Deluxe Chocolate-Chocolate Cookies

We have some really great friends, and one of the best ways I can repay them for their kind gestures is by baking them something yummy. I had just gotten to a chocolate cookie recipe in my Tartine cookbook, which I thought our friend Michael would like. He is so good when we visit Maryland; he checks our mail, takes us/picks us up from the airport if we need it, and so on. He also drives K to work, since K and I share a car. It’s nice having such a good neighbor, so he definitely deserved these cookies. I made a couple small changes, but I did not want to mess with the brownie consistency of these cookies. They stay soft for quite a while.

The recipe did not call for any kind of chocolate chips, which I found horrifying. I love chocolate cookies with some sort of texture. Since the cookies were going to be super dark, I knew that white chocolate chips would go well: nice pockets of creamy sweetness. On a few of the cookies, I went bold and added some salt on top. It ended up working really well. You can leave it out, just like you could leave out the chocolate chips, but maybe you can try it on at least one cookie. Go on, be bold.

The salt I used is from Costco. I happily discovered a huge grinder bottle of pink Himalayan salt. Its grinder is adjustable, so you can do bigger chunks of salt, too. It was much cheaper than other similar products I had seen, so that was what pushed me to actually buy it. Do you ever cook with fancy salts? I wasn’t sure where to start, but pink is pretty, and we liked it in Hawaii, so why not?

The chocolate chips could easily be swapped out for another mix-in, like nuts, regular chocolate chips, candy pieces, etc. My friend Lisa who likes to buy me too much stuff (ahem, still love you!) bought me these white chocolate chips from one of our favorite local bakeries, Bakery Nouveau. I had been wanting to use them in something where I would appreciate them, and this was great!

Directions for Deluxe Chocolate-Chocolate Cookies

Adapted from Tartine

•  8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 5.5 ounces flour (1 cup and 1 Tablespoon)
• 50 grams (1/2 cup and 2 Tablespoons) cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1.5 teaspoons instant coffee (optional)
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
• 8 ounces (1 cup and 2 Tablespoons) sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1.5 cups white chocolate chips
• Coarse sea salt (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare baking sheets. Melt the chocolate and set aside.

Stir together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and coffee in a bowl.

In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high until it is creamy. Add the sugar and mix on low until it is smooth.

It’s not smooth yet….

Now it’s smooth!

Scrape down the sides as necessary. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each one.

Beat in the salt and vanilla,

then the melted chocolate.

Once incorporated, mix in the milk.

 

Still on low, slowly add the flour mixture.

Stir in the white chocolate chips by hand.

Drop the dough onto your baking sheets.

They will spread a little as they bake. If you like, grind some coarse sea salt on top of the cookies before baking.

This one got some salt. It’s hard to tell that it’s pink, though.

Bake the cookies for about 7 minutes until the tops are just barely firm, but the cookies are still soft.

I call this look “rustic”

Let cool fully.

Directions for Deluxe Chocolate-Chocolate Cookies (without pictures)

Adapted from Tartine

•  8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 5.5 ounces flour (1 cup and 1 Tablespoon)
• 50 grams (1/2 cup and 2 Tablespoons) cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1.5 teaspoons instant coffee (optional)
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
• 8 ounces (1 cup and 2 Tablespoons) sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1.5 cups white chocolate chips
• Coarse sea salt (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare baking sheets. Melt the chocolate and set aside. Stir together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and coffee in a bowl. In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high until it is creamy. Add the sugar and mix on low until it is smooth. Scrape down the sides as necessary. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each one. Beat in the salt and vanilla, then the melted chocolate. Once incorporated, mix in the milk. Still on low, slowly add the flour mixture. Stir in the white chocolate chips by hand.

Drop the dough onto your baking sheets. They will spread a little as they bake. If you like, grind some coarse sea salt on top of the cookies before baking. Bake the cookies for about 7 minutes until the tops are just barely firm, but the cookies are still soft. Let cool fully.

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