Grams North Dakota Chocolate Cookies Recipes

QUINTESSENTIAL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Steps:

• Sift together flour and baking soda and set aside. In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter until lemony yellow, about 2 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl and paddle. Add sugar, brown sugar and salt. Continue creaming mixture on medium speed until it is smooth and lump free, about 1 minute. Stop mixer and scrape down sides of bowl and paddle.
• Add egg and vanilla and beat on low speed for 15 seconds, or until they are fully incorporated. Do not over-beat. Scrape down sides of bowl and paddle.
• On low speed, add sifted flour mixture. Beat slowly until all of the flour is incorporated. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add chocolate chunks and mix in.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees with the rack positioned in the lower third of the oven. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Spoon heaping teaspoons of dough 2 inches apart onto baking sheets. If not baking right away, remove small handfuls or spoonfuls of dough from mixer and plop them down on the middle of a sheet of parchment or wax paper, creating a log about 1 1/2 inches wide and 12 inches long. Fold parchment over, creating a sausage. Chill for at least 1 hour, preferably overnight. Using a serrated knife, slice chilled dough into 1/3-inch-thick rounds and place them 2 inches apart, in staggered rows, on parchment-lined sheets and proceed. (Dough will keep nicely, tightly wrapped, in the refrigerator for 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 1 month. Thaw frozen dough at room temperature for 30 minutes before slicing.)
• Bake one sheet at a time for 12 to 15 minutes, until lightly browned, rotating the baking sheet front to back halfway through. Remove from heat and slide parchment off baking sheet and onto a work surface. Allow cookies to cool for at least 5 minutes before serving, or for at least 20 minutes before storing in an airtight container. They will keep for up to 3 days at room temperature.

GRAM'S NORTH DAKOTA CHOCOLATE COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Using a standing or handheld mixer, beat the sugar and butter. Add the eggs, one at a time, then the milk and vanilla.
• Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to the wet ingredients and beat just until mixed.
• Using a plastic spatula or large spoon, mix in the melted chocolate, nuts and raisins.
• Drop spoonfuls of dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet and or half sheet pan.
• Bake 8-10 minutes. Cool on racks.

JAMAICAN CHOCOLATE COOKIES WITH CARAMEL CREME

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°. In a microwave, melt 2/3 cup chocolate chunks; stir until smooth. Cool slightly. In a large bowl, cream butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Beat in sweet potatoes, cooled chocolate, ginger and vanilla. In another bowl, whisk flour, cornstarch, baking cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and 1/4 teaspoon salt; gradually beat into creamed mixture., Shape dough into 3/4-in. balls; place 2-1/2 in. apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Flatten slightly with bottom of a glass dipped in confectioners' sugar. Bake until edges are firm, 8-10 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool completely., Meanwhile, mix filling ingredients until smooth. Spread filling on bottoms of half of the cookies; cover with remaining cookies., For chocolate coating, microwave remaining chocolate chunks; stir until smooth. Dip cookies halfway into chocolate or drizzle chocolate over the top of cookies; let stand until set. Store between pieces of waxed paper in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

CHOCOLATE SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375 degrees and line baking sheets with silicone baking sheets or parchment paper.
• In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or by hand, cream together the butter, shortening and sugar at medium speed, about 3 to 5 minutes. (The mixture needn't be fluffy.) Scrape down the sides with a silicone spatula and mix in the eggs, vanilla, baking powder and salt. Combine well. Scrape down the sides and stir in the cocoa until well blended. Add the flour, and mix until the flour is completely incorporated and the dough comes together into a ball. At this point, you can refrigerate the dough up to 2 days or freeze it up to 3 months, tightly wrapped in plastic. (The dough will seem soft, but that's O.K. If you are going to roll out the cookies and bake them immediately, mix in the other 1/2 cup of flour.)
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to 1/4-inch thickness and use cookie cutters to cut into shapes, rerolling dough scraps as necessary and arranging shapes 1/4 inch apart on prepared baking sheets. Bake for 7 to 10 minutes. Smaller shapes will cook more quickly. Because these are chocolate, it can be hard to determine when they are done. Err on the side of underbaking. You can tell the cookies are ready when the surface changes from wet- or glossy-looking to dry. Remove cookies to a rack and allow them to cool completely before decorating.

CHOCOLATE EXTREMES (DOUBLE CHOCOLATE COOKIES)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. In the top of a double boiler set over simmering water, combine the finely chopped bittersweet chocolate, butter and espresso. Stir occasionally until smooth. Set aside to cool slightly.
• Meanwhile, in the bowl of an electric mixer, combine eggs and sugar and whip until the mixture is light in color and increases substantially in volume, about 10 minutes. Beat in the vanilla extract. Stir in the melted chocolate. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder and fold them into the chocolate mixture until just combined. Fold in the pecans and chocolate chunks.
• Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Drop the batter by heaping tablespoons onto the paper, leaving about 2 inches between each. Bake until the cookies are slightly puffed and cracked on the outside but gooey inside, about 10 to 14 minutes. Cool on the cookie sheets.

GLUTEN-FREE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• In a medium bowl, whisk the almond flour, salt and baking soda to combine.
• Using a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar on medium speed until very light, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Add the egg and mix on medium speed to combine. Scrape the bowl well, then add the vanilla and mix to combine.
• Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until just combined, about 10 seconds. Scrape the bowl well and mix on low speed to ensure the mixture is homogenous.
• Add the chocolate and gently mix to incorporate it. Scoop the dough into 10 3 1/2 ounce/100-gram mounds of dough the size of generous golf balls, and transfer them to the prepared baking sheets. Stagger the rows to allow the cookies room to spread.
• Gently press the cookies down slightly with your fingers until about 1 1/2 inches thick. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt, if using. Bake the cookies, switching racks and rotating the sheets halfway through, until they're golden brown around the edges and just barely set in the center, 18 to 22 minutes. Transfer sheets to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then transfer cookies with a spatula onto another rack to cool a bit more.

GRAMMY'S CHOCOLATE DROP COOKIES

Steps:

• Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat sugar and butter on medium speed until mixture is light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla, and beat to combine. Reduce speed to low, and gradually add flour mixture; beat to combine. Form dough into a flattened disk, and chill until firm, about 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Shape dough into 1 1/4-inch balls. Roll each ball in sanding sugar. Place on baking sheets lined with parchment paper, about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake until set, 10 to 12 minutes, rotating halfway through. Transfer to a rack to cool for 5 minutes. Transfer cookies from baking sheet to wire rack. The cookies can be stored between layers of parchment in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

TINY, SALTY, CHOCOLATY COOKIES

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Melt the butter in a small pot over medium heat, swirling, until it's starting to foam and brown, 3 to 4 minutes. (Whisk the butter from time to time so that the solids don't stick to the bottom of the pot.) Let cool.
• Whisk the confectioners' sugar, cocoa powder and salt in a medium bowl, ridding it of as many lumps as possible. (If you really want to, feel free to sift everything.)
• Using a spatula, mix in the egg whites, whole egg and browned butter, stirring until you've got a good, smoothish mixture (any small lumps will take care of themselves), followed by the chocolate and any nuts you may want to add.
• Using a spoon, drop quarter-size blobs of dough (the texture is really somewhere between a dough and a batter) onto the baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart (they spread a lot). Sprinkle with flaky salt and bake until the cookies have flattened considerably and look baked through and a little wrinkled, 6 to 8 minutes. Let cool before eating so they can firm up.

PERFECT CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Steps:

• Put the butter and both sugars in a stand mixer or mixing bowl. Cream together using a paddle attachment on medium speed, a handheld electric whisk or a wooden spoon for 1 to 2 minutes until paler but not fluffy. (Do not mix for too long; if you beat the mixture until super light and fluffy, that will cause the cookie to deflate later when cooking.)
• Add the egg and beat over medium speed until evenly combined.
• In a separate bowl, mix together the dry ingredients (all the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt), then fold into the butter mixture using a rubber spatula until combined.
• Add the chopped chocolate and fold into the dough until evenly distributed.
• Immediately scoop out heaping 1/4-cup portions (about 60 grams), roll into balls and place on two baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 12 hours. (If space is tight, you can condense them on one sheet before refrigerating then redistribute among two sheets before baking.)
• The next day, heat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Make sure the dough balls are evenly spaced out among two baking sheets, as they will spread. Bake the cookies for 13 minutes (or 15 minutes if baking from frozen), until the cookies are puffed and golden at the edges. You want the middle to be ever so slightly not-quite set.
• Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet; they will continue firming up as they cool. Once cooled, eat! (These cookies will keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days. The balls of dough will keep for up to 2 days in the fridge or 2 weeks in the freezer.)

CHOCOLATE-MOLASSES COOKIES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Melt butter in a small pot over medium heat and add ginger, if using. Remove from heat and let sit a few minutes while you prepare everything else.
• In a large bowl, whisk flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ground ginger and salt.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together sugar, molasses, egg and ginger butter. Using a spatula, slowly mix into dry ingredients, mixing until no dry spots remain.
• Using your hands, roll small balls of dough about the size of a quarter (dough will be soft - if it is too soft for you to handle, pop into the fridge for a few minutes to firm up). Roll the balls in the sanding sugar and place on the prepared baking sheets about 1-inch apart.
• Bake until just puffed and baked through, 6 to 8 minutes. Let cool completely before eating.

DOUBLE-CHOCOLATE THUMBPRINT COOKIES

Steps:

• Make the cookies: Whisk together the flour, salt and cinnamon in a small bowl.
• Place a heatproof medium bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water; don't let the water touch the bottom of the bowl. Drop in the chunks of butter and scatter over the chocolate. Heat, stirring now and then, until the butter and chocolate are melted, but not so hot that they separate, 5 to 7 minutes.
• Remove the bowl from the saucepan and whisk in the sugar. (Don't be alarmed when the mixture turns grainy.) One by one, add the cold eggs, whisking vigorously until the mixture is thick and smooth, and the whisk leaves tracks. Beat in the vanilla, then switch to a spatula and add the flour in 3 additions, stirring gently between each addition, until the flour disappears into the dough. Press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of the dough and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 4 days.
• When you're ready to bake, center a rack in the oven and heat it to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Put the sanding or granulated sugar in a small bowl and, if you've got one, have a cork from a wine bottle at hand.
• Using a small cookie scoop or measuring spoon, scoop mounds of dough, each a scant tablespoon. Roll the dough into balls and then roll the balls in the sugar to coat. Place the balls on the baking sheets, giving them 1½ inches or so of space to spread. Press the cork into the center of each cookie or use your thumb to make an indentation.
• Bake 1 sheet for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the cookies feel firmish. Transfer the baking sheet to a rack. The indentations will have puffed in the oven, so you'll want to press them down again. Repeat with the second sheet. Let cookies cool completely.
• Fill the prints: Melt milk, dark or ruby chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. If using white chocolate, add oil before melting and stir until smooth. While the chocolate is still warm and fluid, use a small spoon to fill each indentation to the brim, letting the chocolate fall from the end of the spoon. Slide the cookies into the refrigerator for about 10 minutes to set the chocolate. The cookies will keep for about 5 days in a covered container at room temperature.

CHOCOLATE COOKIES WITH WHITE CHOCOLATE AND CHERRIES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease 2 or 3 baking sheets.
• In a heavy saucepan set over low heat, melt chocolate and butter over low heat, stirring constantly. (Make sure to scrape sides and bottom of pan to prevent scorching.) Once melted, remove from heat, stir well and set aside to cool slightly. (You can also melt the butter and chocolate together in the microwave on low heat.)
• In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.
• In a large bowl, using an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat eggs and sugar until mixture is pale and very fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in vanilla extract. Scrape melted chocolate into egg foam and beat until just incorporated, scraping down sides of mixer bowl with a rubber spatula. Beat in flour mixture until no traces of flour remain, scraping sides of mixer bowl with spatula.
• Using a spatula, fold in chips, cherries and nuts. Drop scant tablespoons of batter, 2 inches apart, onto prepared baking sheets. Sprinkle with sea salt if you like. Bake until slightly risen and a thin crackling crust forms on the tops of cookies, 9 to 13 minutes, depending on size. Do not overbake; the cookies can dry out.
• Using a metal spatula, immediately transfer hot cookies to a wire rack. Let cool completely before serving.