It's also part laziness. My boyfriend is an excellent cook who knows how to throw a meal together in 30 minutes or less. I'm lucky to be able to get a salad together in that amount of time. I just do things so slowly when I cook and every dinner recipe I want to try is requires a thousand ingredients and things I can't find in the places I've been living. But enough about that and more about this recipe.
It was a lazy Saturday, I'm finally living in one place with my own baking drawer and shelf, and I was feeling like putting them to use. At first I was thinking I should make some cookies to have around for when Chris and Jennifer come to visit on Wednesday. Then around 5pm Giacomo announced that we were having guests for dinner so I decided to switch course and make something for them. It would still have to be cookies since I have no cupcake pan, brownie pan, ramekins, or cake pans and I've probably exhausted the use of arroz con leche and chocolate mousse as a dessert.
I was also tired of my usual go-to recipes so I decided to find something new. Being so behind on my blog reading it wasn't long before I stumbled upon this fairly quick and simple recipe from the Bitten Word. As they pointed out, you probably have most, if not all, of the ingredients in your cabinets right now. All I needed was the walnuts. Usually I'm not a fan of nuts in my cookies but these were gooey chocolate and delicious with a nice toasted, nutty flavor. They absolutely needed the walnuts, just in case you're considering not adding them, and we served them with a small glass of tawny port. Together they were the perfect ending to a delicious meal.
Walnut Brownie Cookies (adapted from The Bitten Word)
Yield:
2 dozen cookies
Ingredients:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2/3 cup packed light-brown sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups toasted walnuts (about 4 ounces), coarsely chopped
Directions:
1) Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl.
2) Melt chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring until smooth and combined. Remove from heat.
3) Whisk in brown sugar, then eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour mixture, then fold in 1 cup walnuts.
4) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Refrigerate until dough is just firm, about 30 minutes.
5) Drop heaping tablespoons of dough, at least 2 inches apart, onto 2 parchment-lined baking sheets. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup walnuts. Bake until tops of cookies are set and shiny, about 12 minutes. Let cool completely on wire racks.
