by Donna Cain
O.K……… I must say that it is a daily challenge not to eat all of the goodies we put out for our afternoon tea at the Captain Freeman Inn on Cape Cod. I am a believer that one should not eat sweets regularly, saving them for special occasions when it’s OK to eat chocolate and other delicious sweets. This morning after smelling the cookies that Nick was baking I decided today was a good day to celebrate. This recipe really is special and what separates it apart from other cookies is when you use quality chocolate. We like to buy Belgian Dark Chocolate and for these cookies we used shavings from a huge block by Callebaut.
Chocolate Chubbies
8 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
9 ounces bittersweet chocolate (no more than 62% cacao) ours was 54.5%, finely chopped
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup unbleached flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups superfine sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups (12 ounces) semi sweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped pecans
1 1/4 cups coarsely chopped walnuts
Position racks in the center and top third of the oven and preheat to 350. Line baking sheets with parchment paper
Bring 1 inch of water to a simmer in a medium saucepan over low heat. Put the butter in a wide heatproof bowl, and melt the butter over the hot water saucepan. Add the bittersweet and unsweetened chocolate, stirring often, until melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove the bowl from the heat and let stand, stirring occasionally, until cooled slightly but still warm, about 5 minutes.
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together in a medium bowl. Whip the eggs in a bowl of a heavy duty stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment on medium speed until the eggs are foamy and lightly thickened, about 30 seconds. Increase the speed to high and gradually add the sugar and then the vanilla. Whip until the eggs are thick and pale yellow, about 3 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and beat in the tepid chocolate, making sure it is completely incorporated . Change to the paddle attachment and reduce the speed to low. Slowly add the chocolate chips and nuts, making sure the chunky ingredients are evenly distributed on the bottom of the bowl.
Using a 2 inch diameter ice cream scoop, portion the batter onto the prepared pans. Space the cookies about 1 1/2 inch apart. Bake the cookies immediately- if you wait they will be shiny after baking. Bake switching the position of the pans from top to bottom and front to back about halfway through baking Bake until the cookies are set around the edges. (if you lift a cookie from the pan, the edges should release easily) Baking time is approximately 17-20 minutes. Do not over bake. Cool completely on the baking pans. The cookies can be stored in an air tight container at room temperature, with layers separated by parchment paper.
Exhaling on Cape Cod and loving our afternoon tea.
