i am obsessed with these cookies

cookies aren't usually my favorite form of baked goodness, but these Thick and Chewy Double Chocolate Cookies have become one of my two most oft-repeated delivery mechanisms of chocolate. (the other is Molten Chocolate cake - you'll see that post before too long, i'm sure)

these cookies are so rich, chewy, and densely chocolatey that they stop people mid-sentence upon taking their first bite. i was a bit embarrassed when i was approached by several complete strangers just to compliment me on the cookies - at a wake.

this recipe comes out of Baking Illustrated, by the editors of Cook's Illustrated. those brilliant food nerds tested dozens of recipes and variations on ingredients and ratios to get these just right. they were in search of a "confection that creates intense focus while it is consumed, sight and sound subordinate to taste, overshadowing the other senses to the point of dysfunction." at one point in their experimentation, they had a recipe that was "very good but still not the sort of thing that would reduce the average adult to tears of joy." they kept working, and we are the lucky benefactors of their passion and labor.

Thick and Chewy Double-Chocolate Cookies
makes about 42

2 cups (10 oz) unbleached all -purpose flour
1/2 cup (1.5 oz) dutch-processed cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
16 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
4 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp instant coffee or espresso powder
10 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened but still cool
1 1/2 cups (10.5 oz) packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup (3.5 oz) granulated sugar

1. sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. set aside.
2. melt the chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl set over a pan of almost simmering water, stirring occasionally until smooth; remover from the heat.
3. in a small bowl, beat the eggs and vanilla lightly with a fork, sprinkle the coffee powder over to dissolve and set aside.
4. by hand or with an electric mixer, beat the butter at medium speed until smooth and creamy. beat in the sugars until combined, about 45 seconds; the mixture will look granular. reduce the speed to low and gradually beat in the egg mixture until incorporated, about 45 seconds. add the chocolate in a steady stream and beat until combined, about 40 seconds. scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. with the mixer at low speed, add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. don't overbeat! cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature until the consistency is scoopable and fudge-like, about 30 minutes.
5. meanwhile, adjust the oven racks to the upper- and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 350˚. line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. scoop the dough onto prepared baking sheets with a 1.75" ice cream scoop, spacing the mounds of dough about 1.5" apart.
6. bake until the edges of the cookies have just begun to set but the centers are still very soft, about 10 minutes, rotating the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through the baking time. cool the cookies on the sheets about 10 minutes, slide the parchment with cookies onto wire racks, and cool to room temperature. repeat with remaining dough. remove cooled cookies from the parchment with a wide metal spatula.