I have fond memories of baking cookies with my mother and my grandmother when I was a little girl. We made the basics: oatmeal raisin, peanut butter and chocolate chip – all excellent cookies, but sometimes I want something more decadent. Gooey Double-Chocolate Mocha cookies from Theo Chocolate: Recipes and Sweet Secrets from Seattle’s Favorite Chocolate Maker seemed to fit the bill.
I’m gluten-intolerant, and since these only called for ? cup flour, I thought I could safely use a gluten-free flour blend. I wanted a pure chocolate cookie, so I left out the ground coffee, which the introduction declared optional. While the cookies were deeply chocolaty, they also spread into thin, flat disks during baking. The recipe said they would be “very fragile,” but the accompanying photo showed thick, fudgy cookies, not the delicate wafers I created.
While the cookie were rich, they were not enough to win this round. I’ll definitely try this recipe again, though, altering my gluten-free flour ratio to try and make them more substantial.
Skill level: More advanced techniques require an intermediate ability in the kitchen.
This book is for: Chocolate lovers, of course
Other recipes to try: Preston Hill Bakery chocolate bread, almond-olive oil sable cookies with chocolate, Chocolate (Factory) Eton Mess, Tallulah’s warm chocolate pudding cake
The Verdict: The pie bars from Sweeter off the Vine came together better than my deflated chocolate cookies.
Gooey Double-Chocolate Mocha Cookies
2 dozen cookies
10 oz. Theo 70-percent dark chocolate, chopped, divided
¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter
? cup (1½ oz.) all-purpose flour
¼ tsp. kosher salt
¼ tsp. baking powder
1 Tbsp. finely ground Fair Trade coffee beans
2 eggs, at room temperature
¾ cup (5½ oz.) sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup chopped walnuts, toasted (optional)
• Preheat the over to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
• Melt 7 ounces of the chocolate with the butter in a double boiler (see instructions below) and set aside to cool slightly.
• Sift the flour, salt and baking powder together in a small bowl, stir in the coffee and set the bowl aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or in a bowl with a whisk by hand), whip the eggs and sugar together on medium speed until very thick and pale, 3 to 4 minutes (about 8 minutes by hand). Add the vanilla and mix well. Fold in the cooled chocolate mixture, then the dry ingredients, and finally the remaining 3 ounce chopped chocolate and the walnuts.
• Use 2 spoons or a small cookie scoop to drop rounded tablespoons of batter 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, until they’re puffed, shiny and cracked, 8 to 10 minutes. Let the cookies cool completely on the baking sheet. They will be very fragile.
Melting Chocolate in a Double Boiler
• Heat a couple inches of water in a saucepan over low heat. Put the chopped chocolate in a stainless steel or glass bowl large enough to sit securely in the saucepan without touching the water. When the water comes to a simmer, turn off the heat and let the chocolate begin to melt. Stir the chocolate often, and when about two-thirds of it has melted, remove the bowl from the saucepan and dry the bottom of the bowl very well. Continue to stir the chocolate until it has melted completely.
Reprinted with permission from Sasquatch Books
This article appears in August 2016.