Big, Fat Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

These cookies aren't playing around. They are huge. They are heavy. They are incredibly chocolate-y.

I'm not convinced that this recipe is truly the best thing out there, but it's certainly solid -- especially if you're able to eat them soon after they're baked. I found that they dried out faster than I would have liked, despite careful storage.

The recipe states that these are made in the style of Levain Bakery -- a NY mainstay that I have not yet had the priviledge to try. From what I gather, the distinguishing feature of a Levain-style cookie recipe is creaming cold pieces of butter instead of letting it sit to room temperaure. This seems to create a bigger, thicker cookie than is produced using other methods. I'd be curious what others think of the difference. If you try it out, let me know...

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
(from Love from the Oven)

• 1 cup (2 sticks) cold, unsalted butter, cubed
• 1¼ cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• ½ cup dark cocoa powder
• 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
• ¼ tsp. coarse salt
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 2½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar.  Beat together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.  Blend in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl as needed.  Mix in the cocoa powder until well blended.

Add the flour, salt and baking powder to the bowl and mix on low speed just until incorporated.  Fold in the chocolate chips with a spatula.

Transfer the dough to a work surface and knead briefly by hand to be sure the ingredients are well combined.

Divide the dough into 4 ounce portions (or divide into 12 equal pieces).**  Roll each portion of dough into a ball and flatten just slightly into a disc.  Place on the prepared baking sheets, a few inches apart.

Bake 16-20 minutes.**  Let cool on the baking sheets 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

**I made mine slightly smaller, and ended up with 18 cookies, instead of 12. This meants that I shortened the baking time slightly, to about 14 minutes. Eyeball it.