Brownie Cookies

Oh man.  Christmas baking is in full swing these days.  And by full swing, I mean I am baking basically every day.  EVERY DAY.  Even for me, this is a new record.  The part that is coolest to me is that I've had requests to create desserts for special occasions...and get paid to do it.  What?  People want to give me money to do this??  It's so exciting for me.  This weekend was my first paid occasion-- it was cupcakes for a friend's son's birthday, not the cookies pictured above-- and I was so honored by her request.  It's a big deal to me that people trust my abilities enough to provide baked goods for their special occasions-- a really big deal.  The cupcakes, by the way, turned out really well, and apparently the birthday boy told his mom-mom that his favorite part of the party was the cake. :)  He is too cute for words.

Not to change the subject, but the cookies above are EVIL.  They are moist and chocolate-y and small enough that you don't realize that you've eaten twelve of them before it's too late.  True story-- one of my friends came into my classroom to sample them.  I was teaching, so he took the container into the storage closet in order to keep from disturbing my class.  He came out two minutes later, wiping his mouth, with a guilty expression on his face, and confessed that he'd eaten four, and that I needed to take them away from him before he ate the rest.  I think that speaks for itself as a testament to how good these cookies are.  Make them and give them to your friends-- they will thank you! Or hide in your closet-- either way, you should take it as a compliment. :)

Brownie Cookies
(From Pure and Yummy)
Makes approximately 4 dozen cookies

1/2 cup butter
4 ounces of unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 cups semisweet chocolate chips (divided in half)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 salt
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract

Prehear oven to 350 degrees.  Combine unsweetened chocolate, 1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips, and butter in a medium saucepan.  Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until all ingredients are melted and smooth.  Remove from heat and let cool. (Note: Do not refrigerate this to try to cool it more quickly-- it needs to stay in a liquid-y state.)

In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt-- set aside. 

In a large mixing bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the eggs, sugar, and vanilla until thoroughly combined.  Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, beating until well incorporated.  Next, add the melted chocolate mixture and beat well.  Stir in the remaining 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips. 

Drop teaspoonfuls of dough onto cookie sheets (use your parchment paper!) approximately 1 inch apart.  You may need to refrigerate your dough for 10 minutes or so in order for it to be easier to work with.  Also, if you have a cookie scoop, this is an ideal dough to use it with.  Bake for approximately 10 minutes, or until the tops crack like brownies.  Remove from oven; cool on the cookie sheets for a few minutes, and then transfer to wire racks to finish cooling. 

Merry Christmas from the cookie penguin!