Before we get started today, I want to introduce you to the other Kitchen Chicken … “Norma”. This isn’t her real name but it is a name that is very meaningful to us both. We call each other Norma. We met at a company Christmas potluck, December 1998; she actually worked with my husband. We became fast friends and our adventures have taken us to wild and wonderful locations: Bangladesh, Nepal, Thailand, New York City and New England. More adventures await us in Savannah, Georgia!
Norma is my best friend … my soul-sister, really. My life’s highs and lows have been shared with and supported by Norma. As this blog evolves, you’ll learn more about us … The Normas … The Kitchen Chickens … and the trouble we get into! But first, I’m thrilled to tell you that my Norma is the designer, illustrator and editor of this blog. She’s also the official taste-tester! Okay, on to our first bake …
Our first bake is Double Chocolate Crisps and is dedicated to its author, Marilyn Spangler of Oak Creek, Wisconsin, who passed away June 30, 2017 at the age of 85. This bake is for you, Marilyn!
Double Chocolate Crisps
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
4 squares (1 ounce each) unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans
- In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Beat in (cooled) chocolate and vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Gradually add to the creamed mixture.
- Stir in chocolate chips and pecans.
- Drop by tablespoonful’s 2” apart onto ungreased baking sheets.
- Bake at 375F for 10-12 minutes (I maxed out at 11 minutes) or until tops are cracked.
- Remove to wire racks to cool.
This recipe is quick and easy! The dough almost has a brownie-like consistency … or, a cross between cake batter and buttercream. The melted chocolate (versus cocoa powder) gives it a rich flavor and texture. The recipe says it yields 4 dozen crisps; I actually got 4 ½ dozen … plus 2.
Did you know … that if a recipe calls for you to cream butter, the butter should be softened? It doesn’t take long to soften 1 cup of butter and the dough sets up so nicely! I’ve always thrown cold butter into my standing mixer and then beaten the tar out of it! Check out the Baking Basics section of The taste of home Baking Book for more great tips.
What does Norma say about these cookies? Loved ‘em! Sweet (but not too sweet) and salty with a good fudgy chocolate cake flavor and just the right snappy crispness all the way through. The pecans and the cinnamon give them a delicious rich undertone (or as one of the young chickens said “a slightly smoky” flavour). “I could eat the whole batch in one sitting!”
TEMPTATION LEVEL out of 10: They have that magical combination of salty-sweet and crispy-tender that makes going into ‘Cookie Zombie’ mode and eating a dozen at a time dangerously easy – a solid 8.5!
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