Chocolate Chunkers Cookies

I've noticed a lot of "buzz" lately online about a new venture called the Cookiebar that Dorie Greenspan and her son have started. All this publicity reminded me that her cookie recipes are awesome, amazing, award winning..and just downright delicious! So, being almost Valentine's Day and needing more chocolate cookies to make, I proceeded to bake her Chocolate Chunkers and let me just say..WOW!
Now, I'm sure many of you out there have already made them, but for those of you who haven't, you really need to go into the kitchen and make them now!
There are 4 kinds of chocolate involved, semi sweet, unsweetened, bittersweet and milk or white. In addition to all that chocolate, you can throw in whatever you like for dried fruits, such as raisins, dried apricots, or maybe even dried cranberries or cherries. And any kind of nut you prefer. I used raisins and pecans and semi sweet chocolate chips instead of white chocolate because alot of people don't like white chocolate, for some crazy reason.
I baked a test batch first, to see how they come out, such as, do they spread, do they take longer than the stated 10 to 12 minutes.
Here's the results. I found is that you really need to almost form them with your dampened fingers to make them into nice rounded shapes. I used just a regular tablespoon and scooped a generous amount of dough. You also need to flatten the mounds slightly before baking because they don't spread much at all and you don't want them to wind up still in a mounded mass when through baking. And lastly, mine took a few minutes longer, more like 13 minutes. They still looked wet in the middle after 10 minutes, for sure, and I would keep checking after 11 to 12 minutes. She does state in the recipe that if, when the cookies are cooled, the chocolate is still gooey, pop them into the fridge for 10 minutes if you want them a bit firmer.

So to begin, sift your dry ingredients.

Using the double boiler method over simmering water, place the butter pieces, bittersweet chocolate and unsweetened chocolate and heat, stirring occasionally,just til melted.
The chocolate and butter should be smooth and shiny but not so hot that the butter separates.
Remove the bowl from the heat and set it aside to cool.

In your standing mixer with the paddle attachment, beat eggs and sugar on medium high for 2 minutes, til pale and foamy.
Beat in the vanilla, scraping down the bowl as you go.
Reduce the speed to low and add the melted chocolate/butter mixture.

Then add the dry ingredients, mixing just til the dry disappears into the dough.
The dough will be thick, smooth and shiny.
Mix in the semisweet chocolate and milk (or white ) chocolate chunks, nuts and raisins( or whatever dried fruits you choose).
The dough will be very chunky and stiff at this point.

Scoop the dough with your tablespoon and drop onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing 1" apart.

Form each mound into a somewhat round shape and with slightly dampened fingers, flatten each one slightly.

Bake 10 to 12 or 13 minutes. Check them after 11 or 12 minutes. Mine took more like 13 minutes. But remember, you don't want to overbake them and they do firm up as they cool.

And as for this snowy scene outside my front door yesterday..I can honestly say I've had enough snow, already!! I had to actually climb out a second floor window this morning to try to shovel snow off my porch roof. Can you believe it? My neighbor was calling up to me, telling me I needed to get the snow off my roof because it was so heavy. Well, I couldn't shovel it off and there it remains. I'm waiting to hear a loud crash!

Anyway, let's get to the recipe!

Chocolate Chunkers ( adapted from "Baking From My Home to Yours" by Dorie Greenspan)

Made almost 24 cookies, may make a full 2 dozen but it depends on the size you make them.

1/3 cup AP flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder ( I used Valhrona, which makes everything better!)
1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. baking powder

3 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into 3 pieces

6 oz. bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

1 oz. unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped

2 large eggs, room temp.

2/3 cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

6 oz. semi sweet chocolate, chopped into chunks, or 1 cup store bought chocolate chips or chunks

6 oz. premium quality milk or white chocolate, chopped into chunks, or 1 cup store bought chocolate chips

1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped nuts, preferablt salted peanuts or toasted pecans

1 cup moist, plump raisins or finely chopped moist plump dried apricots( I poured hot tap water over my raisins and let them sit for a few minutes to plump up, then drained well).

Center your rack in the oven and preheat oven to 350. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

1. Sift together, flour, cocoa, salt and baking powder.

2. Set a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Add butter pieces, bittersweet and unsweetened chocolate and heat, stirring occasionally, just til melted. The chocolate and butter should be smooth and shiny but not so hot that the butter separates. Remove bowl from heat and set aside to cool.

3. With standing mixer and paddle attachment ( or with a hand mixer in a large bowl), beat the eggs and sugar together on medium high speed about 2 minutes, til they are pale and foamy.

4. Beat in the vanilla, then scrape down the sides of the bowl.

5. Reduce mixer to low speed and add the melted chocolate/butter mixture, mixing only til incorporated.

6. Scrape down the bowl, then on low speed, add the dry ingredients. Mix just til the dry disappears into the dough, which will be thick, smooth and shiny.

7. With a rubber spatula, mix in the semisweet and milk(or white) chocolate chunks, nuts and raisins. The mixture will be very chunky!

8. Drop the dough by generous rounded tablespoonfuls onto your baking sheet, about 1" apart.

Using slightly dampened fingers, form each mounds into a somewhat round shape and flatten slightly with your fingers.

9. Bake 10 to 13 minutes, checking after 11 or 12 minutes.

Repeat with remaining dough, baking one sheet at a time and cooling the sheets between batches. Let cookies cool on sheet about 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely. If you find the chocolate still gooey, and you'd like it to be firmer, pop the cookies intot he fridge for 10 minutes.