chocolate chips with a spatula.  Transfer the dough to a work surface and knead briefly by hand to be sure the ingredients are well combined.

Divide the dough into 4 ounce portions (or divide into 12 equal pieces).  Roll each portion of dough into a ball and flatten just slightly into a disc.  Place on the prepared baking sheets, a few inches apart.  Bake 16-20 minutes.  Let cool on the baking sheets 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Original Source(s): My Baking Addiction, who adapted it from Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives, inspired by Levain Bakery