Hi - I just found this newsgroup! I am looking for a recipe for chocolate cookies to bake for a family member who loves chocolate. The only requirements are that the cookies be soft (as opposed to crunchy) and be very chocolatey - sort of death by chocolate kind of thing. Any suggestions?
Don't take this personally, but this is a good example of why I seldom post recipes. No matter what gets posted, there is almost always an objection. The recipe is too complex, too high in fat or carbs, the ingredients are too expensive, the item is too foreign or too common, there is an allergy to the ingredients or they are not locally available. Often the request goes like this: "I'm looking for the delicious cake that I ate as a child in the elementary school cafeteria" In other cases you haul out the cookbooks and post a recipe and the person who requested it is never heard from again. I generally pose a question to narrow the request and the OP never responds.
Since you already have brownies, then I would suggest fudge. Again, soft and intensely chocolate. Another thought would be truffles. Yes, I know these aren't cookies, but then maybe they would be a welcome choice because they better meet your requirements of being both soft and intensely chocolate. Everyone makes cookies for Christmas. A nice selection of chocolate truffles would set you apart from the crowd and they are very easy to make.
And people wonder why my advice to those who question my methods is "Nuts to you!" - some day someone will start yammering to me about their deadly nut allergy after i say that, too.
Part of the problem is semantic. I come from a technical background, where the habit is to state things factually, with the presupposition that you are making a statement of opinion based on experience. A lot of people fail to grasp the flexibility inherent in a statement of opinion, when stated factually.
So i end up falling over myself to pepper my more helpful responses to these questions with conditional phrases, 'cause the noobs are too thin skinned and feel like their toes have been stepped on if i don't.
My grandmother used to make fudge every christmas. I never appreciated how skilled she was at this until other people started offering me home made fudge. Gramma Jorgensen's fudge was boutique store grade, at the very least. When people offer me their hackneyed attempts at 'divinity' it's all i can do to smile through it.
I'm in favor of anyone trying to become better at making Fudge, while eschewing 'fudge'. It's a worthy endeavor. Fudge fabrication is a matter of science, artistry, and meteorology that i don't have the time to pursue. 'fudge' on the other hand, you can get from velveeta.
The OP seems to want a cookie with a soft, chocolate flavored crumb. These are uncommon but not unheard of. iirc one of the Betty Crocker books includes a recipe for such a cookie, with walnuts in it. An adventurous baker could replace the nuts with more chocolate.
alt.cookies.yum.yum.yum is the appropriate forum for the search. I have eaten the above mentioned cookies but do not have easy access to the recipe and won't be spending any of my free time looking for it, having far less free time due to gainful, meaningful employment.
The problem with the request is that it's nearly impossible to make a soft-crumb drop-cookie with a lot of stuff in it, without ending up with just a little ball of cookie-mass. It's a matter of physics. Not that i mind eating the occasional well-made dome-shaped chocolate chip cookie. Your roll-and-cut variety is similarly thin, and often hard, and doesn't adapt well to filling.
You could get somewhere with a bar cookie, but it'd be basically a brownie.
Oh...........post the damn recipe..... I still have the option to skip the recipe if I don't "care" for your suggestions. Isn't that a wonderful thing about this forum??!!
Here is the fattest, too high in fat....too high in carbs....too expensive....foreign ingredients...too common ingredients.... too many allergies....too many nuts...too much butter...
AND IT IS THE BEST DAMN BROWNIE RECIPE YOU HAVE EVER WRAPPED YOUR LIPS AROUND!
@@@@@ Now You're Cooking! Export Format
Scrumptious Brownies
none
8 oz unsweetened chocolate
1 cup butter
5 eggs
3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 1/2 cup flour
2 cup walnuts, chopped
Melt chocolate and butter in a saucepan over very low heat, stirring constantly. Cool slightly.
Beat eggs, sugar and vanilla in large mixer bowl on high speed for 10 minutes. Beat in chocolate mixture on low speed. Add flour, beating just to blend. Stir in nuts. Spread in greased 13 x 9 pan.
Bake at 375F. for 35 to 40 minutes or until cake tester inserted into center comes out almost clean. Do not overbake. Cool in pan, then cut into squares.
You can also use self-rising flour in place of all purpose flour and get a delightfully good chocolate cake.
A friend of mine on another ng posted this one, but I haven't tried it.
From Hershey's: The Chewy Chocolate Cookie (mixes in 5 minutes!)
1 1/4 cups butter or margarine, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups unsifted all-purpose flour
3/4 cup Hershey's Cocoa (be generous)
1 teaspoon baking SODA
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup finely chopped nuts, optional
Cream butter or margarine and sugar in large mixer bowl. Add eggs and vanilla: blend well. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt: blend into creamed mixture. Stir in nuts, if desired. Drop by spoonsful onto ungreased cookie sheet (or seasoned baking stone.) Bake at 350 degrees F. for 8 to 9 minutes. *DO NOT over-bake. Cookies will be soft. They will puff during baking, flatten upon cooling. Cool on cookie sheet until set, about 1 minute; remove to wire rack (or sports section of the newspaper on the counter) to cool completely. Makes about 4 1/2 dozen cookies.
LOL, this was a far more well-thought out response than I thought I'd get with my little cookie recipe request! I had not sufficiently considered the physics involved when I agreed to make a very soft chocately cookie for one of my cousins. I found a couple of recipe that basically look like fudge cookies - do you want me to report back after I make them? :)
5 lb. semi sweet chocolate
2 1/4 cups cream
14 oz. butter
4 tsp. vanilla
2 lb. nuts OR coconut
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6 oz. bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup cream
1/4 tsp. vanilla
1 lb bittersweet of semisweet chocolate for dipping
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6 oz. bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate
3 tablespoons cream
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 tablespoon Grand Marnier or other orange liqueur
2 tsp.. finely grated orange peel
1 lb. white chocolate for dipping
3/4 lb white chocolate for second dipping
10 small pieces candied orange peel for garnish
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10oz white chocolate
2 tablespoons canned coconut cream
2 tablespoons sour cream
1/2 cup finely chopped toasted unsalted macadamia nuts
1/4 cup toasted flaked sweetened coconut
1 tablespoon dark rum
1 tsp. grated lime peel roll in powered sugar
1 lb white chocolate for dipping
2 tsp. cinnamon combine last two ingredients and coat truffle
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6 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate
6 tablespoons cream
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 tsp. peppermint OIL
1 lb. bittersweet chocolate for dipping
4 oz. white chocolate for dipping
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8 oz white chocolate
1/4 cup cream
1 tablespoon crystallized ginger, chopped
1 lb. white chocolate for dipping
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8 oz milk chocolate
3 tablespoons cream
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons finely ground coffee (NOT instant) unsweetened cocoa for rolling
20 whole roasted almonds
1 pound milk chocolate for dipping (almond is encased in truffle before dipping)
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6 oz. bittersweet of semisweet chocolate
3 tablespoons cream
2 tablespoons crème fraiche or sour cream
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon Frangelico liqueur
1/4 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup Hazelnut Praline* unsweetened cocoa powder for rolling
1 lb. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate for dipping
Hazelnut Praline*
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 cups toasted, husked hazelnuts Cook sugar and water until caramelized. Add nuts and pour onto buttered sheet pan. When cool, break into small pieces and grind in food processor.
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I heat the cream to a boil. The chocolate is chopped in the food processor, and with the machine running, I pour in the hot cream and process until the chocolate is melted. When cooled to warm room temperature, I stir in the rest of the ingredients. The mixture is covered and refrigerated until firm. I use a disher to scoop out the truffle mixture and then roll into a ball. The truffles are then rolled in the covering ingredients (cocoa powder, finely chopped nuts, powdered sugar, cinnamon, etc, or dipped into tempered chocolate (as indicated in the recipes.)
Most of the recipes are from an article entitled "The Elegant Temptation" but Sarah Tenaglia. Bon Appetite, Jan. 1987. I
Here is an awesome, intensely chocolate cookie that I've made for years. It comes from the Bon Appetit Christmas book (page 13). I always double the batch as they are quite popular!
Chocolate Rads (makes about 15)
1 pound bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate
1 3/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder or instant coffee powder
1/2 cup cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/3 cups semisweet chocolate chips (about 14 oz)
1 cup chopped walnuts, toasted (about 4 oz) (I always add more chocolate here and omit the nuts)
Melt chocolate in top of double boiler over simmering water, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and eggs in large bowl until pale yellow and thick, about 5 minutes. Beat in melted chocolate, melted butter, vanilla and espresso powder. Sift flour, baking powder and salt into small bowl. Stir dry ingredients into chocolate mixture. Mix in chocolate chips and nuts. Cover and refridgerate mixture until firm, approximately 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 2 large cookie sheets with parchment paper. Drop batter by 1/2 cupfuls onto prepared cookie sheets, spacing evenly. Press with moist fingertips to form 3 1/2 - 4 inch rounds. Bake cookies until tops become dry and crack, about 16 minutes. Cool cookies on parchment. Remove from parchment. Cover and store in airtight container at room temperature.
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