Seriously chocolatey cookies

My niece came to stay for the weekend and since the weather was shocking, what else were we going to do other than hit the kitchen to bake up a choclatey storm?

It took us a while to narrow our recipe choices down to chocolate cookies. We actually used a recipe for chocolate and sour cherry cookies, but we rejected the sour cherry element for two reasons: Natasha thought they sounded gross, and I didn't have any anyway!

Apparently the mixture tasted gorgeous even before baking - its a wonder that we had any left to bake!



We made 11 enormous cookies and had one each for pudding, accompanied by strawberry icecream.



Here's the cherry-less version of the recipe, but I do think the cherries would be good in them, just perhaps not for teenagers who don't like their chocolate diluted by fruit!

Chocolate Cookies

235g dark chocolate
150g plain flour
40g drinking chocolate
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
100g butter
240g soft brown sugar
2 eggs

Sieve the bicarbonate of soda, flour, salt and drinking chocolate.
Beat the butter and sugar together, then add the eggs one at a time, beating well as you add each one. Fold in the flour mixture in 3 stages, beating well after each addition.
Melt the chocolate and mix it into the cookie mixture.
Line baking trays with non stick baking parchment. Form balls of mixture (about a tablespon per cookie) and place them on the baking sheet. Put in the fridge to firm up for 1/2 hour.
Heat the oven to 165C.
Bake the cookies for 15-20 mins until crackled on top. Cool on the tray for 5 mins then on a wire rack until cold.



Yummmmmmmmmm. (But go easy on them - they're very very very chocolatey.)

If you want to add dried sour cherries then use about 85g and mix them in after the dark chocolate.