Martha Stewart’s Outrageous Chocolate Cookies

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I first saw these Martha Stewart cookies on Steve’s Flickr photostream. His fiance Laura bakes and he takes photos of what she makes for her blog. So, I clicked through and loved how these cookies sounded. Chocolate on chocolate is what I am into. I have since made the recipe twice and each time they were the perfect brownie consistency and taste with melted chocolate pools on the inside. The first time I made the cookies was for my dad’s birthday and the second time was as a hostess gift for Alpana and Charles when they threw a party a few weeks ago.

1_ingredients

Here’s what you need. Salt, vanilla, brown sugar, baking powder, flour, butter, eggs, and semi-sweet chocolate. It’s not too much. You should be able to handle it.

2_weigh_chocolate

Weigh out 8 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate. I just used chocolate chips, since that’s what I had in the house. I never get the measuring right on the dot the first time, which is ok. That means I get to eat the chocolate, chip by chip, until the number says 8.00. Yes, I use a Weight Watchers-branded scale to measure my chocolate. Ironic, dontcha think?

3_add_butter

Add the butter to the bowl.

4_20_seconds

Microwave for 20 seconds and stir. Not quite melted and smooth enough.

5_40_seconds

Microwave for 20 more seconds and stir. Lookin’ good now. If yours is still not melted enough, do 20 more seconds, but don’t go too far with this. You want the chocolate and butter melted but you don’t want to scorch it. Also, later on, if you happen to lick this bowl you might die and go to heaven. Butter? And chocolate? Yum!

6_flour

Set aside that tempting chocolate for now. Mix together the dry ingredients. I always use a whisk. I’ve also lately been using coarse salt in baked recipes. I don’t know if you’re supposed to, but I like to taste a bit of a salt tang with my sweets and I think coarse salt is better at that.

7_egg

In 12th grade I had met all my required credits for high school except for in English. So I took some easy Lit. class, took some easy home economics classes and worked in the afternoons on an internship program. I don’t remember much about the home ec class except that our instructor told us always to crack your eggs into a small bowl before adding to a recipe. I’ve never had a bad egg, but I always follow her advice anyway.

8_mixing_bowl

Dump the eggs, brown sugar and vanilla into your mixing bowl.

9_beat_on_high

Kitchenaid action shot! Beat on high!

10_add_chocolate

Add in melted chocolate.

11_blend_in_chocolate

Blend on low.

12_add_flour

Dump in the flour mixture.

13_blend_til_combined

Mix til just combined. This means turn the mixer off as soon as things look blended. Don’t overbeat.

14_12_oz_choc

Measure out 12 ounces more of the semi-sweet chocolate. Feel free to eat a few chips.

15_add_choc_chips

Dump the chocolate chips into the chocolate batter. Lookin’ decadent already.

16_blend_in_choc_chips

I don’t think you’re supposed to mix in the chocolate chips with the Kitchenaid. It kind of makes a funny noise. But I’m lazy, so I do.

17_fridge

Refrigerate the dough for about 15 minutes. Or 25 if you fall asleep, like I did. Oh, and yes, we do have a shelf in our fridge dedicated to beer (and one bottle of tonkatsu sauce). Yes, it is just a ploy to get our friends to come over and visit more often. Yes, it does work. Our friends are suckers.

18_dough_scoop

Now that you’re rested up from your nap and the dough is set up more, it’s time to dig in.

19_cookie_scoop

Drop heaping tablespoons of dough 2-3 inches apart. I use this cookie scoop because it’s easier and my hands don’t get messy, but you can just use a regular spoon.

20_silpat

I always bake on silpat, but you can use parchment paper or a plain baking sheet if you don’t have a silpat mat.

21_cookies_oven

Bake. This photo is all askew because I was drunk on the thought of how tasty these look…. and the smell.. omg!

22_cookies_cooling

Cool on a wire rack. If The Hawaiian was home I’d have had to slap his fingers away from these cooling cookies but luckily he was off watching March Madness at Messner’s.

23_melty_cookie

I only had to try to control myself, which was not easy. Also? I need a manicure.

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So delicious with an ice-cold glass of milk. These cookies, along with a fridge shelf full of beer, will win you over new friends!

Can you tell I’ve been reading The Pioneer Woman‘s cooking section a lot lately?

Martha Stewart’s Outrageous Chocolate Cookies
Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

8 ounces semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2/3 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 package (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chunks

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat chopped chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe bowl in 20-second increments, stirring in between, until almost melted; do not overheat. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.

In a mixing bowl, beat eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla on high speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low; beat in melted chocolate. Mix in flour mixture until just combined. Stir in chocolate chunks. Refrigerate dough for about 15 minutes.

Drop heaping tablespoons of dough 2 to 3 inches apart onto baking sheets. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are shiny and crackly yet soft in centers, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on sheets 10 minutes; with a thin metal spatula, transfer to racks to cool completely.

Do You Like Our Aretha Hats?

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Fausto, Rachelle, Charles :: Gold Coast, Chicago

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I have no idea who this guy is, but I insisted we get our photo taken together.

Saturday night we went to a party at Charles and Alpana‘s place. I was surprised at how many people they packed into their condo, but before long we saw people we’d met at their place before, ran into people we knew from other places, met a few new people, and ended up having a great time. I knew Fausto and Marc from my FeedBurner days. They had made these Aretha Franklin inauguration-style paper hats that everyone was having fun wearing. It was nice to catch up with them again. At the party, I sure did not eat enough food and drank way too much sparkling wine. Luckily Dallas was feeling charitable Sunday morning and made me English muffins, eggs and breakfast sausage.

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Dapper Dallas back at our place after the party, Logan Square, Chicago

OYSY Sushi

oysy_grand_chicago

Last week we went to OYSY sushi again. I think this makes OYSY our official downtown sushi spot. As I mentioned before, the fish is good and the prices are reasonable. .. unless your Dallas and you eat 15 nigiri in one sitting. Then complain you’re full and order mochi ice cream anyway! That can add up.

We used to always refer to the restaurant by the letters in it’s name – “O Y S Y.” I mentioned to Dallas that I saw on the restaurant’s website that it’s actually pronounced “oh-EE-she” and he recognized it as a Japanese word that means “delicious.” I looked it up and “delicious” in Japanese is actually spelled “oishii.” I guess OYSY looks better on the sign, I don’t know. But the restaurant is delicious indeed!

After dinner we went to Charles and Alpana‘s condo for a small cocktail party. Little did we know that Alpana is a great cook and had made homemade carnitas, guacamole, quesadillas and pineapple upside down cake. Wish we wouldn’t have eaten so much sushi, but oh well. We still packed it in somehow, along with large quantities of wine, of course. I hadn’t seen Alpana for a while and Charles even longer, so it was good to see them again. We got to meet their little pug, Haruki as well. He was so cute. I told Alpana that even if Dallas and I don’t get a dog, I’m still coming over for play dates with Haruki!

Alpana Pours by Alpana Singh


finished 06.19.08

Alpana signed this book and gave it to me when I invited her in to talk at Google. I have many wine books and I’ve never gotten through any of them. I think there were a few things that helped me get through this book and really learn more about wine. I’ve met Alpana a few times so I could imagine her talking to me throughout the book. Alpana’s writing is just like she speaks and acts, which is really down to earth and relatable. There were several times in the book where she told a story and it was exactly something I either have done, or could have imagined myself doing. I’d heard Alpana tell a few of the stories and techniques in the book, so reading them again was reinforcement. Finally, it’s a book written by a woman my age for women. Which isn’t to say a man can’t read the book and get something out of it… Dallas has been picking it up and reading parts for weeks… but I think it’s a different perspective than what you’re used to when you buy any other wine book.

Alpana Singh @ Google

This is an author talk I set up before leaving Google. I’d hung out with Alpana a couple times before and asked if she’d like to come in to talk about her book, Alpana Pours, and to lead us in a little wine tasting and she graciously obliged. I actually introduced her in the beginning, but that is cut off the video. Thankfully. But it does explain why the IT guy was jumping up and down and flustering me during my short intro. The camera must not have been rolling!

Whisky Dinner @ David Burke’s Primehouse

Talisker

Singleton

Amuse Bouche

Last week Wednesday, before I went to California and before my family was visiting, Chuck and I met up with Alpana Singh and her husband Charles Blackstone at a wine tasting she was hosting at Osteria Via Stato. Afterwards she had made dinner arrangements for us at David Burke’s Primehouse and also invited Martin Duffy, a whisky expert.

Butter

Popover

Marty made special arrangements to bring his own high-end whiskys to dinner and spent a lot of time describing each one and educating us about whisky and scotch, how it’s made, how it tastes, the smell, where it comes from, it’s history, etc. I know some of the others at dinner knew more about whisky, but for me it was really a learning experience. I think whisky will have to be an acquired taste for me and I should probably keep at it, but I like trying new things and learning all about whisky that night was really fun for me.

Cold Seafood

Onion Ring Tower

I must also talk about David Burke’s Primehouse. It was divine. I don’t eat very much steak at all, but I thought it was fantastic. I loved the decor, the lighting, the tables, and of course the food. The service was pretty great, but because we had special arrangements, I can’t really speak for how it is on a regular night. I mean, David Burke himself came out to our table to say hello. Awesome.

Bone-In Filet

Caol Ila

Glenkinchie

One thing I really liked about Primehouse even before I set foot in the restaurant was the fact that the restaurant is named after a bull on a ranch in Kentucky that sires all of the cows who are then butchered to make the steaks used in David Burke’s restaurants. The bull’s name is Prime (and he has his own website here). It’s kind of morbid to think about, but I was really digging the fact that David Burke is so into his ingredients and that involved in knowing where they come from. Also, an interesting fact we learned that night: If Prime were to die today, there’s enough of him (his sperm?) in storage that they could continue making steaks with his lineage for about 50 years.

Lagavulin

Chocolate Mousse

Lollipop Tree

Here’s what it comes down to – David Burke’s Primehouse is pricey, but I thought it was really worth it. If you’re in Chicago and have a special occasion coming up and you love steak, why not try it out instead of the normal go-tos like Morton’s and Gibson’s?

Read Chuck’s post about our dinner on Chicagoist.

Cookies

Cake