GMA Recipe: Bittersweet Chocolate Cookies

Click here for
Recent Recipes
(presented in the past few months)

The following are recipes categorized from the archives of recipes broadcast on Good Morning America.

Appetizers

Breakfast

Beverages

Breads
Desserts

Cakes

Cookies

Pies

Other Desserts

Fish

Low Fat/Low Carb

Holidays

Meat

Pasta

Poultry

Quick Recipes

Sandwiches

Salads

Side Dishes

Soups

Vegetables

Bittersweet Chocolate Cookies
From GMA's Food Editor and author, Sara Moulton
September 22, 2004

It's become an annual treat when Sara Moulton comes by Good Morning America with some of the most outstanding cookies from Gourmet Magazines's holiday cookie issue.

It's best to have a napkin handy when eating these crunchy chocolate cookies -- the confectioner's sugar coating can get messy. After Catherine Rieger of Martinez, Calif., found the recipe in "The Babbo Cookbook," the cookies became a staple in her home.

Adapted from Gina DePalma's recipe in "The Babbo Cookbook," by Mario Batali.
Makes about five dozen cookies.
Cooking time: 45 minutes.
Start to finish: 2 1/2 hours (includes chilling time).

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

5 ounces fine-quality semisweet or bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), finely chopped

1/2 cup hazelnuts or sliced almonds, finely chopped (not in a food processor)

1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar for coating

Directions

Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt in a bowl until combined.

Beat together butter and granulated sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about two minutes in a stand mixer (preferably fitted with paddle attachment) or four minutes with a handheld.

Add egg and vanilla, beating until combined. Reduce speed to low, then add flour mixture and mix until combined well. Add chocolate and nuts and mix until just combined.

Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill dough until firm, about 30 minutes.

Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 325° F.

Roll one scant tablespoon of dough into a one-inch ball, then flatten slightly with palm of your hand to form a 1/3-inch-thick disk and coat with confectioner's sugar. Make more cookies in same manner, arranging them two inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.

Bake cookies, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until they puff up and tops crack slightly, about eight to 10 minutes total, then transfer with a metal spatula to racks to cool completely. Recoat cookies with confectioner's sugar.

If you keep cookies layered between sheets of wax paper or parchment, in an airtight container at room temperature, they'll keep nicely for about one week.

Recipes courtesy of Gourmet magazine, copyright © 2004.