I don’t play favorites much when it comes to cookies. I like them all from buttery shortbreads to crisp gingersnaps, oatmeal with pecans and cranberries to warm and gooey chocolate chip cookies, chewy, dense and rich. But this year I’ve discovered Chocolate Chunkers–a chocolate cookie that will leave you breathless if you’re a chocoholic like me. And I can’t think of a better cookie to leave out for Santa. These will put you on the ‘nice’ list for sure!

Imagine an easy, chocolate cookie recipe using 4 (count ’em FOUR!) types of chocolate plus nuts plus raisins (or my favorite-dried cranberries)? Cookies that are slightly crisp on the outside and dense and chewy with melty chunks of perfect chocolate in every. single. bite.

I care about you all too much to not share. I wish the recipe was mine but I fear I’m not enough of a culinary ninja to bring you anything quite like these. This recipe comes from the brilliant baker Dorie Greenspan and can be found in her exhaustive book, Baking: From My Home to Yours. If you’re only going to have one book for cookies and cakes make it this one. It’s masterful, written with the home cook in mind and the recipes all come out brilliantly. Seriously. It’s my go-to book for all the basics and more. Her shortbread is to die for and she has a recipe in there for World Peace Cookies that surely if we all ate one every day there really would be world peace 🙂

Anyway, back to the Chocolate Chunkers. These cookies will smack you right in the head with their amazing chocolatey goodness and make any glass of milk honored to be in their company. Prepare to ooh and ahh with each and every bite!  And since it’s the holiday season it’s time to go all out! These make wonderful gifts and are the perfect chocolate treat on New Years Eve.

When I made these over the weekend, I had help from my grandson Eli. He loves to help Mimi in the kitchen and he was oh-so-happy to help me add all the ingredients. I love cooking with him and even though he’s only 3, he’s not too young to learn and develop a love of all things food and cooking!

Adding the nuts, 2 kinds of chocolate and the dried cranberries. These are majorly chunky and wonderful, chewy and dense and intensely chocolatey.

Chocolate Chunkers ready to bake!

I mean, seriously.

Dorie Greenspan’s Chocolate Chunkers

makes about 3o cookies

CHOCOLATE CHUNKERS

Adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours

• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 3 pieces
• 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped into chunks, or 1 cup store-bought chocolate chips or chunks
• 6 ounces premium-quality milk or white chocolate, chopped into chunks, or 1 cup store-bought chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped nuts, preferably salted peanuts or toasted pecans
• 1 cup moist, plump raisins or finely chopped moist, plump dried apricots

1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.
2. Sift together the flour, cocoa, salt and baking powder.
3. Set a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Add the butter, bittersweet and unsweetened chocolate and heat, stirring occasionally, just until melted — the chocolate and butter should be smooth and shiny but not so hot that the butter separates. Remove the bowl from the heat and set it on the counter to cool.
4. Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar together on medium-high speed for about 2 minutes, until they are pale and foamy. Beat in the vanilla extract, then scrape down the bowl. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the melted butter and chocolate, mixing only until incorporated. With a rubber spatula, scrape down the bowl, then, on low speed, add the dry ingredients. Mix just until the dry ingredients disappear into the dough, which will be thick, smooth and shiny. Scrape down the bowl and, using the rubber spatula, mix in the semisweet and milk (or white) chocolate chunks, nuts and raisins — you’ll have more crunchies than dough at this point.
5. Drop the dough by generously heaping tablespoonfuls onto the baking sheets, leaving about an inch of space between the mounds of dough.
6. Bake the cookies one sheet at a time for 10 to 12 minutes. The tops of the cookies will look a little dry but the interiors should still be soft. Remove the baking sheet and carefully, using a broad metal spatula, lift the cookies onto a cooling rack to cool to room temperature.
7. Repeat with the remaining dough, baking only one sheet of cookies at a time and making sure to cool the baking sheets between batches.
8. If, when the cookies are cooled, the chocolate is still gooey and you’d like it to be a bit firmer, just pop the cookies into the fridge for about 10 minutes.

PS. The cookies in the picture were made by scooping out about 2 tablespoonfuls of the dough and flattening the mounds of dough slightly.

Kate’s Tips

• Feel free to mix things up with these cookies. Use whatever nuts, dried fruits or chocolate combos you like! You can’t mess them up and you won’t go wrong!
• It’s fine to use chocolate from the grocery store like Ghiradelli. However, if you want to take these to the next level, try using some really good chocolate like Scharffen Berger Bittersweet Dark Chocolate or E Guittard Chocolate Chips or Dagoba Baking Chocolate Bar-Semisweet. I keep all three in my pantry for special desserts and cookies.
• Bake these using either parchment paper or, my favorite, Silpat Non-Stick Baking Mats. These are truly a gift to home bakers. Nothing will stick to them and there’s no cleanup of big baking sheets!
• Store in an airtight container for 3 days or freeze for 2 months.

He’s mighty proud of his cookie!