Triple Chocolate Brownie Cookies

If I could only have one dessert, it would probably be a brownie.  I'm a sucker for anything chocolate, but there's something about the moist, dense texture of a brownie combined with the rich chocolate taste that makes them irresistible.  Last weekend my family went on our annual wine tasting trip, and I wanted to make a treat to bring along.  I wanted to make something that everyone would like and something that would also travel well.  While I love brownies, they're not the best thing for traveling.  Even dense, fudgelike ones can tend to be smashed and squished while being carried unless they're in their own separate container or bag.  

I looked through all my cook books and found the answer in Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook.  Her Double-Chocolate Brownie Cookies (pg. 75) were the perfect solution.  A cookie is sturdier than a brownie because its whole exterior has been baked, almost like it has a protective shell, whereas a brownie really only "set" on the top (or sometimes sides if it was on the edge of the pan.  This cookies are similar to the Andes Fudge and Peppermint Bark Cookies I made, except those definitely had a texture and taste more like fudge (hence the name), while these have dense cake like texture very similar to a brownie.  

I decided to alter her recipe a bit, using a mix of granulated sugar and light brown sugar instead of just granulated.  I also decided to make them Triple-Chocolate Brownie Cookies instead of double-chocolate.  She suggests that you can add walnuts or any kind of nuts really, but since I have a mild allergy to walnuts I left nuts out altogether.  And of course, I made them gluten free.

Triple Chocolate Brownie Cookies

Recipe adapted Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook Double-Chocolate Brownie Cookies (pg. 75)
Made Gluten Free by Jesicakes
Makes about 30 cookies
Print Recipe

Ingredients

- 3 oz semi sweet chocolate chips
- 2 oz 60% cocoa bittersweet chocolate (I use Ghiradelli), roughly chopped
- 3 oz unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 cup sorghum flour, sifted
- 1/4 + 1/8 cup brown rice flour, sifted
- 1/4 cup white rice flour, sifted
- 1/8 cup tapioca flour, sifted
- 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 4 oz 60% cocoa bittersweet chocolate chopped into 1/4" chunks

 Preheat the oven to 375˚F.  Melt the butter in the microwave (you can also do this whole process in a double boiler if you have one).  Add the semisweet chips, the 2 oz of bittersweet, and the unsweetened chocolate to the melted butter and stir.

Microwave more if need be in intervals of 15 seconds.  Stir in between each time in the microwave.  The chocolate may still look solid but if you start the stir it, it will melt.  You want a smooth, silky texture with no clumps.  Stirring completely between each time in the microwave will also ensure you don't over heat it and burn it.  Allow the chocolate mixture to cool for about 5 minutes.

With an electric mixer, beat the chocolate and butter mixture with the granulated sugar and light brown sugar on medium for about three minutes.  You want them to be completely mixed and have a smooth texture.

Add eggs and the vanilla, making sure to scrape down the bowl so the eggs are incorporated in the entire batter.

Add flour mixture, the xanthan gum, and the salt until just incorporated.  Be careful not to over mix too much.  You're going to add the chips by hand so if you can finish incorporating the flour completely by hand as well.

Fold in the 4 oz of bittersweet chunks.

I scoop using a standard cookie scoop, about 1-1 1/2" balls.  Because there is so much chocolate these will begin to set, so it is good to scoop them all out at once.

Bake 9-11 minutes.  I baked 6 minutes, turned the tray, then another 4 minutes and got the perfect texture.

They don't spread too much.  They become little pillows of brownie cookie bites.  A dense chocolately flavor but somehow light at the same time.  Allow them to cool on a rack.  These are one of those cookies (like snickerdoodles) that I actually think taste best when they've cooled.

They can stay 5 days or so in a sealed plastic container.  They stay nice and moist for several days if you keep them sealed.  I think they somehow managed to last 5 days in my house and they were still delicious, soft, and flavorful.  You can also freeze them for a few months if you'd like.  I can think of a few ways to alter these and have fun with the recipe.  Adding espresso or some type of floral note like lavender or earl grey tea would probably make them killer (or possibly put them over the top with richness).  And while the chocolate chunks give them a nice little crunch, I do think nuts would add a nice crunch and another flavor to make them more complex.

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