Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1/3 cup cocoa
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla paste
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. In a medium sized bowl combine flour, cocoa, salt, and baking powder. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla paste and combine thoroughly. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the sweetened butter and mix until a very thick dough forms. Fold in the chocolate chips and distributing them evenly. Form cookies by dropping 1 tablespoon of dough on the sheet two inches apart. Bake for exactly 12 minutes; the cookies will look slightly shiny and soft, but the bottoms should be lightly browned and crisp. Remove gently slide the cookies still on the parchment to a wire rack to cool for 2 minutes or until set. Remove the parchment and continue to cool the cookies on the wire rack until fully cooled.

Yield: about 1 1/2 dozen fairly large cookies

My thoughts:

Matt was at his Tai Chi class yesterday and I was avoiding washing those last few utensils at the bottom of the sink (no dishwasher here!) so I thought I’d make a quick batch of cookies. Good thing too, because Matt came home saying he felt like having something sweet but that the cookies at the grocery were unappealing and overpriced. Score one for my marital psychic ability. These cookies are dead simple but very satisfying. The trick is to take them out of the oven at precisely 12 minutes and let them continue to cook slightly and set up on the rack. This makes for a cookie that is every so slightly on the moist side (without being pudding-y or brownie-like) but not overcooked or dry. It is a little tricky sliding them onto the rack while still on parchment but it is worth the effort. They are super chocolatey and studded with even more chocolate. What more could you want?