Making these cookies will take you back to childhood mud pie–making days. The cookie balls are formed by quickly breaking up warm chocolate chip cookies, pressing them into balls, and refrigerating them until firm; the soft chocolate chips hold the cookies together until chilling firms them. That is the mud pie stage. Then they are dipped in melted chocolate. That is the gorgeous stage.
makes 12 cookies • cookie making 25 minutes plus chilling time • cookie baking 350 degrees, for about 14 minutes
cookies
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup packed light brown sugar
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
chocolate coating
2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips, chopped
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, chopped
3 tablespoons canola or corn oil
Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
MAKE THE COOKIES. Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt into a small bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until smoothly blended, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. Mix in the egg and vanilla until blended, about 1 minute. The mixture may look slightly curdled. On low speed, add the flour mixture, mixing just until it is incorporated. Mix in the chocolate chips.
Drop heaping tablespoons (about 3 level tablespoons each) of dough 3 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheet, to make 12 cookies. Bake until the edges are lightly browned but the centers are still pale golden, about 14 minutes.
If any of the cookies spread together, use a small knife to cut the warm cookies apart. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet on a wire rack for about 20 minutes, or just until they are cool enough to handle comfortably and break apart.
Line a platter with parchment or wax paper. Break a cookie into ½- to 1-inch pieces and use your hands to press it together into a ball. (The melted chocolate chips will hold the cookie ball together.) Place the cookie ball on the paper-lined platter, and continue to make the rest of the cookies into balls. Cover and refrigerate the cookies until firm, at least 25 minutes, or overnight.
MAKE THE CHOCOLATE COATING. Put both chocolates and the oil in a heatproof container or the top of a double boiler and place it over, but not touching, a saucepan of barely simmering water (or the bottom of the double boiler). Stir until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Scrape the chocolate coating into a medium bowl and let it sit for about 10 minutes to cool and thicken slightly.
Dip a chilled cookie ball in the chocolate and gently roll it around to coat thoroughly. With your fingers, hold the cookie over the bowl to let any excess drip off, then return the cookie to the paper-lined platter. Repeat to dip all of the cookies; do not let the coated cookies touch one another. (You will have some chocolate coating left over for another use or to pour over ice cream; working with a larger quantity of chocolate coating makes for easier dipping.)
Let the cookies sit at room temperature until the chocolate coating is firm, about 1 hour. Or, to speed the firming of the chocolate, refrigerate the cookies for about 15 minutes. A small flat chocolate “foot” will form on the bottom of each cookie.
The cookies can be individually wrapped in plastic wrap and stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Serve at room temperature.
choices
Drizzle the chocolate-coated cookies with thin lines of melted white chocolate. Or cut the cookie into quarters and serve as mud ball wedges.