Chocolate Chubbies from Sarabeth's Bakery- with recipe
This recipe for chocolate chubbies in Sarabeth's Bakery cookbook had been calling to us for some time now. The cookies look like some sort of amazing cross between a cookie and a brownie, with three different types of chocolate and a beautiful glossy sheen that deceives how gooey the inside is. We finally found a perfect reason to make them, a photographer party the wonderful Silers were hosting. We decided since we were bringing them to a party where we didn't know many of the people and the possibility of a nut allergy or dislike was higher, we'd leave the nuts out. I think I would only do that again if I really needed to, I would imagine the nuts balance the intensity of chocolate, not that there were any complaints.
Here's the recipe for these ridiculous cookies, adapted from Sarabeth's Bakery cookbook-
Chocolate Chubbies
This recipe makes about 2 dozen- if you actually use the correct size ice cream scoop8 tablespoons of unsalted butter, cut into small pieces9 oz semisweet or bittersweet chocolate (no more than 62% cacao), finely chopped3 oz unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped1/2 cup unbleached AP flour1/2 teaspoon baking powder1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt3 large eggs, at room temperature1 1/4 cups superfine sugar (we haven't been able to find this at our grocery store so we put our regular sugar into a food processor until the granules were about half of their original size, per the instructions Sarabeth has at the beginning of the cookbook)2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract2 cups (12 oz) semisweet chocolate chips (Guittard is our go-to for chocolate chips!)1 1/2 cups (5 1/2 oz) coarsely chopped pecans1 1/4 cups (4 1/2 oz) coarsely shopped walnutsPreheat oven to 350°F. Racks should be placed in the top third and center of oven. Line your (2) cookie sheets with parchment paper.Using a double boiler, melt the butter. Add the semisweet and the unsweetened chocolate into the butter, stirring often until it's melted and smooth looking. Remove bowl from heat and let it cool for about five minutes, stirring occasionally.Sift dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, & salt) into a medium bowl. Whip eggs with a stand mixer with whisk attachment in med-high speed until the eggs are slightly thickened and foamy- about 30 seconds. Increase speed to high and slowly add the sugar & vanilla. Whip the eggs until they're very thick and a pale yellow, about 3 minutes. (We think this may have been the step we rushed a little too quickly and a large part of the reason our cookies weren't as tall as they should have been.) Reduce speed to medium and beat in the warm (not hot) chocolate, making sure everything is completely mixed. Change to the paddle attachment and reduce speed to low. Slowly add the flour mixture. Remove bowl from mixer and add in the chocolate chips and then the nuts using a wooden spoon. The dough will be much more soft than normal cookie dough.Using a 2-inch-diameter ice cream scoop (not a giant one like we did- our other problem), scoop the batter onto the lined cookie sheets, placing them about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake the cookies right away, if you don't they loose their beautiful shine. Bake, rotating your pans from bottom to top half way through baking. Bake for about 17-20 minutes total, or until the edges of the cookies are set. Completely cool on the baking pans. (they will be a huge gooey mess if you don't let them cool- trust us) They can be stored, says Sarabeth, at room temperature in a container separated by parchment paper for up to 3 days, but I don't know how that would happen.
These will certainly be made again, but only for other group get togethers- they would disappear too quickly between just Eric & I and we'd be in some sort of chocolate coma for weeks.