Saturday, January 10, 2009

Chewy Chocolate Cookies - "Death by chocolate"




Makes 16 of the most amazing cookies you will ever have!! The directions seem a bit tedious but trust me it is worth every single minute of prep time!!

1/3 c. granulated sugar, plus ½ cup for coating
1 ½ c. all-purpose flour
¾ c. cocoa powder
½ t. baking soda
¼ t. plus 1/8 t. salt
½ c. dark corn syrup
1 large egg white
1 t. vanilla extract
12 T. (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened (70 degrees)
1/3 c. packed dark brown sugar
4 ounces dark chocolate chunks, chopped ½-inch pieces

1. Adjust oven racks to upper and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Whisk flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt together in medium bowl. Whisk corn syrup, egg white, and vanilla together in small bowl.
3. In mixer with paddle attachment beat butter, brown sugar, and 1/3 c. granulated sugar at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to medium-low, add corn syrup mixture, and beat until fully incorporated, about 20 seconds, scraping bowl once with rubber spatula. With mixer running at low speed, add flour mixture and chopped chocolate; mix until just incorporated, about 30 seconds, scraping bowl. Give dough final stir with rubber spatula to ensure that no pickets of flour remain at bottom. Chill dough 30 minutes to firm slightly (do no chill longer than 30 minutes!)
4. Roll dough into 16 even portioned balls, about 1 ½ inch in diameter. Drop dough balls into baking dish with sugar and toss to coat. Set dough balls on prepared baking sheet, spacing about 2 inches apart; repeat with second batch. Bake, reversing position of the baking sheets halfway through baking (from top to bottom and front to back), until cookies are puffed and cracked and edges have begun to set but centers are still soft (cookies will look raw between cracks and seem underdone). Bake 10-11 minutes, do not overbake.
4. Cool cookies on baking sheet 5 minutes, then use wide metal spatula to transfer cookies to wire rack; cool cookies.

Recipe by: Cooks Illustrated