Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Chocolate Chunkers (TWD)

The cookie onslaught continues! This week's Tuesdays With Dorie recipe, Chocolate Chunksters, was selected by Claudia of Fool For Food. With the recipe calling for 19 oz of a wide array of chocolate (bittersweet, unsweetened, semi-sweet, milk, white), this is definitely a chocolate cookie on steroids!

Rounding out the ingredient list were some chopped nuts and raisins. I went with salted peanuts and instead of raisins, I went with a medley of dried cherries, blueberries and strawberries from Trader Joe's:This berry medley is really delicious and a staple in my pantry! I've mixed them into greek yogurt or oatmeal, used them as a salad topping, or eaten them right out of the bag. This is the first time that I actually used these dried berries in a recipe.
As I combined the ingredients, it was apparent to me that this was a bowl of chocolate, dried fruit and nuts with barely enough brownie-like dough to bind the ingredients together. The just mixed dough was a little moist and sticky, so I thought a little refrigeration would help it. Instead, I ended up with petrified cookie dough:
Okay, the dough didn't look too appetizing, but I assumed that these would look really delicious after they baked off. Well, I assumed incorrectly:

Okay, okay...these look a little homely. It's the taste that matters, right? These cookies went with my DH to his work, and I was told that these were snatched up in a split second by his co-workers. He said that the cookies received rave reviews and he also agreed that they were intensely chocolatey and delicious.

My thoughts? To me, this was a case of "too much of a good thing". I love the taste of the add-ins individually, but when combined into one cookie, it was a little overwhelming. Oh well, to each their own!

You can find this recipe at Claudia's site. To check out the creative variations of this cookie concocted by the Tuesday's With Dorie bakers, check out the blogroll.

28 comments:

Marthe said...

I'm sorry you didn't like the cookies that much, there is indeed a lot going on in them. I absolutely loved them!!

Anonymous said...

with all that chocolate going on, i can imagine that a variety of dried fruits would take it over the top. but worth a try, especially when you have gratefully hungry people waiting to snatch them up!

chocolatechic said...

I loved these.

I didn't add any fruit, but I did chill the dough.

I think that next time I won't chill it.,

CB said...

What a great idea using dried berries. I bet they (esp the strawberry parts) were awesome with all that chocolate! Great job!
Clara @ iheartfood4thought

Susie Homemaker said...

I bet the fruit would have tasted good...these pics are delish!!

marae said...

mmm i love TJ's items and mixed berry medley is one i have seen a few times!!! these were def a little crazy with the additions, i went a little more classic and was happy for it... onto plum cake?

Passionate Baker said...

yummm...your cookies look amazzzing!
your so right, these really were like a giant bowl of chocolate.
but whats wrong with that?? haha
great job!
<3

Sihan said...

what's with the 1st photo? it sent my heart pulsating?!?! haha. gorgeous shot there! pity you found the final product a little overwhelming. Perhaps cut down a little next time, you'll enjoy it a little better!

vibi said...

I didn't even know it was possible to make those chunkers even more decadent looking! ...but you've succeeded very well!
Great Job!

anudivya said...

That looks deadly... I have a big sweet tooth and this looks like it can take care of that.

Engineer Baker said...

I like the dried fruit combo there - a nice mix of flavors. I agree with your final thought though, these may be a bit too much of a good thing.

Sandy Smith said...

Your pics are really beautiful! I used dried sour cherries in place of the raisins and cut down all the add-ins by about 1/4 cup each - worked really well. Also, I agree, better w/o refrigerating the dough. Nice job!!

TeaLady said...

That puddle of melted chocolate. WOW!!! Great pic. they look scrumptious.

Eleganza Strings/ The DeLadurantey Family said...

Mmm. That fruit looks good! Great choice!

Carol Peterman/TableFare said...

I let out an audible gasp of desire at your first photo. Your "homely" cookies are mighty photogenic!

Anna said...

Ohgod, I'm in love!! Those photos!-- I can see how this would be overwhelming though, so maybe I'll limit myself to three at a time...?

Judy said...

There is a lot going on in this cookie! I only used chocolate chips and walnuts, so it was less schizophrenic.

Di said...

One of the things I really miss about TJs is the dried fruit... Neat idea to use the medley; sorry they didn't turn out quite the way you would have liked.

PheMom said...

I thought the same thing about this one - that said though, that first pic, now THAT is a gratuitous melty chocolate shot!! I could dive right in.

The Food Librarian said...

Great shot of the melty chocolate. These cookies were a bit too chocolately for me too but my co-workers loved them.

Anonymous said...

Wow, your cookies look great. Love the idea of berries instead of simple raisins. Glad you enjoyed the recipe!

Rigby said...

The dried berry medly sounds wonderful! These cookies were a bit much....but....ah, chocolate :)

My Sweet & Saucy said...

I love that berry medley! What a great idea for a cookie!

Mary Jo said...

i love your idea to use the berry medley. i think the berries would go better with the chocolate than the raisins did in mine.

Nancy/n.o.e said...

The berries look might good in with that chocolate. I cut back on the quantity of the stir-ins, and I think it helped me like the cookies better. There was a lot of chocolate going on...
Nancy

Steph said...

There's no way mine could ever look better than yours! Even though I basically omitted everything and have no idea what it's supposed to taste like.. I think you're right about it being too much of a good thing.

Shari said...

Yours look so gooey and chocolatey. I overbaked mine, but still enjoyed them!

Jules Someone said...

I made the refrigeration mistake myself. Yours turned out beautiful!

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