Triple Threat

This weekend was an anniversary of sorts for Preston and me (more on that later), so in honor of that, I decided to make cookies. Also, when you have a thirty page paper on epistolographic theory due in a week, spending your morning making cookies sounds THAT MUCH more magnificent.

Preston's kind of picky about his sweets, and I don't bake often, simply because, even if I halve a recipe, Preston will only eat one or two cookies/pieces of cake/etc. I am not in any way picky about my sweets, which means that whenever I bake something for the two of us, since Preston is no fun and won't eat them, I end up overdosing on cookies/cake/etc. This is fine every once in a while, but it's gotten to the point where I really only bake for a specific purpose--cookies for the kids I baby-sit, cookies for Preston's classes, or a cake whenever we have guests.

Generally, chocolate is always a safe bet with Preston, and for our anniversary, I wanted to find something I knew he'd enjoy, so I started scouring our cookbooks for something delicious and rich and chocolatey, when I came upon the perfect recipe: Thick and Chewy Double Chocolate Cookies in the America's Test Kitchen cookbook. When I flipped the page to continue reading the recipe, it became even more perfect, with an addendum at the end suggesting the option for Thick and Chewy Triple-Chocolate Cookies. I was sold.

The cookies are exactly what the name suggests they will be--they are nice and thick, chewy, and really full of chocolate. I did halve the recipe because I didn't want to end up with gajillions of cookies, and everything worked out fine. I think one of the keys to the recipe is the step after mixing and before baking, when it calls for you to let the bowl of batter sit covered in plastic wrap for about 30 minutes "until the consistency is scoopable and fudge-like." Which basically means wait until the batter is so delicious that you will find yourself licking the spoon after you're done and then actually eating a whole cookie's worth of batter. Which I so did not do... They really are so rich that I don't think I'll make them often, but they are delicious and the sort of cookie that would be a great addition to a holiday party or cookie tray. The pictures were taken this morning after a night of refrigeration, since our apartment--whose heat we can't control-- is sauna-like and turns anything chocolate into a hot, sticky mess if we leave it out. So I'm afraid they don't do a good job at conveying just how thick and chewy and MAGICAL these cookies are. I'll try to repost a better photo later.

Thick and Chewy Triple-Chocolate Chip Cookies (Yields 42)

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

16 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped (I used chocolate chips)

4 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 teaspoons instant coffee or espresso powder (I used really, embarrassingly old espresso powder, so I'm not sure it really did anything for the flavor)

10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened but still cool (mine was a tad too melted, but worked fine)

1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1. Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.

2. Melt the chocolate (I'm way too lazy to melt my chocolate over the stove, but that's what the recipe calls for). In a small bowl, beat the eggs and vanilla lightly with a fork, sprinkle the coffee powder over to dissolve, and set aside.

3. Either by hand or with an electric mixer (what I used...see laziness above), beat the butter at medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 5 seconds. Beat in the sugars until combined, about 45 seconds; the mixture will look granular (this is very true). Reduce the speed to low and gradually beat in the egg mixture until incorporated, about 45 seconds. Add the chocolate in a steady stream and beat until combined, about 40 seconds. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. With the mixer at low speed, add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Do not overbeat. Add 12 ounces of semisweet chocolate chips and mix (this is the "triple" chocolate component). Cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature until the consistency is scoopable and fudge like, about 30 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, adjust the oven racks to the upper- and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper (this is important, because the undersides of the cookies are really soft when you remove them from the oven, and the parchment paper makes for easy transfer to the cooling rack...though I'm sure you'd be ok without it if you don't have it on hand). Scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets with a 1 3/4 inch ice cream scoop (I just used whatever size ice cream scoop we had; they call for a spring-loaded one, but I just have a regular one...also, you could obviously just use a spoon), spacing the mounds of dough about 1 1/2 inches apart.

5. Bake until the edges of the cookies have just begun to set, but the centers are still very soft, about 10 minutes, rotating the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through the baking time. Cool the cookies on the sheets about 10 minutes, slide the parchment with the cookies onto wire racks, and cool to room temperature. Cover one cooled baking sheet with a new piece of parchment paper. Scoop the remaining dough onto the parchment-lined sheet, bake, and cool as directed. Remove cooled cookies from the parchment with a wide metal spatula.

6. Eat copiously and enjoy!