What's 4 Dinner, by Marie: Spiced Chocolate Drops

Second cookie is the series. A little more methodology here. Enjoy!

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 squares unsweetened chocolate, melted

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 cup buttermilk *

* ( I never have buttermilk. I put 1/2 Tablespoon lemon juice into a measuring cup and then add enough whole milk to make 1/2 cup)

Makes 4-4.5 dozen

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Directions:

Cream butter and sugars. Whip well, remember you need the air in the cookie.

Add eggs, vanilla and melted chocolate. Blend well.

Mix in spices and salt. Blend well again.

Once everything is homogenized, add milk and flour alternately, about 1/4 of the flour, 1/4 of the milk, another 1/4 flour, another 1/4 of milk, etc. Mixing well between EACH addition. Scraping down the sides as needed.

Chill dough in the fridge overnight. This dough is tender and sticky to work with. You certainly don't want anything less than very chilled dough.

Heat oven to 330*F.

Drop rounded teaspoons of dough onto parchment lined cookie sheets. Bake for 12-15 minutes. I bake for 14 minutes. They should NOT look browned when you remove them.

They will be soft and cakey. Allow cookies to cool on the cookie sheets for a few minutes and then slide the parchment off the tray onto the counter to finish cooling. This will allow you to reuse the cookie sheet faster.

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Step By Step:

Butter and sugars (added one at a time), well whipped and looking happy!

Add spices and salt. This is where I break tradition with most bakers. I do not blend my small dry ingredients with the flour, to be added at the end. I mix them in while there is very little to curtail their easy dispersion. I want the spices to be well distributed in the dough. The earlier I get them in, the better I feel about it. :)

Melting chocolate squares. I'm making a double batch. I need 6 squares. Trouble is that I only have 5. So, handy dandy substitutions are called for!

3 Tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder and 1 Tablespoon butter. That's do it! BTW, cocoa powder is NOT hot cocoa mix... It's unsweetened cocoa powder, found in the baking aisle, not by the tea and coffee at the grocery store.

Back to the mixer. The eggs go in now. Remember, I'm making a double batch, so 4 eggs.

And vanilla... Please, use real vanilla. I know it costs more, but not that much. Besides, you only use a teaspoon at a time and it really does taste different once you appreciate the difference. Treat your family well. Don't feed them artificial ingredients.

Let's make the buttermilk. 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice.

And then add WHOLE milk to the line. Only whole milk has enough fat to react and create buttermilk. I do this a minute or so before I need it. The reaction takes a few minutes. Just let it sit while you continue with the dough.

Chocolate is melted and ready to add.

After I blended in the eggs and vanilla, it's time for the chocolate. In it goes! Scrape every little bit from the pan, or dish. Many folks melt chocolate squares in the microwave. I'm a bit of a purist. I don't like to use the microwave much.

Looking Good!! :D

A little flour.... Mix well.

A little buttermilk... Mix well. And back and forth until you've mixed in all your flour and all your buttermilk. Scraping down as needed.

Dough is complete. I took this picture to show you how wet this dough is. It's about the consistency of frosting when it's done. It NEEDS to be well chilled or you'll end up with chocolate pancakes after baking. Don't attempt to use it in the form.

Scrape it into a bowl and get it into the fridge overnight.

Covered, of course!

In case you are wondering about my cookie scoop. This is the smallest one, about 1.25 inches across. I use this for all of my drop cookies. Wonderful uniformity. Nothing burns because they are all the same size.