mea culpa cookies- chocolate whoppers

I surprised myself. I didn't realize I had this Fonzie syndrome:


I never thought saying sorry would be so hard. I could easily admit my bad to others, yet, I couldn't manage saying it to the person I'd wronged.

You KNOW what held me back.  It's that ugly "P" word. Pride. Yessirree, and apparently, I have it... in spades. Last week, I finally wrote a long-overdue (we are talking many months here) letter of apology.

Life would be easier, don't you think, if "sorry, please forgive me" could simply be communicated with chocolate cookies,  In my ideal world, any baked good could and would magically eliminate hurtful words, nasty attitudes, thoughtless gestures and heal wounded feelings.

I have yet to get a response, but the next time I see said wronged person (a chocolate and pecan lover),  I'll have a batch of these waiting.

(I wrote the first draft of this post, baked the cookies, then gave them to The Montclair Diva whose daughter just had her heart broken. These mea culpas work wonderfully as mend-your-broken-heart cookies too.)

MD's exuberant critique, "A perfect juxtaposition of crisp and chewy in a dark vortex of luxurious chocolate.

Chocolate Whoppers
slightly adapted from Cookies, by Maida Heatter

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
6 ounces semisweet chocolate
3 ounces unsalted butter
¼ cup sifted all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 eggs
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon powdered instant coffee or espresso
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup semisweet chocolate morsel
4 ounces walnuts, broken into large pieces
4 ounces toasted pecans, broken into large pieces

Adjust two racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat oven to 350ºF.

Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or Silpat.

Place the unsweetened chocoalte, semisweet chocolate and butter in the top of a small double boiler over hot water on moderate heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until melted and smooth. Remove the top of the double boiler and set aside to cool slightly.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt, and set aside.

With the paddle attachment of an electric mixer, beat the eggs, sugar, coffee and vanilla at high speed for a minute or two. Beat in the melted chocolates and butter on low speed just to mix. Add the sifted dry ingredients and beat on low speed just to mix, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary with a rubber spatula to incorporate the ingredients. With a wooden spoon, stir in the chocolate morsel, walnuts and pecans.

Using a ⅓-cup measuring cup, put five cookies on each cookie sheet, one in the middle and one toward each corner. Do not flatten the tops.

Bake two sheets at a time reversing the sheets top to bottom and front to back once during baking to ensure even baking. Bake for 16-17 minutes- no longer. The surface of the cookies will be dry, but the insides will still be soft. Let the sheets cool on wire racks.