The man in a Santa hat was unloading a delivery truck outside of the market today and told me, as I was passing, that he has good news: I've made it onto Santa's nice list.
"Phew," I said and came home to promptly share with you a recipe that is going to keep me on it.
Never one to disappoint, Dorie Greenspan delivers something heaven-sent with these chocolate cookies. It's a recipe that has reminded me how important simple techniques are - beating the eggs and sugar until pale and foamy, utilizing patience while the chocolate melts in a double boiler, actually following a recipe.
There are too many recipes floating around that have not been tried nor tested and yield peculiar results from the too-crumbly to the flat-like-a-pancake cookie. Dorie's are, well - to me, perfect: just enough chew, nice texture with the nuts and pockets of melted chocolate, sexy modesty with the currants. With cookie swap parties and stockings to fill (hey, this is a third stocking suggestion!) these cookies will serve you well since they could, I dare to believe, win over Scrooge.
And regarding the audacity to believe: what happened yesterday in Connecticut is staggering. Such an act amid the supposed season of grace is chilling and disheartening. The ethical questions raised are, indeed, ones that must be pressed and pursued: from gun regulations to how this country acknowledges and treats mental illness. But within us, in our stillness, what can we do? How do we march onward when all around us, beyond Sandy Hook, there is such despair?
I have no glass ball nor attunement to the heavens to encourage beyond this:
We must go out, with a headlamp and pick-ax if necessary, and find the good. We must lasso it and bring it home, learn its language and treat it well. We must be grateful and humble in our acts of gratitude. We must do it for ourselves, for the tree outside the window, for those we love and have loved, for our unborn children. And certainly, we must do it for the sake of those who no longer have the chance to see the snow fall nor the sun rise.
Chocolate Upon Chocolate Cookies
from Dorie Greenspan
Preheat oven to 350F.
Ingredients
1/3 c all-purpose flour
1/4 c cocoa powder (unsweetened)
1/2 t salt
1/4 t baking powder
3 T unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 c bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/4 c unsweetened (baking) chocolate, chopped
2 eggs
2/3 c sugar
1 t vanilla extract
1 c chocolate chips (or semi-sweet chocolate, chopped)
1 1/2 c toasted nut, chopped (pecan, almond or peanut)
1 c currants (raisins or chopped apricots are fine, too)
Process
Arrange the baking rack in the center of the oven and prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Sift the dry ingredients together and set aside.
Over a double boiler, melt the butter, bittersweet chocolate (1 cup) and unsweetened chocolate (1/4 cup) until smooth. Remove from heat and set aside.
Beat the eggs and sugar until pale and fluffy. This can be achieved with standing mixer, a handheld mixer or with a whisk and some patience. It'll take about 2 minutes (longer if you're whisking it).
Add the vanilla extract to the beaten eggs and sugar.
Fold in the melted butter and chocolate into the sugar and egg mixture. Gently incorporate the sifted dry ingredients until nearly combined. Add the chocolate chips, toasted nuts and fruit and mix until just combined.
At this point, the cookie dough will be quite wet looking; if it looks too wet to handle, stick it in the freezer for a few minutes to firm up. With two spoons or a small ice cream scooper, drop about 2 tablespoons worth of batter onto a parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake, one tray at a time, for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, place the cookies on a cooling rack and look forward to what comes next.
Yields: 2 dozen cookies
Prep time: 30 minutes (over-estimate)
Bake time: 10 minutes
Pictures by Amy Pennington/Styling by Me
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