Chocolate Chipped Cookies are like the cookies we all know and love, but at the same time, an explosion of flavors like you’ve never had before. Many years ago, I didn’t have any chocolate chips hanging around when I was craving a chocolate chip cookie. Instead, I had the remnants of a big bar of Callebaut dark chocolate that I had been using to make truffles and decided to chop it up and make some cookies from that. They turned out incredible. I remember my step monster (yes monster,) in particular, inhaling a massive pile of the warm, chewy cookies while complaining about the calories. They were gone in minutes. And I knew I had a hit.
The secret was that the chocolate was far superior to the chocolate chips that we find in the stores. Belgian chocolate is far superior. It tastes incredible without cheap ingredients. Chocolate from Europe just is better. If you’ve ever spent some time across the pond, you would agree it is one of the best back gifts to bring back. There is a reason why bakers and chocolatiers seek out European and particularly Belgian chocolate when making confections. American chocolate companies are allowed to add fillers and use cheaper ingredients and do so.
These Chocolate Chipped Cookies are supposed to look more rustic and marbled than their plain regular cousins. Because you are chopping up chocolate, you will have flecks and chunks, but that is fine. Hey, that is what the original recipe would have looked like before Nestle used it to market their chips. Ruth Graves Wakefield would add chopped chocolate to her cookies for her Toll House Inn. Chilling the dough for as little as 30 minutes to let the flour absorb some of the moisture helps give these cookies their chewy texture and keeps them from spreading out to flat disks. These are big bakery-style cookies, not your small bite-sized ones.
I bought a big bar of Callebaut from Amazon for this recipe, and I will use more of the bar for baking many chocolate goodies. You don’t have to buy the huge bar. Though the bar will last for a long time if stored properly in a cool dark place. Trader Joe’s has a fantastic Belgian chocolate bar, or you can find chunks of good chocolate in some gourmet stores. Unfortunately, Whole Foods has stopped carrying many gourmet products, including Callebaut. Luckily Amazon is full of fantastic European chocolate choices. I added walnuts to my Chocolate Chipped Cookies. You could omit them, but then we cannot be friends!
Ok, that is all for this week. I hope you try these Chocolate Chipped Cookies. They will change your life! Please think of others in your choices. What you do involves more than yourself; we all need to get through these times together. Until Next time.
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon for high altitude
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 sticks unsalted butter at cool room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/4 cups lightly packed dark brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 12 oz dark chocolate preferably Belgian
- 1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts
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Chop the chocolate into chunks around the same size as chocolate chips. Smaller pieces are ok, too. These cookies are meant to look almost marbled and rustic.
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In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt.
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In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment if you have one, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until creamy, about 2 minutes.
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Add the vanilla and eggs, and beat to combine.
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Gradually stir in the flour mixture.
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Stir in the chopped chocolate and the chopped walnuts.
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Chill the dough covered in plastic wrap for 30-120 minutes or up to 24 hours. You can freeze and thaw the dough when you want to bake some cookies.
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When you are ready to bake the cookies:
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Preheat oven to 350ºF.
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Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
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Divide the dough into 3-tablespoon-sized balls using a large cookie scoop and drop them onto prepared baking sheets about 3 inches apart. Flatten the ballls slightly.
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Bake for 14-18 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely. If you don't have enough cookie sheets let the pan cool completely before baking a new batch.
To make it easy to bake from frozen dough, I like to portion out each dough ball and freeze individually, then store in a container or plastic bag. The dough thaws quicker from individual balls. Then let them come to a cool room temperature before baking.
