It has been quite a while since my last post…and people noticed!  Incredible!  I have been baking and cooking, but not blogging.  I have a lot of catching up to do.

I made these cookies for a friend to bring on a picnic date.  Easy to transport yet still special enough to be a romantic dessert that pairs well with wine, or coffee.  Lucky me, I was able to use my fancy Guittard chocolate!  It was a great chocolate for these cookies; not too sweet and a great complement to the espresso.

The little flecks in the batter here is actual espresso…no instant coffee in these cookies!  I think that makes a real difference in the flavor.

After adding the melted chocolate to the batter and stirring in the nuts and chips the batter is thick and sticky.  It’s a little messy to drop onto the cookie sheets, but I managed.

Once baked these cookies have crisp tops and fudgy centers.  The crunch of the walnuts and additional chips makes them extra delicious.

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
3 large eggs
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons finely ground dark-roast coffee beans, such as Italian-roast
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup walnuts

Preheat oven to 350°F and grease 2 large heavy baking sheets.

In a double boiler or a metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water melt unsweetened chocolate, 1 cup chocolate chips, and butter, stirring until smooth, and remove top of double boiler or bowl from heat. In a bowl with an electric mixer beat eggs, sugar, and ground coffee on high speed until very thick and pale and mixture forms a ribbon when beaters are lifted, about 3 minutes, and beat in chocolate mixture. Into mixture sift in flour, baking powder, and salt and stir until just combined. Stir in remaining chocolate chips and walnuts.

Drop batter by heaping tablespoons about 2 inches apart onto baking sheets and bake in batched in middle of oven 8 to 10 minutes, or until puffed and cracked on top. Cool cookies in baking sheets 1 minute and transfer to racks to cool completely.