The Boston Globe

Wednesday, December 3, 2003

Food Section - Page E5

 

 

COOKIES MAKE A CHOCOLATE STATEMENT

 

by

Lisa Yockelson,

Globe Correspondent

 

   Lisa Yockelson is the author of the award-winning "Baking by Flavor."

 

The holidays are not the time for an ephemeral, lightweight kind of sweet

but rather for an intrepid confection with expansive flavors that make a

statement.  The high impact of chocolate does just that.

 

The swarthy style of a brownie square or bar, in all their moistness,

meets the luxury of a dense chocolate cake in this easy drop cookie,

which I have been fine-tuning for some time now.

 

The dough is actually a reasonably thick batter, made from a minimal

amount of flour, a little cocoa, a luxurious amount of bittersweet and

unsweetened chocolate, semisweet chips, and enough butter to build its

character and determine the overall baked consistency. A gurgle of

vanilla extract and a little salt are added to bring out the deep,

rounded flavor of the multiple chocolates.  The straightforward dough

bakes into fudgy, intense pools of richness, uninterrupted by nuts or

fruit.  These are cookies for those who dote on the straight and

unswerving flavor of chocolate alone. Even the most casual holiday baker

can easily gather the ingredients for them.

 

In creating the batter, the dry ingredients -- flour, cocoa, baking

powder, and salt -- are sifted together to aerate the mixture.  Eggs,

sugar, and a minimal amount of light corn syrup are mixed and beaten

before melted butter and the melted chocolate are combined.  The flour

mixture is sifted once again, this time directly over the batter, which

will give the baked cookies a gossamer texture.  Then chips are stirred

in as a final fillip.  The dough is set aside for 5 to 10 minutes to firm

up slightly.  The key to baking these cookies is to watch the timing in

the oven.  They should be softly set throughout.  Then cool them on the

parchment paper sheets to preserve their shape.

 

Before you pack the holiday tin, taste a cookie.  You may find yourself

dipping into the stash a few more times before tying the ribbon and

parting with them.

 

 


   RICH AND FUDGY CHOCOLATE COOKIES

  

     1/3 cup + 1 Tablespoon   all-purpose flour

       2 Tablespoons          unsweetened alkalized cocoa

     1/2 teaspoon             baking powder

         teaspoon             salt

       3 large                eggs

       1 cup + 2 Tablespoons  granulated sugar

       2 teaspoons            light corn syrup

       8 Tablespoons          unsalted butter  (1 stick),

                                melted and cooled to tepid

       9 ounces               bittersweet chocolate,

                                melted and cooled to tepid

       3 ounces               unsweetened chocolate,

                                melted and cooled to tepid

       2 teaspoons            vanilla extract

   1 1/2 cups                 semisweet chocolate chips

 

   1. Set the oven at 325 degrees.  Line several cookie sheets with

      parchment paper.

 

   2. Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt.

 

   3. In an electric mixer, beat the eggs, sugar, and corn syrup on

      moderately low speed for 1 minute.  Blend in the butter,

      bittersweet chocolate, unsweetened chocolate, and vanilla.  Beat

      on low speed until smooth and no patches of egg mixture show. 

      Scrape down the mixing bowl often as the elements come together.

 

   4. Resift the flour and cocoa mixture over the chocolate mixture and

      blend it in on low speed.

 

   5. Remove the bowl from the mixer stand and stir in the chocolate

      chips.  The batter will be soft and glossy.  Cover the bowl with

      plastic wrap and let it stand for 10 minutes.

 

   6. Place 3-tablespoon mounds of dough onto the lined sheets, spacing

      the mounds about 3 inches apart, arranging 9 mounds to a sheet

      (do not crowd them).

 

   7. Bake the cookies for 13 to 14 minutes or until they set.  Begin

      checking them after 12 minutes.  The baked cookies will be soft but

      stable, and the tops, when set, will no longer seem like wet batter.

      Let the cookies stand on the sheets for 1 minute.  Then slide the

      parchment onto a wire rack and let the cookies cool completely on

      the paper.  Use a wide metal spatula to remove them from the sheet

      and store in an airtight tin.

 

   Makes about 20 cookies.

 

 

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