chocolate white chocolate chunk cookies


Josh's grandfather died last week after having been very ill recently. He lived more than 95 years, was married to his wife for more than 60, had two children, five grandchildren, and ten great-grandchildren. It was over 100 degrees on Monday, when we held the funeral, but during the brief burial, when we had to be outside, a breeze kicked up making it somehow bearable.

I baked a couple of things to bring back to the house after the funeral: lemon bars and chocolate-white chocolate chunk cookies. Josh specifically requested chocolate with white chocolate and macadamia nuts, but I don't keep those on hand, so I went with Ina Garten's recipe. I don't own any of Ina's books, and I've only watched her show a handful of times, but there's something really appealing and homey about the way she cooks that I like.

These cookies were good, but since I made them smaller than the recipe dictates, I probably should have cut back the baking time even more to make them chewier. They were a little crunchier than I prefer, but definitely tasty. The secret is good-quality white chocolate, though I couldn't bring myself to use as much as Ina dictates. (A pound and a half is probably a little much.) I used the Callebaut white chocolate chips I bought to make lollipops for Bug Bug's party favors. It is remarkably good and has made a believer of me that not all white chocolate is innately bad.

Chocolate White Chocolate Chunk Cookies
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup (I used 7 ounces) light brown sugar, packed
1 cup (7 ounces) granulated sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 extra-large eggs at room temperature
2/3 cup (2 ounces) good-quality unsweetened cocoa (the Valrhona is perfect here!)
2 cups (8.5 ounces) flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups good-quality white chocolate, in chips or coarsely chopped (original recipe calls for 1 1/2 pounds)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Cream the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy using a stand mixer with the paddle (or a hand mixer). Add the vanilla, then the eggs, one at a time, and mix well. Add the cocoa and mix again.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt and add to the chocolate with the mixer on low speed until just combined. Fold in the chopped white chocolate.

Using a 1 1/4" cookie scoop or a rounded tablespoon, drop the dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silpat. Ina calls for a 1 3/4" scoop, but I like my cookies a little smaller. She also recommends flattening the dough slightly with damp hands, but I found it made no difference. Do as you like. Bake for about 12 minutes (bake larger cookies about 15 minutes). Ina says the cookies will seem underdone, but mine didn't - maybe that's why they weren't super chewy. They rounded up pretty high, then deflated a bit, whether or not I flattened them prior to baking.

Remove from the oven and let cool slightly on the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Ina's recipe calls for 40-48 cookies. I didn't count, but I'd guess I made 48-60 cookies. I need some new ideas for staging baked goods to look pretty (suggestions welcome), and I had fun playing with Bug's play tea set.

Here's a more traditional shot.

Comments

Nanette said…
These were soooooooooooooooo yummy! I'm glad you posted the recipe!
Anonymous said…
I'm sorry for your loss. I just went through that too.

Those look great. Leave it to Ina!