Chocolate Whoppers

Chocolate whopper.

I'm trying out a few of my favorite chocolate recipes in preparation to enter a Chocolate Festival Contest in May.  Mary and Dave's church, Smyrna United Methodist Church in Moore County is hosting the festival as a fundraiser for the  Robbins Area Christian Ministries.  One of my favorite cookies is the chocolate whopper sold at Foster's Market in Durham, and I use Sarah Foster's recipe.  This is a recipe inspired by a similar cookie made at the SoHo Charcuterie back in the early 80s.


Chocolate Whoppers
Recipe from The Foster's Market Cookbook

Foster's Market Cookbook.

Ingredients
6 ounces semisweet chocolate (preferably high-quality baking chocolate), chopped into large chunks
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped into large chunks
 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups coarsely chopped walnuts
 1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
2. Lightly grease 2 baking sheets and set aside.
3. Melt together the semisweet chocolate, unsweetened chocolate chunks, and butter in a double boiler over low heat until just melted, stirring occasionally. Stir to blend the chocolate and the butter, and set aside.
4. Cream together the eggs, espresso powder, and vanilla in a large bowl with an electric mixer. Add the sugar and mix until thick and creamy.
5. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl and stir to mix. Set aside.
6. Add the chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and blend until well combined. Add the flour mixture and stir just until the dry ingredients are moist.
7. Fold in the walnuts and chocolate chips. (Note: The batter will be very moist--similar to the consistency of cake batter)
8. Scoop the batter with a 1/4 cup ice cream scoop or by the heaping tablespoon and drop onto the prepared baking sheets about 3 inches apart. Bake immediately.
9. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, turning the baking sheets once during the cooking time. The cookies will still be very gooey inside and soft, but do not overcook or the cooled cookies will be dry. Cool about 10 minutes on the baking sheets before gently removing the whoppers to a baking rack to cool completely.

Plate of chocolate whopper cookies.