Thick and Chewy Triple Chocolate Cookies

When I want a "death by chocolate" cookie recipe, this is it.  With cocoa powder, chocolate chips and a whole pound of melted chocolate, these cookies are packed with dark chocolate flavor.  These also keep quite well in the freezer.  These cookies can be a bit expensive to make if you buy a pound of baking chocolate bars from the grocery store.  I've started using Trader's Joe's Pound Plus bars for baking.  They run about $5 for just over a pound.  Dutch-processed cocoa is also pretty expensive.  I compromise and buy the Hershey's "Special Dark" baking cocoa, which is a mix of natural and Dutch-processed cocoa.

Thick and Chewy Triple-Chocolate Cookies
Yields about 40-50 cookies
Ingredients:
2 cups (10 ounces) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (1 1/2 ounces) Dutch-processed or regular cocoa
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pound semisweet chocolate, chopped
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups packed (10 1/2 ounces) light brown sugar
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Whisk flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt together in medium bowl; set aside.

2. Microwave chocolate at 50 percent power for 2 minutes.  Stir chocolate and continue heating until melted, stirring every additional 30 seconds; set aside to cool slightly.  Whisk eggs and vanilla in small bowl.

3. Beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar at medium speed until combined, about 45 seconds; mixture will look granular.  Reduce speed to low, gradually add egg mixture, and mix until incorporated, about 45 seconds.  Add melted chocolate in steady stream and mix until combined, about 40 seconds.  Add dry ingredients and mix until just combined.  Do not overbeat.  Stir in the chocolate chips.  Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature until consistency is scoopable and fudgelike, about 30 minutes.  While dough is resting, adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350 degrees.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat liners.

4.  Working with about 2 tablespoons of dough at a time, roll into balls and place about 1 1/2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets.

5.  Bake until edges of cookies have just begun to set but centers are still very soft, about 10 minutes, switching and rotating the sheets halfway through baking.  Let cookies cool on baking sheets for 10 minutes; transfer cookies to wire rack and let cool to room temperature.

Source: Cook's Illustrated Cookbook and melskitchencafe.com

Monster Cookies

One of the wonderful things about growing up in the Midwest was the presence of monster cookies in my life.  I grew up loving them.  I am a big chocolate-peanut butter fan, but throw in some oats and M&Ms and I couldn't be happier.  My high school cafeteria sold freshly baked monster cookies, packaged up in pairs.  I often splurged and bought them when word got out that they had warm ones for sale up at the counter.  

You can imagine my shock and dismay when I discovered that my husband  (who did not grow up in the Midwest) had never heard of these favorite cookies of mine.  These are probably the cookies I bake the most, so I am working hard to make up for all the years he lived without monster cookies in his life.  

Although I have seen monster cookie recipes that contain some flour, this particular recipe does not.  The result is a chewy cookie packed full of peanut butter and oaty-flavor.  One thing I love about this recipe is that it makes a very large batch, perfect for freezing.  I love having some on hand in the freezer to pull out when I'm taking a meal to a new mom, need to bring cookies to an event, or just for a little dessert at home.  And one of my favorite ways to enjoy these cookies is straight from the freezer with a little ice cream sandwiched in between.

Monster Cookies
Yield: about 50-60 cookies
Note: I think the cookies with the most M&Ms on top are the most sought-after, so I press 2-3 additional M&Ms on top of each cookie before baking to make sure each one looks great.
Ingredients:
3 eggs
1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
12 oz. creamy peanut butter
1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter, softened
1 cup M&Ms
1 cup chocolate chips
2 teaspoons baking soda
4 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the eggs and sugars.  Mix well.  Add the salt, vanilla, peanut butter and butter.  Mix until creamy and well combined.  Stir in the M&Ms, chocolate chips, baking soda and oatmeal.  Mix well.  Roll the dough into tablespoon-sized balls (or use a cookie scoop) and place 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets.  Flatten cookies slightly with the palm of your hand.

3. Bake for 8-12 minutes.  Do not overbake-the cookies should be just set and very lightly golden around the edges.  Let the cookies cool  for 1-2 minutes on the cookie sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.  Store in an airtight container for 2 days or place in freezer bags and freeze.

Source: adapted from a Paula Deen recipe on foodnetwork.com and melskitchencafe.com

Slow Cooker Stuffing

The last couple of years I have made homemade stuffing that was too dry for our tastes.  This year we decided to give this slow cooker recipe a try, and we really liked it.  I'm so excited to be able to prepare the stuffing early in the day and not have to worry about it while preparing the turkey.  My slow cookers have typically gotten a break on Thanksgiving, but I think that will be changing!

After eating Thanksgiving dinner and dessert, I was very curious to know how many sticks of butter I had used in total in preparing the meal.  This recipe definitely added to the count, but at least Thanksgiving only happens once a year.

Slow Cooker Stuffing
Note: Next year I may double this recipe because we like Thanksgiving leftovers!  I think this recipe would be very adaptable with different add-ins to suit different tastes (my husband wants to try raisins and walnuts).  Also, check occasionally during cooking to see if the edges have started to burn.  Once the stuffing reaches 160 degrees, the eggs have reached a safe temperature and the slow cooker can be turned to the "keep warm" setting if desired.  Ours was starting to burn around the edges after being cooked for less than four hours, and it had already passed 160 degrees.
Ingredients:
1 cup butter
2 cups chopped onion
2 cups chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
12 cups bread cubes (Italian or French bread works well)
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1 1/2 teaspoons dried sage
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 1/2-2 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth (if you use store-bought bagged bread cubes, they will be drier and likely need more liquid)
2 eggs, beaten

Directions:
1. The night before preparing the stuffing, cut up the bread into 1-inch cubes.  Spread on a baking sheet in a single layer and allow to dry out overnight.

2. Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat.  Stirring frequently, cook onion, celery, and parsley in the butter until the vegetables have begun to soften.

3. Spoon cooked vegetables over the bread cubes in a very large mixing bowl.  Season with poultry seasoning, sage, thyme, marjoram, salt and pepper.  Pour in enough broth to moisten, and mix in the eggs.  Transfer the mixture to a slow cooker.

4. Cover and cook on high for 45 minutes, then reduce heat to low.  Cook for 4-8 hours on low (see note above).

Source: adapted from allrecipes.com

Chocolate Wafer Cookies

These are pretty unassuming looking little cookies.  But what they lack in appearance, they make up for in rich chocolate flavor.  I have been making (and loving) these for a few years.  I used to roll out the dough and cut out shapes with cookie cutters.  But let's be honest--that takes quite a bit of time.  And since my inspiration for making these is usually that I want to make a pie with a chocolate cookie crumb crust, it didn't seem worth the effort.

Then I came across an idea to roll these into logs and just slice and bake after the dough has chilled.  Brilliant!  Why bother with cookie cutters if I'm just planning on pulverizing the little wafers anyway?  Not all of these will be needed for one pie crust, however.  And it is a very good thing to have a good-sized bag of extras hanging out waiting to be eaten.  I like to freeze them and pull some out to have with hot chocolate on chilly winter nights.

Chocolate Wafer Cookies
Yield: 60-75 small wafers
Ingredients:
3 sticks (3/4 pound) butter, room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/3 cups cocoa powder, sifted
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour

Directions:
1. Cream the butter and sugar on medium high speed until fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.  Add the cocoa powder.  Mix on low speed until incorporated.

2. Add the eggs and vanilla, blend thoroughly.  Add the flour and mix on low speed until just incorporated.  Form the dough into three logs, about two inches in diameter.  Wrap in plastic wrap and chill until firm (at least 3 hours).

3. Position oven racks in middle and upper middle positions.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking liners.  Cut into slices 1/8-1/4-inch thick and place on cookie sheet, leaving space between each cookie to allow for spreading.

4. Bake for 14-19 minutes, rotating pans halfway through baking time.  Allow to cool at least five minutes on cookie sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool.  The wafers should become crisp as they cool.  If they are still soft, bake for a couple more minutes.  After they are completely cooled, these wafers keep very well in the freezer.

Source: recipe adapted from theprudenthomemakerblog.blogspot.com. slice and bake idea from smittenkitchen.com