Good and Evil Cookies

Yum

“I’m half good and I’m half bad. My mama is a very good girl and my daddy is a very bad boy. And I guess that leaves me somewhere [in the middle.]”   — Joybell

There is a very real power struggle going on in my house at nearly every moment.  It is always there, lurking beneath the surface . . . waiting to burst forth when we least expect it.  Many fierce battles have been waged over that one, all-important question . . .

White or Dark chocolate?

Haha.  Seriously.  My hubby loves anything vanilla, and I go for beautiful, rich chocolate every time.  When I make any kind of dessert, I am torn between what I want . . . and what he wants.  So, in honor of our dual chocolate wars, here is a recipe that combines the best of both– smooth, creamy white chocolate, and sinfully dark, rich semi sweet chocolate.  I’ve decided to call them “Good and Evil” cookies, and the irony is not lost on me that hubby likes white, while I prefer dark.  Take a look at my profile picture, and you’ll see what I mean.  hehe.

What are we waiting for?  Let’s do this!

Good and Evil Cookies

(adapted from the Food Network)

Ingredients:

2 1/2 sticks butter or margarine, softened

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs, room temperature

1 tbsp. vanilla extract

3/4 cup cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. espresso powder

2 packed cups all purpose flour

1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup white chocolate chips

Directions:

Cream softened butter and sugars together until creamy.  Add in eggs and vanilla, scraping sides to ensure even mixing.  Add in cocoa, baking soda, salt, and espresso powder and mix well.  Mix in flour, scraping sides to make sure all the flour is mixed in.  Fold in chips and place cookies on a silpat-lined cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 9-12 minutes, just until set (do not overbake– they will have just lost that “gooey” look, but won’t be solid).  Allow to cool for several minutes on the cookie sheet before removing to a cooling rack to continue cooling.

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I’m sorry, but every time I “cream” ingredients, I think of this old movie I saw once where the playground bully comes up in all his blustering 2nd grade glory and tells the wee kindergartener, “I’m gonna’ cream you!”  haha.  In this case, though, “Creaming” is a good thing.  Basically, take your softened butter (I get it out about half an hour before I’m ready to use it, and that works perfectly) and mix it with your sugars, until the mixture is nice and light.  It won’t be as lightly colored as just butter and white sugar, but it will be smooth and creamy.

Next, add in your eggs and vanilla.  After you mix this, scrape down the sides of the bowl and re-mix.  Oil and liquid don’t like to mix, and scraping the sides just helps to make sure that your butter isn’t clinging to the sides and refusing to play nice 😉

Now let’s talk exotic ingredients. Just kidding.  I don’t know that I’d call espresso powder an “exotic ingredient,” but it isn’t generally something that people have lying around their kitchens.  And since the recipe calls for only 1/2 tsp. of the stuff, it can be tempting to say, “Eh, I’ll just leave it out.”

Oh my goodness.  Please, please, please don’t do that.  I can’t really describe how wonderful espresso powder is, but I’ll try.  It’s kind of like when you eat a cake made from a cake mix.  It’s pretty good, right?  I mean, I doubt you’ll meet anyone who will spit out a grocery store cake, for the most part.  They’re quite tasty.  But compare that to a delicious, homemade chocolate cake that your 80 year old grandma made in her own kitchen, with real butter and melted chocolate . . . and the difference is ridiculous.  Espresso powder does that to baked goods– gives them just a touch of “Grandma magic,” no matter how old you are.  I keep it in the freezer to avoid clumping, and I add it to anything chocolate– just 1/2 tsp. takes your “This chocolate is good” to “Oh my goodness this chocolate is freaking amazing!  Someone give me a ring because I need to go down on one knee and propose!”  You can get espresso powder from Amazon here.  A little goes a long way, too– since you don’t have to add much to bring that “extra magic,” this will last you for a long time.  If you need other delicious ways to use this stuff, try Homemade Espresso Chip Ice Cream!  You’re welcome.  😀

So go ahead and add in your magic espresso powder, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Ohhhhh yes.  It’s looking very evil, now.

Next, mix in your flour, making sure to scrape the sides, again, so you get everything nice and mixed in.

Next, the vortex of good and evil must be unleashed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  (Dramatic music swells in the background).

Sorry.  I got kind of carried away there, for a moment.

Just go ahead and add in your semi sweet and white chocolate chips. Mix them in there.  Mmmm.  This was one of those cookie batters where I could tell, just by looking at it, that the cookies were going to be incredible.

Go ahead and place your cookies on a silpat-lined baking sheet.  I like to use a cookie scoop for perfectly shaped cookies, every time.  A cookie scoop was one of those devices I scorned for years, thinking, “I don’t NEED that piece of equipment!  My spoons work just fine!”  And then I got one.  Yesssss.  If you want all your cookies to be perfectly the same size, and nice and uniform without any weird crunchy edges because the batter got too thin there, you should really think about investing in one of these. You can get it for about $15 here, and you will enjoy years and years of perfectly round, soft cookies.  Personally, I have a full set of these scoops, and I think they are one of my most useful kitchen tools (more of my favorites here).

Go ahead and stick a few white chocolate chips into the tops of the cookies.  Doing this just makes sure that your cookies are PURDY when they come out of the oven.  Remember, we are trying to equally represent good and evil, here.

Eh . . . who am I kidding, here?  Let’s make some pure evil ones, too.  😉

Bake the cookies at 350 for just about 9-12 minutes.  Every oven is a little different, so that’s why I’m giving the range of baking times.  But be careful not to overbake these, or they will be as tough as your second grade teacher Mrs. Turpmenisteinz.  Basically, you want them to just be “set.”  This means that they will be firm enough to hold a shape, but they will still be soft if you pick them up (but don’t do that– just saying).  They will have lost that “wet and gooey” look, but they will definitely still be soft.  If you gently press one, it will make a teeny indention from your finger, but it won’t be oozing or gooey, at all.  I hope that makes sense.  When the cookies reach this magical point, take them out of the oven and let them cool on the cookie sheets for about 5 minutes (don’t move them off until then) so they can gather their strength and solidify a little bit.  After 5 minutes, take ’em off and let them start cooling on a rack.

At that point, the directions get REALLLLLYYYY simple.  Grab a big glass of milk and stuff one of these cookies in your face.  If your girlfriend made these for you, go out and buy an engagement ring, like, NOW.   Anyone who makes you homemade cookies is someone you need in your life.

You did it.  And I’m just so proud of you.

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