Week 1: Triple Chocolate Cookie

Hoo-ray for chocolate! Did you know that instant coffee added in a chocolate recipe makes the chocolate even better tasting? It does. It makes the flavor of the chocolate more intense. This is a must if you love chocolate. I've seen Ina Garten use coffee in her cakes and buttercreams and I've run across it in many chocolate recipes. I used it in my rum balls this last Christmas. Using instant coffee in this cookie recipe was no exception. They are chocolatey and delicious!

Recipe courtesy Baking Illustrated

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

16 oz semi sweet chocolate, chopped

4 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 tsp instant coffee

10 Tbsp unsalted butter

1 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

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

2. Melt chocolate in microwave by 30 second intervals or in a bowl over simmering water on stove top, remove from heat and set aside. In a small bowl, beat the eggs and vanilla lightly and then sprinkle in the instant coffee to dissolve.

3. With a mixer, beat the butter at med. speed until smooth. Beat in the sugars until combined. Reduce speed to low and gradually beat in egg mixture until incorporated. Add the chocolate in a stream and beat until combined. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl. With mixer on low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined.

4. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temp for 30 min. During this time preheat the oven to 350 degrees, prep cookie sheets with parchment paper. Scoop the dough into mounds on sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart.

5. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool the cookies on cookie sheet for 10 minutes and then transfer to wire racks.

So I did a few things differently. I didn't have enough semi-sweet chocolate so I ended up using the Lindt bittersweet that I recently picked up at Jungle Jim's and mixed it with my Graeter's semi-sweet I had leftover from Christmas buckeye making. To make them "triple" chocolate cookies I added 1 cup Nestle semi-sweet chunks and 1 cup semi-sweet chips. My husband, Kriston and I both decided these could have used a little more salt. But the texture of these cookies are amazing! They have a nice chocolatey crust on the outside and soft in the middle with nice morsels of melted chocolatey goodness.

Survey Results! On a scale of 1-5, 1 being the worst cookie ever and 5 being the best...These cookies are averaging a 4 right now out of 11 surveys. The best comment has been, "Very chewy with a nice taste of chocolate. Edges were crispy but did not interfere with the overall cookie texture." So far my recommendation is that you try these out for yourselves!