It’s hump day and more importantly, we made it to February! Is it me or is time flying by? It seems like I just celebrated the new year and here we are dashing into the second month of the year already. For those of you who made resolutions, you better get on with it or another new year will find you still contemplating on things you should be doing. I thought I would share something sweet with you today in the form of a cookie! Stop and smell the roses…better yet, stop and savor the chocolate in these cookies! I love dark chocolate so that is what I’ve used for these cookies but you can use any chocolate you have in your pantry!
This recipe is fast, fool-proof and easily adaptable. The original recipe uses 2-1/2 cups of white and semi-sweet chocolate chips but I cut it down to 1 cup of dark chocolate and that was plenty! I omitted white chocolate because I don’t want to have a relationship with a poser – at least that’s what I think of white chocolate. You’re not really chocolate so I’m not a fan! My dark chocolate chips are actually broken-off chunks from a humongous 5 Ib chocolate bar I got at a specialty store in the mall. Can you tell how much I love chocolate? That huge bar is pulling double duty though because I use the same bar for baking and for making chocolate sauces/ganache as morsels are not available here. It’s actually worked in my favor, not having morsels – because the chunks are hand cut, they tend to be bigger. Bigger means they keep their shape even after baking. But, they are soft on the inside. What’s better than biting into a cookie and getting a chunk of gooey chocolate goodness? Let me know when you find out…
I made my cookies really big and so I only got about 20 versus the original recipe which yields 52! I’d have to use a very small spoon to get that many cookies. I used a 45ml ice-cream scoop if you are interested. I used margarine because salt fanatics argue that the salted fats makes for a more moist cookie? Well, whaddya know? They are onto something because mine turned out pretty darn moist (like a brownie almost) and the edges were crisp and once cooled these were rich and really good!
Get your ingredients ready. Mix your flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Chop your almonds. Make your flax egg (1 Tbsp ground flax + 3 Tbsp Water) and leave to gel for a few minutes.
In your mixer, whip margarine for 30 seconds then add regular and brown sugar
Cream your margarine and sugars on medium-high for a couple of minutes until fluffy. Add flax egg and vanilla and beat to incorporate
Add your flour and cocoa mixture and mix until just combined
It sure looks like dirt huh? it is a dense and dry cookie dough because there’s no liquid going in it. Don’t fret, the cookies will turn out great!
Add your chocolates and almonds…if you don’t like nuts you can substitute with dried fruits such as cherries or cranberries. Nothing substitutes the chocolate…nothing!
You’ll only need to mix the chocolates and nuts for a couple of seconds until combined.
Line your cookie sheet with parchment paper or silicone mat, drop your cookies two inches apart and bake those babies up
In a very short while they will have your house smelling heavenly as they bake! They will be soft to the touch so be sure not to over bake them!
Mounds of perfection. Watch them disappear out of your cookie jar…if they actually made it in there!
Recipe for: Decadent Chocolate Almond Cookies (adapted from Food Network)
Servings: about 20-52 depending on the size you choose
| Ingredients | Directions |
*1 flax egg = 1 Tbsp ground flax +3 Tbsp water **or chocolate of choice |
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