Tripple Chocolate Cookies

blished September 1, 1999.

The secret of a chocolate cookie with the intensity of hot fudge sauce is a combination of the right kind of chocolate and cocoa powder.

The Problem
Our experiences with chocolate cookies have always fallen short of expectation. We have created large, dense cookies that were rich and decadent, but the chocolate flavor was dull. We have also experimented with thin, crisp cookies (nice but not intense), chewy cookies (good but not showstoppers), and cakelike chocolate cookies, which tend to be dry and uninspiring.

The Goal
Our goal in this recipe seemed more like a fantasy: the first bite of the cookie would reveal a center of hot fudge sauce, the texture would call to mind chocolate bread pudding, and the overall flavor would be of deep and complex chocolate. Was it possible? After weeks of testing, we finally found out.

The Solution
In the end, the fulfillment of our fantasy relied on basic ingredients (chocolate, sugar, eggs, butter, flour, baking powder, and salt) put together in a very particular way. Technique (a modified creaming method) and proportion (1 cup sugar and 1 cup flour to 8 ounces of chocolate) were all-important. And so, it turned out, was the nature of the chocolate we used. The more highly processed semisweet chocolate tasted smoother and richer than unsweetened, and Dutch-processed cocoa, which many bakers find superior in flavor to regular cocoa, further enriched the chocolate flavor.

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