Ultimate Chocolate Indulgence Cookies

Rich, chocolatey cookies with a brownie-like crackle on top, available in Wegmans bakeries. You could just buy some (they're $2 each) and I do on my birthday, but I also like figuring out how to make amazing food at home. They're labeled in the store as gluten-free, and after trying several flourless recipes resembling meringue and Swedish kladdkaka, the pandemic hit and I was focused on other things. Then when Wegmans started packaging them in groups with a label (covid) I saw oat flour listed in the ingredients and so I tried a few more recipes that weren't The One either, and got discouraged. I also figured Wegmans probably has its own chocolate plantation and grinds its own nibs, so mere mortals couldn't possibly recreate them at home. (Cocoa butter is also on the ingredients list and that's where I drew the line). Months later I was excited to find this recipe developed by Cookie Madness at the same time as my quest. I tweaked it a bit and doubled the amounts since 6 cookies is not enough for this house, especially with the research suggested in step 6. Now I get 26 cookies with the #40 scoop.

Ingredients 

• 168g dark chocolate,* coarsely chopped (about a cup) 
• 56g (2 oz) unsweetened chocolate (half of a Baker's bar), broken up
• 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons instant espresso powder  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar 
• 2/3 cup oat flour**
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips 

*Dark chocolate is often sold in 100g bars, so keep that in mind when purchasing. I usually weigh mine out just to be sure, but I bet you could eyeball it if you're good with fractions (1 2/3 bars).

**I used my food processor to pulverize rolled oats the first time, but even after several minutes there were chunks. I have used store-bought oat flour since that, and like the results. Next time I'm substituting all-purpose flour since we eat gluten.

Instructions 

1. In a 2-cup Pyrex measuring cup, melt the dark chocolate, unsweetened chocolate and butter together by microwaving on high and stirring every 15-30 seconds. Set aside to cool.
2. With an electric mixer combine the eggs, espresso, and vanilla. Add sugar and beat for about two minutes. Mix in the cooled melted chocolate mixture.
3. In a small bowl mix together the oat flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix this into the chocolate mixture on low until just combined.
4. Fold in the chocolate chips by hand. Chill dough for 30 minutes***, then preheat the oven to 325 degrees. 
5. Using a medium cookie scoop (1.5T/size 40), portion out dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Check off your arm workout for today. Rawr!  ***If you plan to freeze the unbaked dough you can skip the chill time and scoop right away onto a small cookie sheet to freeze. Once frozen, transfer dough balls to a zipper bag and return to freezer until ready to bake.
6. Bake chilled dough for 10-12 minutes, frozen dough a few minutes longer. Do not overbake. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. I love eating freshly baked cookies, but I also love the crunch of the chocolate chips when they're fully cooled. Do your own research on that though.

Update:

I tried another recipe that was so good, but I haven't had a chance to do a side-by-side comparison in the name of research. I used Special Dark cocoa, some 80% dark chocolate for melting, Kroger chunks, a 2T scoop and baked for 10 minutes.

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate coarsely chopped (She used 60%; the darker the chocolate, the more intense the cookies will be)

4 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into 6 pieces

2 large eggs at room temperature

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips, about 2 cups

Flaky sea salt such as Maldon or Fleur de Sel (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.

In a small bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.

Melt butter and bittersweet chocolate in microwave on 15-30 second intervals until it melts completely and looks smooth and shiny. Let cool to room temperature.

In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs and sugar together on medium-high speed for 2 minutes, until they are pale and foamy. Beat in the vanilla.

Scrape down the bowl, then reduce the speed to low and add the cooled chocolate mixture, mixing just until incorporated.

Scrape down the bowl again. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients, mixing just until the dry ingredients disappear into the batter.

The batter will be thick and shiny and brownie batter-like.

By hand with a rubber spatula, gently stir in the chocolate chips.

For small cookies (2-inch) cookies, drop the dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto the baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch of space between the mounds of dough. For larger (3-inch) cookies, drop into mounds that are 2 inches across (you'll need about 2 tablespoons of dough). Sprinkle the tops of the cookies with a pinch of flaky salt.

Bake the cookies for 9 minutes (if smaller) or 10 minutes (if larger). The tops of the cookies will appear slightly dry and the inside will be soft. Let rest on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then gently transfer the cookies to a cooling rack to cool to room temperature (or as long as you can stand).

Repeat with the remaining dough, baking only one sheet of cookies at a time in the center of the oven. If you are reusing the same baking sheet, let it cool completely between batches.