Good Food: Double Chocolate Cookies

So, working at Elliot's book fair last week I had a lot of time to browse through random books. I happened across one called "The Cake Mix Doctor." At first, I thought the premise was really lame. This lady writes a whole book of recipes that rely on spiffing up cake mixes so that you end up with a delicious cake. If you read this blog, you'll know that I have been struggling to bake good cakes from scratch. So this idea of starting with a cake mix seemed hideous to me. I mean, is it really so hard to just mix together some flour and baking powder and sugar? Why involve a cake mix in all this?

But then I thought more about it. My from-scratch cakes have all turned out terribly. Maybe I *should* be starting out with a cake mix, I thought, at least for now, because my cakes from mixes actually turn out much better than my cakes from scratch. Maybe I can learn some tricks and some day work up to making a cake from scratch. And the book was 50% off, so I bought it. Why not give it a try?

As it turns out, there is also a section in the back for cookie recipes. I LOVE double chocolate cookies. But I have never tried to make them myself before. I don't know why. They just seem magical, I guess. Well today I felt bold and decided to give my first double chocolate cookie recipe a try. This recipe is a variation on one I found in The Cake Mix Doctor Returns. I thought it was decent!

The key is to under bake the cookies. I found they were best when baked for eight minutes, although the recipe called for 10-12. I also think these cookies need additions to be good. I added chocolate chips and walnuts. I think the cookies would be very bland without them--they are sort of light and taste like a cake mix, so they need the richness of the chocolate chips and nuts.


1 package (18.25 oz) chocolate cake mix
1 8 oz. package of cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 stick butter, melted
about half a cup of chocolate chips (i used a mix of Nestle semi-sweet and Ghirardelli dark chocolate)
about half a cup of walnut pieces


1. Preheat the oven to 375.
2. Combine the cake mix, cream cheese, egg, vanilla, and butter in a large mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer, mix on low until the ingredients are just combined. Then mix on medium until the dough is thick and smooth. Note: This dough is really thick, so you probably really will want an electric mixer. I tried to do it by hand because I was too lazy to get out the mixer at first, but I gave up.
3. Stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts by hand.
4. Drop the dough by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets (I cover mine in parchment paper).  Bake on the middle rack for about eight minutes for nice soft cookies. Note: You can cook a little longer for chewier cookies. Be careful and make sure they don't burn, though! Since the dough is so dark, it's a little difficult to tell when they are starting to become too done, and I burnt my first batch.

-Kristin

It was quite a nice surprise to come home to an empty house with bags and bags of these new chocolate cookies. No competition. I slowly ate away, enjoying every bite. I ate a lot of cookies tonight. They weren't the normal, doughy cookie we usually make. As Kristin said, much more cake like, but still very good (coming from one who hates cake).

I'm thinking next maybe we should attempt the delicious S'mores cookies we get from Westside Market?

- Megan Leigh