Fall

Bittersweet Brownie Drops

by:
November  3, 2016
4.7
3 Ratings
Bittersweet Brownie Drops
Photo by James Ransom
  • Makes about 30 cookies
Author Notes

Here’s an easy ultra chocolaty drop cookie laced with chips or chunks of any kind of chocolate you like—white, milk, or dark. Follow the slightly quirky mixing instructions and take cookies out of the oven when they are still soft to the touch; they will firm up as they cool and but remain moist slightly gooey. —Alice Medrich

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 4 tablespoons (30 grams) unsalted butter
  • 8 ounces (225 grams) dark chocolate with 70%-72% cacao
  • 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon (50 grams) gluten-free flour
  • 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar (175 grams) sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2 large cold eggs
  • 1 cup (115 grams) walnut or pecan pieces, broken or very coarsely chopped
  • 6 ounces (170 grams) chocolate chips or chunks
Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven.
  2. Melt the butter with the chocolate in a medium stainless steel bowl set directly in a wider skillet of barely simmering water. Stir frequently until the mixture is melted and smooth and fairly hot to the touch.
  3. Meanwhile, mix the flour, baking soda, and salt together thoroughly and set it aside.
  4. Remove the chocolate bowl from the water bath. Stir in the sugar and vanilla. Add 1 egg, and stir briskly until it is incorporated. Repeat with the second egg. Add the flour mixture and stir until you can no longer see it. Stir the batter vigorously with a wooden spoon or spatula until it is smooth and shiny and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. It may start to slide around the bowl as you stir—just keep stirring until it is thick and cohesive and no longer slides in the bowl. Stir for a few more seconds for good measure. Be sure the batter is completely cool to the touch, and then stir in the nuts and chocolate pieces.
  5. Scoop slightly rounded tablespoons of batter 2 inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Scoop all of the batter onto the parchment sheets right away, rather than letting it wait in the bowl, even if you are baking later. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until the cookies are puffed and a little crackled on the surface and feel soft and tender—but not squishy— when touched with a fingertip. Rotate the sheets from upper to lower and front to back about halfway through the time to insure even baking. The cookies will firm up as they cool.
  6. Set the pan on racks to cool, or slide the pan liners from the baking sheets on the racks. Cookies keep in an airtight container for 2 to 3 days.
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  • Jess Tylkowski
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Alice Medrich
My career was sparked by a single bite of a chocolate truffle, made by my Paris landlady in 1972. I returned home to open this country’s first chocolate bakery and dessert shop, Cocolat, and I am often “blamed” for introducing chocolate truffles to America. Today I am the James Beard Foundation and IACP award-winning author of ten cookbooks, teach a chocolate dessert class on Craftsy.com, and work with some of the world’s best chocolate companies. In 2018, I won the IACP Award for Best Food-Focused Column (this one!).

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7 Reviews

juliya
juliya September 28, 2019
this has reminded me why I love Alice Medrich recipes so much. It guides you to chocolate heaven.
 
Betsy
Betsy December 2, 2017
Love these! Every flavor a great brownie should have and delightfully chewy inside with a delicate outer crisp, quick to whip up. Have a glass of cold milk standing by.
 
Jess T.
Jess T. December 26, 2016
I made these big for ice cream sandwiches with coffee ice cream for the dairy eaters and coconut chocolate for the lactose intolerant. A huge hit but next time I'd flatten a little more before oven if baking as large cookies, hard to bite through two & the ice cream.
 
Jess T.
Jess T. December 26, 2016
Oh, and I subbed coconut oil for the melted butter with no major quality loss from the dairy batch.
 
melissa
melissa December 12, 2016
why does the flour need to be GF?
 
Amanda T.
Amanda T. December 10, 2022
Did you ever get feedback on this? I’ve prepped everything (have even melted chocolate and butter) but only by reading your comment did I realize this calls for GF flour, which I don’t have. Hope it works out anyway! Next time I’ll pay closer attention to the details. :)
 
D
D December 11, 2016
I am not GF but made these for a dinner with friends who are. Everyone loved them. These are amazing--they taste like the top crispy/crumbly part of a brownie. They are a tad sweet so I'll cut back the sugar. And I added a teaspoon of instant espresso powder. Next time I'm trying these with white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts. FYI I used Bob's Red Mill GF All Purpose baking flour (which is the flour that I think Dorie used--although she wasn't specific).