chocolate chunkers.

Way back before I started this blog, I made these.

At that time, I wondered if they were cookies because honestly, these are not more than tons of mix-ins held together by gooey brownie-like batter. But after I took a bite, I didn't care. In fact, all I cared about was squirreling them away from the claws of anyone except me. It's strange how something so not cookie-like can taste so good as a cookie.

Perhaps it's the way the ingredients jived together. The milk and white chocolate contrasted against each other, not just in taste but also in colour. And they even provide an alternate dimension of sweetness against the bittersweet chocolate batter holding them together. The raisins in the cookies- genius. It was then I first realized how much I loved raisins and chocolate together. It's the new peanut butter and jelly. The pecans this time was a new thing for me. Back then, I used salted peanuts. Strangely, I preferred the pecans even though logically, salted peanuts seem like a better combination (peanut butter and chocolate anyone?). Another new thing I did this time was to throw in a few cubes of candied ginger. Because I can.

The recipe said that you would get 40 to 50 cookies. I made a quarter of it and got 8. That translates to a total of 32 if I'd made the full quantity. Ah well, close enough.

Chocolate Chunkers
adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours
makes 40 to 50

1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
3 tbsp unsalted butter
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped into chunks, or 1 cup store-bought chocolate chips or chunks
6 ounces premium-quality white chocolate, chopped into chunks, or 1 cup store-bought chocolate chips or chunks
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped toasted pecans
1 cup moist, plump raisins

Preheat oven to 350F. Line baking sheets with parchment or silicon baking mats.

Sift the flour, cocoa and baking powder together.

Melt the butter, coarsely chopped chocolates and salt over a saucepan of simmering water. Set aside to cool. (I actually melted the chocolates and stirred in cold butter to make the mixture cool down faster. It is a great time saver, but it may make the chocolate mixture a bit stiff and harder to incorporate later on.)

Beat the eggs and sugars until pale and foamy. Beat in the vanilla extract, then add in the melted chocolate mixture until just incorporated. Add in the flour mixture until just incorporated. Mix in the chocolate chunks, nuts and raisins, (scattering them evenly over the batter for easy even mixing).

Drop the generous tablespoonfuls of dough onto the baking sheets with about an inch of space in between each mound. They won't spread much. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until the surface looks a little dry but the interiors still soft.