Fudgy walnut brownie cookies
Is spring break coming up for your kids? Do you need something to do to distract them while they鈥檙e not in school? And feed a chocolate habit while you鈥檙e at it? Here you go then 鈥� this easy cookie recipe from "" by Yvonne Ruperti. It鈥檚 easy because you only need one bowl to melt chocolate and mix the dough in. The original recipe calls for walnuts but my brain doesn鈥檛 process nuts as an ingredient in most of my cookies and this was no exception. Instead, I doubled down on the chocolate chips.
Be generous with the chocolate chips but reserve some for the outside. Meaning, once you鈥檝e formed the cookie dough into dough balls and before you freeze them, press some chocolate chips around the outside of each dough ball. You can make them look like little porcupines with the pointy end of the chips sticking out or you can embed them more firmly into the dough ball. Either way, they鈥檙e going to taste good and you can鈥檛 go wrong.
As (almost) always, freeze them first until they鈥檙e firm, at least a couple of hours or overnight before baking them. Then they won鈥檛 spread as much and you鈥檒l have thick, fudgy cookies. Don鈥檛 overbake these! I know, I sound like a broken record with every cookie recipe I post but I find you can鈥檛 say it often enough because inevitably someone will bake cookies 鈥渦ntil they鈥檙e done.鈥� No. Just no. Bake only just until the middles no longer look shiny and raw and the edges have only just begun to show dry cracks. You鈥檒l thank me later, I promise.
It鈥檚 best to let these cool completely so they can set properly. You don鈥檛 want them to be too mushy. Once they鈥檙e completely cooled, or just barely lukewarm if you really can鈥檛 wait, enjoy the fudgy brownie-like texture of these moist cookies.
Fudgy walnut brownie cookies
From "" by Yvonne Ruperti
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into cubes
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 cup (5 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup walnuts, optional (I substituted chocolate chips)
1. In a large heatproof bowl, set over a pan of hot water, heat the butter and unsweetened chocolate to just melted, stirring frequently.
2. Stir in the sugar, salt, and vanilla. Stir in the eggs, one at a time, then stir to combine.
3. Mix in the flour and baking powder, stir to combine.
4. Stir in half the walnuts, if using, or chocolate chips.
5. Scoop the batter into 12 balls. Sprinkle the remaining nuts or chocolate chips over the top of each cookie. Freeze until firm, several hours or overnight.
6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a sheet with parchment paper. Evenly space the cookie dough balls on the sheet. Bake until the cookies are puffed, cracked and barely set, about 8 minutes. Do not overbake.
7. Let cool on the pan for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
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