The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook (291 page)

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

Cookie recipes that trumpet their extreme chocolate flavor always leave us a bit suspicious. While they provide plenty of intensity, these over-the-top confections also tend to be delicate and crumbly, more like cakey brownies than cookies. We set out to make an exceptionally rich chocolate cookie that we could sink our teeth into—without having it fall apart. Our first batch, which used modest amounts of cocoa powder and melted chocolate, baked up too cakey and tender—just what we didn’t want. The chocolate was the culprit—its fat was softening the dough. We scaled back the chocolate until we eliminated it entirely, which made the cookies less cakey and tender, and thus, more cookielike. To restore chocolate flavor without adding too much fat, we increased the cocoa powder and reduced the flour. Using an egg white rather than a whole egg (or yolk) gave us the structure we wanted and adding dark corn syrup gave the cookies a nice chewiness and lent a hint of caramel flavor. For more richness, we folded in chopped bittersweet chocolate; the chunks stayed intact and added intense flavor. After rolling the dough into balls, we dipped them in granulated sugar before baking to give the cookies a sweet crunch and an attractive crackled appearance once they were out of the oven.

MAKES ABOUT 16 COOKIES

Use a high-quality bittersweet or semisweet chocolate here. Light brown sugar can be substituted for the dark, as can light corn syrup for the dark, but with some sacrifice in flavor.

1.
Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Place ¹⁄
₂
cup granulated sugar in shallow baking dish or pie plate. Whisk flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt together in medium bowl. Whisk corn syrup, egg white, and vanilla together in small bowl.

2.
Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, beat butter, brown sugar, and remaining ¹⁄
₃
cup 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 down bowl as needed with rubber spatula. Reduce speed to low, add flour mixture and chopped chocolate, and mix until just incorporated, about 30 seconds, scraping down bowl as needed. Give dough final stir to ensure that no flour pockets remain and ingredients are evenly distributed. Refrigerate dough for 30 minutes to firm slightly.

3.
Working with 2 tablespoons of dough at a time, roll into balls. Roll half of dough balls in sugar to coat. Place dough balls 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheet; repeat with remaining dough balls. Bake 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), 10 to 11 minutes, switching and rotating baking sheets halfway through baking. Do not overbake.

4.
Let cookies cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes; transfer cookies to wire rack and let cool to room temperature.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

Our goal in creating a traditional double-chocolate cookie recipe seemed more like a fantasy: the first bite of the cookie would reveal a center of hot fudge sauce, the texture would call to mind chocolate bread pudding, and the overall flavor would be of deep and complex chocolate. Was it possible? In the end, the fulfillment of our fantasy relied on very basic ingredients—chocolate, sugar, eggs, butter, flour, baking powder, and salt. We used a modified creaming method with minimal beating to produce moist cookies that weren’t cakey, and we let the batter rest for a half-hour to develop a certain fudginess. Ingredient proportions were all-important—for moist, rich cookies, we had to use more chocolate than flour. The more highly processed semisweet chocolate tasted smoother and richer than unsweetened, and Dutch-processed cocoa—which many bakers find superior in flavor to regular cocoa—and instant coffee further enriched the chocolate flavor. At last, we had a cookie that was both rich and soft, with an intense chocolaty center.

MAKES ABOUT 42 COOKIES

Resist the urge to bake the cookies longer than indicated; they may appear underbaked at first but will firm up as they cool.

1.
Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt together in medium bowl; set aside.

2.
Microwave chocolate at 50 percent power for 2 minutes. Stir chocolate and continue heating until melted, stirring once every additional minute; set aside to cool slightly. Whisk eggs and vanilla together in medium bowl, sprinkle instant coffee over top to dissolve, and set aside.

3.
Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, beat butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar at medium speed until combined, about 45 seconds; mixture will look granular. Reduce speed to low, gradually add egg mixture, and mix until incorporated, about 45 seconds. Add melted chocolate in steady stream and mix until combined, about 40 seconds, scraping down bowl as needed. With mixer still running on low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Do not overbeat. Cover bowl of dough with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature until consistency is scoopable and fudgelike, about 30 minutes.

4.
Working with 2 tablespoons of dough at a time, roll into balls and place 1¹⁄
₂
inches apart on prepared baking sheets.

5.
Bake until edges of cookies have just begun to set but centers are still very soft, about 10 minutes, switching and rotating baking sheets halfway through baking. Let cookies cool on baking sheets for 10 minutes; transfer cookies to wire rack and let cool to room temperature.

The addition of chocolate chips will slightly increase the yield of the cookies.

Add 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips to batter after dry ingredients are incorporated in step 3.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

Recipes for peanut butter cookies tend to fall into one of two categories: sweet and chewy with a mild peanut flavor, or sandy and crumbly with a strong peanut flavor. What we wanted, of course, was the best of both worlds—that is, cookies that were crisp on the edges and chewy in the center, with lots of peanut flavor. First off, we had to determine the amount and type of sugar. Granulated sugar was necessary for crisp edges and chewy centers, while dark brown sugar enriched the peanut flavor. As for flour, too little resulted in an oily cookie, whereas too much made for dry cookies. Baking soda contributed to browning and amplified the peanut flavor and baking powder provided lift, making both leaveners necessary. Extra-crunchy peanut butter also helped the cookies rise and achieve a crispier edge and a softer center. But the best way to get the true peanut flavor we sought was to use peanuts and salt. Adding some roasted salted peanuts, ground in a food processor, and then adding still more salt (directly to the batter as well as in the form of salted rather than unsalted butter) produced a strong roasted nut flavor without sacrificing anything in terms of texture.

MAKES ABOUT 36 COOKIES

These cookies have a strong peanut flavor that comes from extra-crunchy peanut butter as well as from roasted salted peanuts that are ground in a food processor and worked into the dough. In our testing, we found that salted butter brings out the flavor of the nuts. If using unsalted butter, increase the salt to 1 teaspoon.

1.
Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

2.
Whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in medium bowl; set aside.

3.
Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, beat butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes, scraping down bowl as needed. Add peanut butter and mix until fully incorporated, about 30 seconds; add eggs, one at a time, and vanilla and mix until combined, about 30 seconds. Reduce speed to low and add dry ingredients; mix until combined, about 30 seconds. Mix in ground peanuts until just incorporated. Give dough final stir to ensure that no flour pockets remain and ingredients are evenly distributed.

4.
Working with 2 tablespoons of dough at a time, roll into balls and place 2¹⁄
₂
inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Press each dough ball twice, at right angles, with dinner fork dipped in cold water to make crisscross design.

5.
Bake until cookies are puffy and slightly brown around edges but not on top, 10 to 12 minutes (cookies will not look fully baked), switching and rotating baking sheets halfway through baking. Let cookies cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes; transfer cookies to wire rack and let cool to room temperature.