Shelly's Recipe

CHOCOLATE SHOCK COOKIES - Texas Style

Category: Cookies

8 oz bittersweet chocolate disks (Ghirardelli 72 percent cacao or 58 percent)
4 tbsp unsalted butter
2/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 (generous) tsp chipotle powder
1/2 tsp instant espresso powder
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips OR chunks
1/2 cup miniature pretzels, broken into little pieces of about 1/3 inch (use more if desired).

Do not preheat oven quite yet because dough requires chilling.

Melt chocolate and butter together in a metal bowl set over barely simmering water. You could also do this in the microwave – use a low power so that the chocolate melts slowly and doesn’t get as hot. Let chocolate cool.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, espresso powder and chipotle in a small bowl.

Beat eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla in a mixing bowl with an electric mixer until fluffy. Reduce speed to low and slowly add the cooled melted chocolate mixture. Add the flour mixture and stir until mixed. Make sure the dough is sufficiently cool (if you used warm chocolate, it might not be) then add the chocolate chips and pretzel pieces. Chill dough for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350. Drop dough by tbsp onto prepared baking sheet. Bake 10-13 minutes or until tops are shiny, center is soft but edges are set. Do NOT over bake. Allow to cool on sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to rack to cool completely.