Dark Double Chocolate Cookies

I'm back!! Not quite full speed yet but hungry enough to make a batch of cookies. This past week of not eating gave me lots of time to think about all the recipes I want to try! Our poor grill was only used a few times and it has been sitting outside rather lonely. As I sat enjoying another bowl of soup and pudding, I really started craving cookies. I recently got Bob's Red Mill Cookbook and am excited to start using some different flours and do more whole wheat baking. However, today our pantry is a little sparse since I haven't been grocery shopping so a good old fashioned cookie is what was called for. I saw this recipe on the Baking Bites web page this afternoon and immediately knew it was exactly what I was looking for. These were a big hit in my house. Warning, you will need a tall glass of milk with these because they are very chocolaty. I added the optional espresso powder. I really like the combination of espresso and chocolate. The recipe didn't say when to add the espresso powder, so I opted to add it to the wet ingredients. I wanted to make sure it would combine and not be gritty in the mixture. It worked well. The only other change I made was to use Kosher salt in place of the table salt. It adds a bit more taste to the cookie and makes it a little more sophisticated.

Dark Double Chocolate Cookies
Source: Bakingbites.com

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder (I used Ghiradelli)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp instant espresso powder (optional)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup semisweet or dark chocolate chips (I used organic)

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Beat in egg, followed by vanilla extract. Gradually, with the mixer on low speed, blend in the flour mixture, stopping when no streaks of dry ingredients remain. Stir in chocolate chips.
Place rounded tablespoons of dough (about 1-inch balls) onto prepared baking sheet.
Bake for 10-12 minutes, until cookies begin to crack on the top.
Cool for 2 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Makes 2 1/2 dozen