Shula submits this yummy cookie recipe which she found in the LA Times Food section and adapted from Julienne in San Marino. She lets us know "There is a pound and a half of chocolate in this recipe that makes about 36 cookies. What more needs to be said."
The cookies are best served the day they are made but are also delicious the next day. Store them in an airtight container at room temperature.
1 pound semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
3/4 cup unbleached flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 extra-large eggs
1 ½ cups sugar
2 tablespoons instant espresso powder
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
2 Cups fine quality bittersweet (56% to 60%) chips or ¼ inch chunks
3 Cups coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans (about 8 ounces) (optional)
1. Position the oven racks in the center and upper third of the oven and heat the oven to 325 degrees. Line 4 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan (or in a ceramic bowl over a pot of boiling water), melt the semisweet chocolate and butter over medium-low heat until smooth, 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
4. In the bowl of stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl using a hand mixer, beat together the eggs, sugar, espresso powder and vanilla until blended and slightly foamy, 1 to 2 minutes. Beat in the melted chocolate mixture, then the flour mixture. Stir in the bittersweet chocolate chunks and walnuts.
5. Using about 2 tablespoons of dough for each cookie, spoon the dough onto two of the prepared baking sheets, forming about 6 cookies per sheet. Bake until the cookies are cracked on the top and moist in the center, about 12 minutes (do not over bake so as to keep the center of the cookies moist and fudgy). Transfer the baking sheets to a rack and cool the cookies completely before removing. Remove the cookies gently using a metal spatula. ***
*** I made the cookies a little smaller, about 1 ½ tablespoons of dough (a ‘generous’ 1 tablespoon scoop). Also, I only baked one sheet at a time, so you might need only 2 baking sheets.
*** You can replace the bittersweet chocolate chips with milk chocolate if you like.