Killer Chocolate Cookies

I know I've been talking a lot lately (see here and here) about making a chocolate cookie to rival all other chocolate cookies. And, after a lot of thought and referring back to my previous chocolate cookie recipes, I've done it!

Chocoholics beware. These babies are loaded--loaded, I tell ya--with chocolate. And how did I do that? Well, I followed through with my plan to use five layers of chocolaty goodness:

1) Cocoa Pebbles cereal
2) Cocoa powder
3) Dark chocolate
4) Milk chocolate
5) Semisweet chocolate chips

Yeah. Five different kinds chocolate might be a lot, but this would have had a sixth element if I hadn't run out of unsweetened baker's chocolate. (Hmmm...I think that means I've got the makings of another, even more chocolaty, recipe here. Anybody up for a super chocolaty cookie with nuts?)

Full disclosure time: I'm not a huge chocolate fan, so it takes a little outside motivation to get me thinking about making chocolate cookies. I know...shock-horror, right?

But I do love me some Cocoa Pebbles. The chocolate and the crunch is totally addicting. (Try some sprinkled on top of vanilla ice cream. This little snack was one of my dining-hall staples in college. Trust me...it's so good!) And it makes an awesome base for a chocolate cookie. I got the idea of using cereal in cookies from Cooks Country magazine when I was working on a method for making the peanuttiest peanut butter cookie recipe.

Makes 3 1/2 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Killer Chocolate Cookies.)

Creamables	1 stick butter 1 cup dark brown sugar 1/3 cup cocoa powder
Wet Ingredients	1 egg 2 tablespoons vanilla 1 tablespoon milk
Dry Ingredients	1 1/2 cups finely ground Cocoa Pebbles cereal 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips 1/4 cups finely ground oatmeal 1 cup grated dark chocolate 1 cup grated milk chocolate 3/4 cup flour 1/3 cup cocoa powder 2 teaspoons instant espresso powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
3. In a small bowl, combine the wet ingredients. Whisk together until smooth.
4. Add the combined wet ingredients to the creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
5. In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed.
6. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the combined creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
7. Shape dough into balls--about 2 tablespoons each.
8. Place the  dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
9. Smoosh the dough balls to flatten a little before baking.
   
10. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

Comments

[Angela]

"I'm not a huge chocolate fan....But I do love me some Cocoa Pebbles"

I could have written that! I totally agree ;)

By the way, have you seen the new (ish) Cupcake Pebbles cereal? Oh, it's pretty bad for you, probably more sugar than you should have in two days. But it's so delicious and full of vanilla flavor! I actually used Cupcake Pebbles on your Cherry-Vanilla Crispies and it made for some adorable cookies, but I forgot to take photos =(

[JS5981]

Hey Cookieguy

I'm still having problems with my cookies melting and spreading out wafer-thin in the oven. I took your advice and got rid of the electric mixer and opted for the wooden spoon for creaming the sugar and butter, but the cookies still won't hold up. Can you make any other suggestions to prevent this? Would refrigerating the dough a little bit before baking help?

Thanks for your input :-)

[Oatmeal Cookie Guy]

Hi, JS5981. Good to hear from you again! Hmmm... I've been thinking about your predicament for a while. It can be really frustrating to get flat, crunchy cookies all the time. (Unless you want to make something like my Flat, Crunch Chocolate Chip Cookies, that is.) I think the problem might be that your oven is running hot. Your idea of parking the dough in the fridge for a bit to chill and firm up is a good one. I also suggest lowering the temp on your oven a little.

So the next time you're baking cookies, try chilling the dough in your fridge for about 30 minutes and baking them at a lower temperature--325º instead of 350º. I hope this helps!