Finally, Fudge Drops!

What a weekend! As if I didn't still have half a chocolate sheet cake in the kitchen, I felt the need to bake. So Saturday night, I made chocolate chip cookies. They didn't quite turn out as well as I'd hoped, but Tim's tastebuds aren't as discerning as mine when they come to my cookies. If I do say so myself, chocolate chip cookies are something I do very well. In fact, I've never met a homemade chocolate chip cookie as good as mine. Just saying.

And since I just reorganized the kitchen (read: finally put away crap that's been sitting out since we moved in more than a month ago) and now I've got twice as much counter space as before, I needed to experiment. Spread out. Make a new cookie friend. So...fudge drops. Delightful.

You will need:
8 ounces good quality chocolate, bittersweet, semisweet, or dark. Or whatever, as long as it's good.
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
One-quarter teaspoon baking POWDER (not baking soda--there's a difference, people)
One-quarter teaspoon salt
One cup chocolate chips (optional)

In a medium bowl, beat together the eggs and sugar until thoroughly blended. Set aside.

In a medium-small bowl, melt your chocolate and your butter. I used the microwave for this, in 15-second intervals. Works just fine. If you're using an 8oz bar, be sure to chop it first into medium-ish chunks. If you're using chips, don't worry about it.

Stir together to combine.
Once the butter and chocolate are melted and happy, hand the spoon to your fiance and make him smile. Then scrape the melted chocolate into the bowl with the eggs and sugar.
Mix together thoroughly, then add vanilla, baking powder, salt, and flour. Stir to combine.

Pour in your chocolate chips and stir well.

The batter will look something like this, and should be fairly runny. Put it in the fridge for half an hour or so in order to firm it up and make it easier to handle.

Drop dough onto greased or lined baking sheets and put in a 325F oven for about 11 minutes, but no more than 13. The cookies will start to crack on top (just like brownies) when they're almost done. Keep a close eye, because they won't crack until the very end.


Let the cookies stand for about four minutes before removing them to a cooling rack. Let stand an additional five minutes before eating them; 325F chocolate can burn your tongue real easy.

Delicious.

The boring stuff:
Makes about 4 dozen cookies.
Difficulty: 2.
Takes just over an hour, including refrigeration and baking time.