Bittersweet Chocolate Chunk Cookies

In this season of my life where there are days that it’s hard to “look on the bright side,” I am trying to focus on what I have to be thankful for and the many blessings that God have given me.  Some of my favorite joys in life (and in no particular order) are: watching a sunset in the summer, playing a board game with my analytical husband and actually winning, drinking hot cocoa next to a warm fire in winter, laughing with my 9 month old son, hiking through a forest and enjoying nature, reading a book I can’t put down, and eating a warm chocolate chip cookie right out of the oven.  Since some of them require more time that I have, (see 9 month old son in previous sentence), I decided I would make some chocolate chip cookies.  And eat them when they came right out of the oven.

I had some bittersweet chocolate that I had purchased a while ago for a recipe that I now can’t remember.  (Truffles, maybe?)  So instead of it being shoved in the back of the pantry only to find it too many months later, I decided to make chocolate chip cookies using the bittersweet chocolate bar.  I’ve used many other chips in cookie recipes before–peanut butter, Reece’s, white chocolate, and of course, the ever-popular semi-swee, but not bittersweet.   (I don’t like milk chocolate, so I’ve never used them in a cookie recipe.) 

If you want good chocolate chip cookies, you need good, quality chocolate.  I like this brand, but you can use any good chocolate you like.  (Tip: The higher the cacao percentage, the better the chocolate.)

Chop it up, using a large knife.  You’ll get shavings and chunks.  I like this because it creates a marbling effect on your cookies, and chunks of chocolate to satisfy your sweet tooth.

The best part about this cookie recipe is that you can make it all in one bowl.  You don’t have to use a mixer and get more dishes dirty.  So almost all the pictures have ingredients in the bowl.  Okay, ready for this super-simple recipe?  You need a bowl. 

Put 1 cup of butter (2 sticks) inside.

Put it in the microwave for 1 minute 30 seconds, so it’s soft.  Stir the butter with a wooden spoon (or spatula) until all is melted.

Add brown sugar and white sugar, and stir.

Add eggs and vanilla and stir again.

Add the rest of the dry ingredients and stir.

Lastly, add the chocolate shavings and chunks and fold it into the batter.

Using a cookie scoop, scoop out the dough onto a cookie sheet.

Put 9 large cookies on the sheet.  Do this twice.  (If you want smaller cookies, you can, but don’t put more than 9 on a cookie sheet, as these cookies spread.  I didn’t have enough room for 4 cookie sheets in my fridge, so I made 18 large cookies.)

Put it in the fridge for about 1 1/2-2 hours, until they are nice and hard.  (This helps them set up and limit the spreading they do in the oven.)  Then bake for about 15 minutes.  Beware–they do spread!  A lot!  Wait a couple of minutes before putting on a cookie rack to cool completely.  (If you can get that far!)

And then eat while they are still warm.  Nice and large and warm.  Ahh, one of life’s simple pleasures. 

Bittersweet Chocolate Chunk Cookies

adapted from the book Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey

1 c (2 sticks) butter

3/4 c packed brown sugar

3/4 c sugar

1 1/4 t salt

2 1/2 t pure vanilla

2 eggs

2 1/4 c flour

1/2 t baking soda

1/4 t baking powder

9.7 oz. bittersweet baking bar, cut into slivers and chunks

Place the butter in a microwavable safe bowl.  Microwave, uncovered, for about 1 1/2 minutes.  With a wooden spoon, mix the rest of the butter until all is melted.  Add the sugars and mix.  Next add the eggs and vanilla, mixing with the spoon.  Lastly, add the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.    Fold in the chocolate.  Using a cookie scoop, (or 1/4-cup measuring cup) scoop out 18 large, even cookie balls onto two cookie sheets (9 on each sheet).  Place in the fridge for about 1 1/2 hours.

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Place cold cookies in the oven and bake 15-18 minutes, until nice and golden and the centers are slightly gooey.  Let the cookies cool down a bit before transferring to a cookie rack to cool completely.

(If you only want to bake a few at a time, freeze the balls and then place in a Ziploc bag back in the freezer.  They are good for about a month.  Follow directions as usual, but bake a little longer.)