My turn!!!!!...Baking with Dorie Chocolate Chunkers

When I received the email telling me it was my turn to choose the next recipe for our Baking with Dorie group, I was so excited! I had just ordered my book and only had it about a week. I really only had time to just flip through the pages. I thought it would be fairly simple to choose, as there were SO many recipes I really wanted to try.

But then I started reading the book. All 514 pages. I loved all the little stories that went with each recipe. AND each recipe sounded better than the last.  How was I ever going to choose? I flipped back and forth. I marked up pages. I used sticky notes. This was going to be harder than I thought!

I just couldn't make up my mind. And then I just asked myself what I was really hungry for. That was easy. Cookies. Chocolate cookies. Something that sounded rich and sinful. Page 70. Chocolate Chunkers. Dorie described them as "truly fabulous, big gooey, exceedingly chocolaty." It was a done deal!

I'm REALLY happy with my choice...and actually...... I just have one word to say. "Fabulous!"

You can check out the other members cookies here.

Chocolate Chunkers

{Baking from My House to Yours by Dorie Greenspan}

1/3 c. all-purpose flour

1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. baking powder

3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into 3 pieces

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped

2 large eggs, at room temperature

2/3 c. sugar

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped into chunks, or 1 cup store

bought chocolate chips or chunks

6 ounces premium-quality milk or white chocolate, chopped into chunks, or

1 cup store-bought chocolate chips or chunks

1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped nuts, preferably salted peanuts or toasted pecans

1 cup moist, plump raisins{dark or golden} or finely chopped moist dried apricots

Getting ready:

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.

Sift together the flour, cocoa, salt, and baking powder.

Set a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Add  the butter,bittersweet chocolate and unsweetened chocolate and heat, stirring occasionally, just until melted-the chocolate and butter should be smooth and shiny but not so hot that the butter separates. Remove the bowl from the heat and set it on the counter to cool.

Working with a stand mixer,preferably fitted with a paddle adjustment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the two eggs and the sugar together on medium high speed for about 2 minutes, until they are pale and foamy. Beat in the vanilla extract, then scrape down the bowl. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the melted butter and chocolate, mixing only until Incorporated. With a rubber spatula, scrape down the bowl, then on low speed. add the dry ingredients. Mix just until the dry ingredients disappear into the dough, which will be thick, smooth and shiny. Scrape down the bowl and, using the rubber spatula, mix in the semi-sweet and milk{or white} chocolate chunks, nuts, and raisins-you'll have more crunchies than dough at this point.{The dough can be wrapped in plastic and kept refrigerated for up to three days'}

Drop the dough by generously heaping tablespoons onto the baking sheets, leaving about an inch of space between the mounds of dough.

Bake the cookies one sheet at a time for 10 to 12 minutes. The tops of the cookies will look a little dry but the interiors should still be soft. Remove the baking sheet and carefully, using a broad metal spatula, lift the cookies onto a cooling rack to coll to room temperature.

Repeat with the remaining dough, baking only one sheet of cookies at a time and making sure to cool the baking sheets between batches.

If, when the cookies are cooled, the chocolate is still gooey and you'd like it to be a bit firmer, just pop the cookies int the fridge for about 10 minutes.