Triple Chocolate Cookies

These are our favorite cookies for pure chocolate flavor. With three kinds of chocolate and only 1/3 cup of flour, these are chocolate bombs. They will rev your engine like a strong cup of coffee. The recipe comes from Rebecca Rather's The Pastry Queen cookbook. Rather owns Rather Sweet bakery in Fredericksburg, just outside of Austin. It's worth the trip just to have lunch and then, of course, dessert, at her bakery. She serves huge versions of these cookies in the bakery. But we usually make them smaller so they're easier to eat. I've heard she's recently opened a new cafe, Rebecca's Table, which I'm looking forward to checking out next time I'm out there.

2 cups chopped pecans
6 tablepoons unsalted butter
8 ounces bittersweet (70%) chocolate, chopped
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/3 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (we use Ghiradelli 60% chips)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Spread the pecans on a cookie sheet and toast for 6-7 minutes until you can smell their toasty goodness. Let cool.

Melt butter, bittersweet and unsweetened chocolates in a bowl in the microwave at 50% power for 30-second increments until mostly melted. Stir to finish melting and combine chocolate and butter until glossy.

Beat eggs and sugar in mixer until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the vanilla and the melted chocolate and butter mixture. Mix for about 2 minutes to completely combine.

Stir together the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Add to the chocolate batter and stir until just combined. Stir in the nuts and chocolate chips and combine. Refrigerate for at least half an hour.

Scoop out batter with a small ice cream scoop that's been sprayed with cooking spray. (I use a 2-teaspoon Oxo scoop.) Place on a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper or a silicone mat. Press the tops of the cookies slightly to flatten them out.

Bake 12-14 minutes until they're just barely done. Remove from the oven and let cool on the pan for 10-15 minutes before removing with a spatula. If you pull them off too soon, they'll stick and come apart.

Adapted from The Pastry Queen, by Rebecca Rather.