Double Fudge Cookies

As I mentioned before, I grew up loving Great American Cookie Company's cookies. In the last six months or so, they've disappeared from my local malls, and I've been left missing their cookies desperately. Last week, I attempted a chocolate chip cookie knock-off, but I had actually thought it was a knock-off of their double fudge cookies, which were my personal favorite. That's what happens when you really want something and you read (and print) a million recipes, and try to put something together that's missing an integral ingredient (namely cocoa powder). When I started to make these cookies, I re-read the ingredients I had written out three or four times to make sure I had it right this time.

If I do say so myself, these are some awesome cookies. Fudgy, just gooey enough, with a little bit of crunch around the edges and tons of chocolate flavor. Very, very tasty. And look, aren't they pretty? Husband helped out with this lovely shot of these cookies, and I must say, it's probably one of the best food photos I've taken thus far in my completely amateur food photography experience. I'm learning!

Anyway, do yourself a favor. Make these cookies tonight. Just make sure you've got lots of milk on hand, because this is definitely a cookie that requires some milk to go along with it.

Double Fudge Cookies (like at Great American Cookie Company)

Printer-friendly recipe

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed

1 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

2 3/4 cups all-purpose unbleached flour

1/2 cups cocoa - dutched is better, but natural is OK too - I ran out of Dutched and used half of each

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (or bittersweet or milk - whatever floats your boat)

1. Preheat oven to 350. Cream butter and sugars until fluffy and pale yellow in color.

2. Beat in eggs and vanilla until well combined.

3. In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients together, and add slowly to batter. Mix well.

4. Add your chocolate chips and mix well.

5. Either scoop dough in heaping tablespoons or roll into large balls and place approximately 3 inches apart on a lightly greased (or Silpat'd) cookie sheet. Before you put them in the oven, flatten them with either your fingers or the bottom of a drinking glass, much like you would a sugar cookie. This ensures the big, mall cookie appearance.

4. Bake at 350 for 9 minutes. They will look underdone, I know, but they aren't. Let them cool on the cookie sheet for approximately 5-8 minutes, then move gently onto a wire rack to finish cooling.