Thick and Chewey Double Chocolate Cookies

It's sad but I HAVE to make cookies today. ;) Really, when the band has an away game they feed the band before they get in their uniforms. NO eating is allowed while in uniform. Water to drink is allowed for the 5-6 hours they are in uniform. The bus leaves about 5:15 and they get back about 11:30. Anyways, they are fed a meal a restaurant brings in; parents paid for it in advance and the parents serve it and, this year, they added cookies from the mom's each week. I signed up for this week. With close to 300 kids marching there are lots of parents to help.

Thick and Chewy Double Chocolate Cookies

Cook’s Illustrated Magazine written: 9/1999

To melt the chocolate in a microwave, heat at 50 percent power for 2 minutes, stir, then continue heating at 50 percent power for 1 more minute. If not completely melted, heat an additional 30 to 45 seconds at 50 percent power. Semisweet chocolate chips may be added for a bigger chocolate punch; if used, they will slightly increase the yield on the cookies. We recommend using a spring-loaded ice cream scoop to scoop the dough. Resist the urge to bake the cookies longer than indicated; they may appear underbaked at first but will firm up as they cool.

Makes about 3 ½ dozen cookies

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

½ cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon table salt

16 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

4 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

10 tablespoons unsalted butter (1¼ sticks), softened but still firm

1½ cups light brown sugar

½ cup granulated sugar

(If you like bursts of warm melted chocolate for your cookies, include chocolate chips in the batter. You can divide the dough and put chips in some, nuts in others and/or roll some in powdered sugar and it will look like you made 3 different kinds of cookies.)

1. 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. Beat eggs and vanilla lightly with fork, set aside.

2. In bowl of standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment 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 at low speed, add flour mixture and mix until combined, about 40 seconds. Do not over beat. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature until consistency is scoopable and fudgelike, about 30 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, adjust oven racks to upper- and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Leaving about 1 1/2-inches between each ball, scoop dough onto parchment-lined cookie sheets with 1 3/4-inch diameter ice cream scoop.

4. Bake cookies until edges have just begun to set but centers are still very soft, about 10 minutes, turning cookie sheets from front to back and switching from top to bottom racks halfway through baking. (I did not do this and they were fine.)

5. Cool cookies on sheets about 10 minutes, slide parchment with cookies onto wire rack and cool to room temperature; remove with wide metal spatula.

Honestly, 3 of these cookies are 2 to many. They are rich and taste almost like a brownie. The cocoa I used was 'special dark' so yours may not be a ....black as these. I was tempted to pipe orange spider webs on them....but too much work.