Chocolate Brownie Cookies

Fudgy chocolate with the texture of a brownie in the form of a cookie? Oh Mon Dieu! Three of my favorite things combined in one delicious little bite of heaven. You may remember my confession that I do not like chocolate chip cookies, but don't let that fool you into thinking I have anything against cookies or chocolate in general. I will tell you that I've only made cookies once (now twice) in the last 2 years. I do like to bake, but I generally feel that cookies are for a crowd (which we aren't) and in addition, my kitchen was lacking an oven until this year.

I was inspired to make these cookies because, A) we needed a little cheering up and B) the act of melting chocolate lets me pretend, if just for a moment, that Johnny Depp will take me dancing on his barge and we'll transform this small, cold French town into a bunch Pagan Chocolate-Lovers, who aren't afraid to smear it across their faces, à la Chocolat.

Paul and I ate our share of these straight from the oven, but we also had them for dessert with a scoop of sinfully good pistachio ice cream. These really taste as good as the chocolate you use, so use the best you can find.

Chocolate Brownie Cookies
recipe from Cindy Mitchell at Fine Cooking

2 oz. (4 Tbsp) unsalted butter; more for the pan
12 oz./340 g bittersweet chocolate, chopped (I used Lindt 70%)
3 large eggs, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1-1/2 oz. (1/3 cup) all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
4 oz. (1 cup) chopped toasted pecans

Position an oven rack on the center rung. Heat the oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment (or grease and flour the pan).

In a double boiler over simmering water, melt the butter and chocolate. Stir to combine; let cool. In an electric mixer with the whisk attachment, beat the eggs and sugar on medium high to a ribbon consistency, 3 to 4 min. Take the bowl off the mixer. Add the cooled chocolate mixture and the vanilla; stir to combine. Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together. Stir the flour mixture and the nuts into the batter; let the batter rest for 5 min.

Spoon the batter into a pastry bag fitted with a #4 tip (or into a heavy-duty zip-top bag with one bottom corner snipped to create a 2/3-inch diagonal opening). For each cookie, pipe 1 Tbs. batter onto the lined baking sheet. While you pipe the second tray, bake the first until the cookies are puffed and cracked and the tops barely spring back when pressed, 8 to 10 min. The cracks should be moist but not wet. Cool the cookies on a wire rack. Makes 4 dozen cookies.

I used a ziploc baggie as a pastry bag for a while, but quickly got sick of it. I found that using two spoons and carefully scraping off the batter worked just fine for me.

Variation -- Substitute 1-1/2 tsp. mint extract for the vanilla and the nuts.