Chocolate Walnut Brownies

Making the perfect brownie is difficult. Some people like them so fudgy that you need a spoon to eat them. Other people like their brownies super cakey.

Like Goldilocks and the Three Bears, these brownies are an attempt to bridge the gap between too hot and too cold, and find something ‘just right.’ So, they are neither too fudgey nor too cakey. Put simply, it’s a classic brownie, albeit perhaps kicked up a notch.

These are chocolate brownies with toasted walnuts.  They’re chewy (bordering on fudgy), with intense notes of chocolate. They’re also slightly cakey, but without being dry. The interior is pleasantly moist. And because of that, the recipe is forgiving in the oven. If you’re the type to worry about over-baking your brownies, this is your recipe!

Finished with a generous coating of toasted walnuts, these chocolate brownies are a simple and satisfying treat!

P.S., I made 1/3 of the pan without walnuts, so if you’re a brownie purist, I can promise you they’re still pretty awesome, even without toasted nuts.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Truth be told, I’ve been looking for the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe for quite some time. Well, now, I’ve found it!

The recipe is adapted from the justifiably famous Jacques Torres cookie recipe. Friends have described it as, no joke, the perfect chocolate chip cookie. I was, needless to say, skeptical. I mean, how much can you really improve on the classic Toll House recipe?

It turns out, this recipe does a lot to improve it! For one thing, it goes heavy on the chocolate. This isn’t a butter cookie with a few sad, lonely chocolate chips mixed in. No, this is over a pound of good quality Belgian chocolate. The original recipe called for special Jacques Torres chocolate discs. I substituted that with a bar of Trader Joe’s excellent pound-plus dark chocolate.  When the bar is chopped roughly, you get a range of finely ground chocolate and larger chunks. The result? Each bite, though bursting with rich chocolate flavor, is enticingly unique.

The recipe also calls for the cookie dough to be chilled for at least 24 hours. Why? It’s allows the dough to properly moisturize.  It turns out that the original Nestle Toll House cookie recipe, according to lore, also called for the dough to be chilled overnight. I know it’s hard to wait for cookies, but the wait is worth it.  

The kicker? The cookies are finished with a sprinkling of sea salt. The salt adds depth and dimension to the dark chocolate. It really takes these cookies to a whole new level. Are these the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had? Yes!