My mom and I baked these together on Mother’s Day. Actually she started baking them, realized she forgot to add the butter three-quarters of the way through the process, and began crying and flailing about the kitchen, telling me that this was why she never bakes anymore—at which point I told her how beautiful (so young!) she looked and, also, that I could fix them. Now, to put this incident into context, on St. Patrick’s Day, I mixed up the baking soda and the baking powder in not one but three loaves of Irish Soda Bread. Melt downs were had by all. Baking wasn’t going smoothly for either of us.
Even after trying to fix the batter, it was thin, save for all of the many, many chunks of chocolate and nuts. Still, I pressed on. I dropped big, sloppy globs onto my cookie sheet, pushed the trays into the oven, set the timer, and contemplated remaking the whole shebang, just in case.
Seventeen minutes later, I cracked open the door and peeked in. The tops of the cookies were puffed, cracked, and shiny like meringue—just as the recipe said they should be. I pulled the trays out immediately and let them cool, which, no—no, I didn’t; I barely waited. I like to repeatedly burn that one spot on the roof of my mouth.
I fed one to Mom. She bit down and we looked at each other. We nodded. “Oh my God,” we said, nearly in unison.
They were—they are—outrageous. As good as good gets, honestly. When I think of all of the hundreds (thousands?) of chocolate cookies I’ve eaten throughout my life, even the best ones pale in comparison. They weren’t nearly chocolatey enough. Not chewy like this. They didn’t have the same richness, and not even close to the decadence.
These chubby cookies are part cookie, part brownie. A brownie in cookie form. The centers are doughy, chewy to the point of melting in your mouth. What’s special about them, other than their lovable fudgy texture, is the intensity of the chocolate—and that’s certainly what we’d hope for after tossing three types of it into the batter.
Get the recipe—an adaptation from the famous Sarabeth’s Bakery—over at Serious Eats!
Question: What’s the best cookie you’ve ever had? If you can share or link to the recipe, yay!
They look amazing, but looking at the recipe, I cannot eat those with all that butter in them. How do you stay healthy eating these? Do you have a revised version to make them healthy? Thanks!
Yes, these look ridiculously yummy! My absolute favorite cookies are the Giant Chocolate Toffee Cookies from Bon Appetit. I looove when the toffee bits get liquidy and then reharden. So delish and decadent!
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Giant-Chocolate-Toffee-Cookies-103095
I was just chatting with a friend about our mutual love for toffee. Actually, in my hotel mini bar recently while traveling there were these amazing little toffee squares and, well, let’s just say there were gone after the first night :)
That’s definitely some devotion to toffee, because we all know how much hotel mini bars cost!
yum!!! these look fabulous! love that you and your mom baked together on Mother’s Day!
Making these today! They look fabulous… Thank you for sharing.
Yummy! And beautiful pictures too. To respond to the above comment, everything in moderation. Eat what you want, just keep it reasonable.
Oatmeal crispies! These aren’t chocolate, but they’re AMAZING. Must try. http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/09/marlboro_mans_favorite_cookies_oatmeal_crispies/
Yes, there’s absolutely a place in my heart for a crisp cookie. And this might be the one. Everything Pioneer Woman makes is the best thing I’ve ever tasted. She’s incredible.
They look awesome!!!! I want one :)
The best cookie I’ve ever had are called “Sara Bernhardt Cookies”. I know, I never heard of them until I was in Rhinebeck, NY last fall and went into a little shop where these were their specialty. They look like little chocolate mounds, but have like 3 layers inside. I found a recipe, but they look pretty labor intensive. Believe me when I say, they were AWESOME!!
To Arlene:
Do you mind sharing the recipe for the Sara Bernhardt cookies? I don’t mind labor intensive!
My email is maxgrace7383@yahoo.com. Thanks!
3 layers inside 1 cookie? I need this recipe! What’s the texture like?
Hello Arlene,
Can you please tell me the name of the shop in Rhinebeck, NY where you tried the “Sarah Bernhardt cookies”? Thank you!
these look soooo good!!!!
for some reason i can’t follow your blog in google reader? i’m subscribed but haven’t received any updates in months even though you’ve posted :(
I have 2 contenders that I make all the time, and I love to bake cookies so these are some serious accolades…
Brown Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip (hold the cinnamon and nutmeg – I like both, but not here; definitely add the coconut, nuts are optional). http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/awesome_oatmeal_chocolate_chip_cookie/
Salted Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies. Oh. My. Word. Insanely delicious. Even my father, who tolerates dessert, could not give these cookies enough credit.
http://www.annies-eats.com/2010/08/31/salted-double-chocolate-chunk-cookies/
I honestly think my heart stopped beating after I read the title of the first cookie. Then I revived myself, read the title of the second one, and…
I like the texture of your Chocolate Chubbies more than the ones pictured on Serious Eats. The others look too gooey. Your cookies remind me of these: http://www.chron.com/life/food/article/Chewy-Chocolate-Cookies-1774591.php Chewy chocolate cookies with walnuts are my favorite. By the way I like your web site and have been a fan for a while. Looking forward to your book. My sister and I are both planning on getting the book when it comes out.
Thanks Erica–seriously for everything! I agree with you about the cookies–I looked at the photo on Serious Eats and I thought to myself, Isn’t that just totally underdone? These babies are still super chewy and soft, but not oozing in the centers.
Also, I want a batch of the cookies in the link you shared!
Ah, so almost a brownie in cookie form! These look absolutely delicious!
I made these today and they are delisious. These are very rich and just one is satisfying. Thank you for sharing!
Gah! So happy to hear it :)
These are not the most attractive cookie. But I don’t care at all. They were delicious!! I got high praises from everyone we shared them with. And they’re so rich I didn’t even want more than one! That’s a good thing in my book :) Thanks so much for sharing.
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So, what is the exact recipe you used? I am guessing the one at Serious Eats is the recipe as it should have been made. Did you just omit the butter, or did you add some butter or something else when you were trying to “fix” the dough?
Hey Claudia,
I added the butter at the end by just melting it and stirring it into the batter, which, crazy enough, worked :)
Just wanted to let you know – made these, loved them, came out exactly like yours (that never happens for me with baking). They were a big hit!
hi, i tried these cookies, only coz of the extra chocolaty gooeyness… but i dont know how my dough is too wet, way too wet, almost like a cake batter. i am so disappointed. i put one for a trial in the oven n it spread into this thin sheet :( . wat did i do wrong. ??? how do i salvage it… ??
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