A few people asked for ways to use chocolate extract. It's a new product for me too, but based on the brownies from yesterday and the cookies I baked this morning, I think it could enhance just about anything with chocolate. As for today's chocolate extract infused treat, I went with this simple cookie.
The recipe evolved from a newly discovered chocolate chip cookie recipe in Fuzz's Williams Sonoma Kids Cookbook. The traditional version (which is excellent despite what seems like an awful lot of baking powder) is the same as below sans cocoa powder and chocolate extract. The combination of butter and shortening gives it a thick shell, chewy and firm center and all-around great structure, and you really can taste the chocolate extract! It doesn't overpower any of the other chocolate, but it adds a little extra hint of cocoa flavor you catch on the first few bites of cookie.
Recipe
Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup 4.5 oz all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder seems like a lot, but it worked
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons Hershey’s Dark Dutch cocoa powder
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- 4 tablespoons vegetable shortening
- ½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla
- ¾ teaspoon chocolate extract
- 1 ⅓ cup extra dark or dark chocolate chips good quality
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Have ready two ungreased baking sheets.
- Mix the flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa powder together in a bowl and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the butter, shortening, brown sugar and granulated sugar. Using an electric mixer, beat the mixture until it’s smooth. Add the egg, vanilla and chocolate extract and continue to beat on medium speed until well blended. Add the flour mixture. Stir until the flour is almost mixed in. Pour in the chips and stir until completely blended.
- Using a packed tablespoon, drop the batter into mounts on the baking sheets spacing mounds about 2 inches apart. Bake one sheet at a time one center rack for 12-14 minutes or until cookies appear set. Remove from oven and cool on baking sheet for about 2 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Anna
Thanks Karen! It's always nice to have a cookie that stays fresh until the next day. I think the shortening helps in that department.
Karen
Here we are next day. The cooky flavor is by far improved/enhanced with the overnight wait. They were great coming hot out of the oven but today.... Fabulous! The chocolate flavor is much enhanced and the outside crunchiness of the shell and the soft center is a surprise and a delight to the palate. There, how is that for a review? I am definately saving this recipe.
When I print off and bake a recipe I always write some comment on them about any changes I might have done with the ingredients and the results.
Anna
Hi Karen,
I buy packaged mixes occasionally too. Some of them are really good. Better living through chemistry, right? Anyway, I hope you find the scratch version better. Let me know how they hold up.
Karen
I remembered that there had been a "recent" post for chocolate cookies and found this one. This week for a church potluck and the annual meeting I made a batch of store bought box peppermint chocolate cookies. Gasp. I don't think I had ever made store bought before. They were pretty good. But my heart yearned to make my own. So I followed the recipe, except that I did not have the dark Dutch cocoa. Instead I just used the regular Nestle's cocoa powder that I had. I had Watkins chocolate extract and the chocolate chips were Hershey's semi-sweet. I ended up with 30 cookies. Then immediately as they came out of the oven I sprinkled the leftover peppermint candy on top and pressed in slightly. Yummmm. Well, that was the fresh out of the oven taste test. We'll see when tomorrow comes.
I rarely get to make chocolate cookies cause my dear husband doesn't much like them. He is gone, so while the cat is away, the mice....
Adam
It would be interesting to see a comparison between using coffee or chocolate extract and which enhances chocolate flavour more.
Shannon
Do you think these would be good without the chocolate extract, or would I be better off with a different double chocolate cookie recipe?
Mackenzie@The Caramel Cookie
You don't really see cookies with shortening much...interesting!
Erin
Ok I just picked up some double chocolate chip cookies today! MMMM.
Katrina
Those do look like great cookies. I will have to try my chocolate extract in some cookies now, too! Someone asked about frosting, there is a recipe for frosting on the Watkins chocolate extract I have.
Anna
Glad you all are enjoying the experiments. I have to say, I'm surprised how much I like the chocolate extract. It adds a little something and doesn't have a fake or strange flavor.
I put it in a chocolate cream pie filling today and am anxious to see how that works.
karen
They look wonderful, I hope you keep playing around with the chocolate extract - I wonder how it would be in non-baked recipes, like chocolate frosting or chocolate pudding?
Darlene
These sound like the perfect texture for my taste, with their thick shell but chewy center.
Lisa Ernst
I'm always game for a new chocolate/chocolate chip recipe! It seems I remember trying some chocolate extract several years back and didn't notice much difference. But maybe it was some other kind of extract or another brand. After reading your reviews, I want to revisit it.