Thanks for stopping by today to check out some new chocolate recipes. I hope you're wearing something red! Back in elementary school, I hated Valentine's Day. Having to give a card to every kid - especially the smelly one and the super cute one - was too much stress for an elementary school girl. Just one of the wonderful joys of growing up that I am hoping to prevent my daughter from experiencing. But now as an adult, Valentine's Day just means a good meal with my husband. We never do anything fancy, that's not our style, and now with the little babe here, fancy is not even remotely a possibility. So a nice meal at home is what it will be. And for a sugar boost throughout the weekend - Dark Chocolate Cookies.
These are super simple. They are as easy to make as plain old chocolate chip cookies, but they have more of an adult flavor thanks to the dark cocoa powder and the dash of cinnamon.
Dark Chocolate Cookies
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. Cream the following: 1/2 cup of room temperature butter, 3/4 cup of white sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla bean powder.
3. Add the following to the butter mixture: 1 egg, 1 cup of whole wheat flour, 1/4 cup of Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa*, 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt.
4. Mix until smooth.
5. Add 1/2 cup of chocolate chips** and 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts or pecans.
6. Place on a cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake for 12-14 minutes. The cookies will puff up slightly. You want to take them out when they are still soft - they will firm up and deflate as they cool.
*Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa is a blend of natural and Dutch-processed cocoas. It is definitely a darker cocoa than natural cocoa.
**I used Ghirardelli Premium Baking Chips 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate - much better quality than regular chocolate chips.
I'd love for you to share your recipe below!