Tag Archives: chocolate cookies

MAIDA HEATTER’S DOUBLE CHOCOLATE WHOPPER COOKIES

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Did you have a nice Father’s Day?  Ours was low-key, but both of our adult children were home for the weekend and that was special.  I kind of miss the days of making cards with the kids decorated with thumbprint animals — that period of our lives whooshed by in a blink.  But Jasper and Maisy, lacking thumbs, still require my assistance:

Even though he’s not my father, he’s the father of my children, and to celebrate his day I baked him a batch of Maida Heatter’s Double Chocolate Whopper Cookies, from her Book of Great American Desserts.  (I’m not sure if this is the exact recipe from her book, or just one of the many versions on the interwebs.)  They’re nothing new, but I’ve never made them before, and they seemed to have all the bells and whistles (or chips and nuts, as the case may be).  These are big, dense, chocolate-overloaded cookies, powered up with a little espresso powder, and are definitely special occasion cookies.  Happy Father’s Day!

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MAIDA HEATTER'S DOUBLE CHOCOLATE WHOPPER COOKIES
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Ingredients
  • 4 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
  • 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
  • 6 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
  • ¼ cup flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon baking powder
  • 2 eggs
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 6 ounces dark chocolate chips
  • 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
  • 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. Place the chopped chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a medium saucepan of simmering water (bottom of bowl should not touch water). Stir gently until melted and smooth. Remove bowl from heat and set aside to cool briefly.
  3. Whisk the flour, salt, and baking powder together in a small bowl.
  4. Place eggs, sugar, espresso powder, and vanilla in a large bowl and, using an electric mixer, beat on high speed for 2-3 minutes until light and well combined.
  5. Slowly add in the melted chocolate and beat on low speed until combined. Add the flour mixture and beat until incorporated. Stif in the chocolate chips and nuts.
  6. Use a ⅓-cup measure to scoop the dough into 6 mounds on each of the baking sheets, spacing evenly about 2 inches apart.
  7. Bake one sheet at a time on the center rack for 17 minutes -- tops of cookies should look dry and shiny. Allow to cool on sheet for 15 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Mmmmm — chocolatey

Worthy of all the “World’s Best Dads” out there

The years sure whooshed by

 

CHOCOLATE CHEWIES

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I found this allegedly pre-Columbian figure at an estate sale.  I was told it might be old, meaning that it also might just be schlock from a souvenir shop.

The proud warrior sat guarding plants on a windowsill in my bathroom.  But one day he engaged in battle with my housekeeper and did not emerge victorious:

My housekeeper inexpertly glued him back together and apologized profusely.  I wasn’t angry, but I have to admit that I hate hate hate broken, chipped, and cracked things.  And so, he has been relieved of his plant-guarding responsibilities.

There are notable exceptions to my aversion to cracked things, such as cheesecake — a crack across the top of a cheesecake never slowed me down.  Another exception is Chocolate Chewies, a dark, chewy chocolate cookie.  I haven’t made them in years, but inspired by the cracked warrior, I baked a batch, and they are currently the reigning favorite cookie in my house.  The cracks across the surface of the cookie reveal the deliciously chewy interior.  In this case, cracks are a very good thing.

These cookies are also known as Savannah Chocolate Chewies.  They were a specialty of Gottlieb’s Bakery in Savannah, Georgia, which was founded by Russian immigrants in 1884.  The bakery closed in 1994, but was reopened by fourth-generation Gottliebs in 2016.  Chocolate Chewies have certainly withstood the test of time.

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Recipe type: Cookies
 
Ingredients
  • 2 cups coarsely chopped pecans
  • 2-1/4 cups powdered sugar
  • 6 tablespoons dark cocoa powder
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • Pinch of salt
  • 3 egg whites
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 ounce chopped or grated bittersweet chocolate
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place pecans on a baking sheet and toast in oven for 5 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and slightly brown, being careful not to let them burn. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
  2. In a medium bowl, mix together the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, flour, and salt. Place the egg whites in a medium bowl, and using an electric mixer, beat until foamy. Stir in the vanilla and the powdered sugar mixture, and continue beating for an additional 1-2 minutes until smooth and shiny. (If batter seems too runny, add 2-3 more tablespoons of powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time.). Fold in the pecans and chocolate.
  3. Drop the dough onto baking sheets by heaping tablespoonfuls, spacing about 2 inches apart. Bake approximately 15 minutes, or until dry and cracked on the surface but soft in the center when pressed. Allow cookies to cool on sheet briefly, then transfer to a wire rack using a spatula and cool completely.

 

The dough is shiny before baking

After baking, the cookies have a dry cracked surface

Embrace the cracks!