chocolate 'black gold' cookies

[moominmolly]

3 oz unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
18 oz semisweet chocolate chips (or chopped semisweet chocolate; I used Ghirardelli chips because I'm lazy and they're cheaper than the bars)
1 stick (1/2 cup) plus 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
3 eggs
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp instant coffee
1 Tbsp vanilla
6 Tbsp all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup chopped walnuts
2 cups chopped pecans

In a double-boiler, melt the unsweetened chocolate, 9 oz of the semisweet chocolate, and all of the butter over just-barely-simmering water. Stir occasionally. When it's melted, remove it from the heat.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until fluffy. Add the vanilla, instant coffee, and melty chocolate mixture, and beat until smooth and combined. In a nearby small bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder, and add this in to the chocolate bowl. When fully combined, add in the nuts and the remaining semisweet chocolate bits and stir.

(I suggest wandering away for 5 minutes here and letting the mixture cool/set a bit. It keeps the cookies from spreading out all over the cookie sheet.)

On an ungreased cookie sheet, drop cookie-sized lumps from your wooden spoon or whatever. They shouldn't spread too much when baking, but they will spread a tiny bit. Bake 19 - 23 minutes; tops will start to crackle a bit, but the insides will still be kind of mushy. When the cookies are done, take them out and scoop them onto cooling racks (this is vital). Let cool for a bit and then enjoy.

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These cookies taste halfway in between brownies and chocolate-chocolate-chip cookies. If I were making them again for me, I'd use eggbeaters rather than whole eggs (easier on my stomach); I think they'd come out just fine. They're plenty rich as is. Also, I used a bit more coffee than the recipe called for and a bit less chocolate, and that worked well. The coffee somehow took the edge off of the extreme chocolate richness without actually making the cookie taste like coffee in any way. Totally great, if I do say so myself, and I'm not one of those crazy chocolate lover people.