Double Chocolate Please

             

I have been watching The Food Network since high school.  I used to watch Bobby Flay and Giada De Laurnetiis on weekend mornings.  I still watch them on a daily basis and catch up on the new episodes on Sunday mornings.

A few weeks ago on Giada At Home, she made a Double Chocolate Cookie recipe for a tailgate party.  I haven’t made double-chocolate chip cookies in so long, so I wanted to whip some up myself.                                                                                                     

I loved her recipe because she used bittersweet chocolate which I love to use instead of semi-sweet chocolate chips. Bittersweet chocolate is 60% cacoa and it has a richer chocolate flavor and that is a little more decadent than the average semi-sweet chocolate chip.

Like all of Giada’s recipes, these cookies are soft, chocolately and delicious!

       

I made half of the batch with the bittersweet chocolate chips but then I experimented with a new mix-in; Almond Joy Pieces.  They are chocolate-coated coconut candies.  If you like Samoas Girl Scout cookies then you will LOVE these because they taste just like them… I encourage all of you to try them!

I like using two different mix-ins because you get two different cookies out of one batch

Double Chocolate Cookies

·     1 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour (I used whole-wheat) 

·         1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

·         ½ teaspoon baking powder

·         ½ teaspoon baking soda

·         ¼ teaspoon salt

·         ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

·         ½ packed cup light brown sugar

·         ½ cup sugar

·         1 large egg

·         ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

·         1 heaping cup 60% cacao bittersweet chocolate chips (recommended: Ghirardelli)

·    Other optional mix-ins:  M&M’s, white chocolate chips, Almond Joy Pieces, or the Dark Chocolate Pieces

- Preheat oven 325 degrees.

- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Using mixer, beat the butter and sugars together until fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla. With the machine running, gradually add the flour mixture until just blended.

- Stir in the chocolate chips.  Form the dough into balls and place on cookie sheet (sprayed with nonstick spray). Flatten the tops of the dough slightly

- Bake until the tops of the cookies begin to crack slightly, about 14 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

                

- I added Almond Joy Pieces to half of the batter before baking. The candies are white, brown and blue but I only added the white and brown pieces.