I don’t think I’ve ever baked cookies that provoked so many immediate, audible reactions (from “oh my God” to “damn, Cate” to even more explicit interjections). These double chocolate buttermilk cookies are that good. And they were sort of accidental.
I had a bunch of left over buttermilk from baking a birthday cake last week (because why would you be able to buy just a pint of buttermilk?! And/but who EVER needs a whole quart?!) So I wanted to find a way to use it up, and I also wanted to bake a bunch of cookies for my improv company.
There are a lot of recipes for “Buttermilk Cookies” that seem sort of cake-like and have frosting and didn’t really appeal to my tastebuds. But these have chocolate, and I’m always on board for chocolate.
I was halfway through putting the recipe together before realizing it doesn’t have eggs. At which point, I became highly dubious. Cookies without eggs? Other than shortbread, I’m not sure I’ve ever done such a thing. And chocolate shortbread ain’t my thing.
But I’m real glad I didn’t notice until the point of no return, ’cause I probably wouldn’t have tried the recipe if I had. And that would have been a major loss to my baking repertoire and all the people who benefitted from yesterday’s double batch of awesome.
These cookies are dense, and chocolatey, and chewy, and outrageously good. They’re kind of like a brownie in cookie form – only better.
I used three different kinds of chocolate chips (’cause I have a ridiculously well stocked pantry) and high quality cocoa powder, but I’m pretty sure these will still be delicious with plain ‘ol semi-sweet chips and Hershey’s cocoa. But if you have bags of mini chips and other sizes lying around, I’d recommend mixing it up.
Since I’ve got a department meeting on Friday, I stowed about two dozen dough balls in the freezer to bake in a few more days. These aren’t quite as amazing on day two – they dry out a bit and go from spectacular to just really good. But if you make a single batch, it seems unlikely they’ll last that long anyway.
Double Chocolate Buttermilk Cookies (from Big Flavors from a Tiny Kitchen)
Grade: A+
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup butter
- 3/4 cup cocoa powder
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup buttermilk
- 2 cups chocolate chips
Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpat mats.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
Melt the butter in a small, microwave safe bowl. Then, transfer the melted butter to a large bowl, and add the cocoa powder. Whisk until very smooth. Then, whisk in the sugar, vanilla extract and buttermilk. Gradually stir in the flour mixture until no streaks of flour remain. Stir in the chocolate chips.
Use a small cookie scoop to drop dough balls onto prepared baking sheet, leaving about an inch between cookies to allow for spread. (I get five rows of four cookies to a pan)
Bake for 8-9 minutes, until cookies are set around the edges and just set in the center.
Cool for 2-3 minutes on a baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack with a spatula to cool completely.
Baker on the Run 