Chocolate and Espresso...

We went dark and dangerous for the Weekly Wednesday Treat Day that we've been doing for the past 3 1/2 years at whatever office Jeff is located in. Even though we went the chocolate route last week, Jeff apparently had a wicked craving this week and asked for another chocolate treat. I'm glad he asked though as I've been waiting for the right time try out these Dark Chocolate Cookies with Espresso!

There is melted chocolate used in these cookies, but you won't want it really warm when you add it into the batter. Before you get too far ahead, melt the chocolate needed first and leave it off to the side. When it is time to add it in, it will have cooled down enough so the half-prepared batter won't be sitting there waiting for you to try and take the warm edge off the chocolate!

These beauties have chocolate added in three forms - smooth Dutch-process cocoa in the dry ingredients, the melted bittersweet chocolate in the wet and finally a bunch of chunky bittersweet pieces folded in at the last minute. Using a knife works fine, but I like using a chocolate chipper to get uneven lumps without too much dust.

You could certainly use chips if you like, but whacking away at good-quality bar or block of chocolate to get those hefty pieces adds to the appeal of these cookies, and also leaves you with a few tasty little shards for the baker to enjoy!

I used a tablespoon cookie scoop to divvy the dough out - because we wanted the cookies to be fairly substantial, I was generous with scooping and made sure each was heaping, which ended up being roughly two tablespoons worth. As with most chocolate cookies, doneness can be a little hard to tell as the color isn't as apparent as it is when you are baking lighter cookies. I tend to go by nose and when it smells that outrageous chocolate aroma start to pour out of the oven, I'll take the cookies out. This ended up being when the edges were firm to the touch and the center was almost set - this gave us cookies that were somewhat crispy, yet still moist with a pleasant chew. If you are looking for cookies that are more crunchy, try leaving them in an extra minute or two.

Intense, rich and unlike other recipes where you just use a pinch of espresso to boost the chocolate notes, this cookie, with it's more adult caffeine zing, is laced with enough so you are not mistaken right from the get-go what these are all about. Since these were on the larger side with a decent thickness, one was plenty to calm Jeff's chocolate cookie monster noises. However, I think you could get away with making these a little smaller, allowing you a greater yield without losing out on the experience.

Recipes
Dark Chocolate Cookies with Espresso