Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

1. Cream the butter and sugar sufficiently:  Creaming the butter and sugar until lighter in colour and fluffy maximizes the amount of trapped air within the butterfat.  This increases the leavening of the cookies during baking, resulting in a lighter texture.
2. Chill the dough overnight: Chilling the dough overnight allows the flavours to blend and the dough to firm up.  This will result in tastier cookies that have good height and won’t spread too much during baking.  
3. Do not over-bake: Baking these cookies for too long will cause them to become hard.  Remove the cookies from the oven as soon as they are set on top.
4. The size of the cookies will change the baking time: smaller cookies will have a shorter baking time while larger cookies will have a longer baking time.  The stated baking time of 11 minutes is for reference only.  Keep checking your cookies during baking to determine when they are done.  

Q:  Why are my cookies hard?

A:  The cookies can become hard if they are over-baked or if the dough is over-mixed after the flour has been added because of gluten development.  To avoid this, bake the cookies only until they are set on top, and mix the dough on low speed and only for a short time after the flour has been added.  

Q:  The bottom of my cookies are getting too dark during baking.  How do I prevent this?

A:  You can prevent cookies from becoming too dark on the bottom during baking by doubling up the baking pans.  This means placing the baking pan with your unbaked cookies on top of a baking sheet and then baking the cookies.  Doing this allows the heat to dissipate and be less intense at the bottom of the pan resulting in less browning.

Recipe By:      Blue Ribbon Eats
Servings:         ~18 cookies
Prep Time:      30 minutes
Baking Time: ~11 minutes

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon instant coffee

1/4 + 1/8 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 + 1/8 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 + 1/8 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup cocoa powder (Rodelle Organics brand)

1/2 cup (96g) shortening 

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 large egg

1/2 tablespoon high-quality natural vanilla extract

1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips (Kirkland brand), plus extra for sprinkling on top

1. In a large bowl add the flour, instant coffee, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cocoa powder and mix with a whisk.
2. In the bowl of a mixer add the shortening and white sugar and brown sugar.  Mix on medium speed using a paddle attachment until light and fluffy.  Add the egg and mix just until blended.  Add the vanilla extract and mix just until blended.  Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed just until blended.  Add the chocolate chips and mix just until blended.
3. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.  Roll the cold dough into 1 ½ inch balls and place on a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat.  Flatten each dough ball slightly by pressing down on top.  Sprinkle 2-3 chocolate chips on top of each dough ball.
4. Bake immediately at 375°F for ~11 minutes or until the cookies are set on top.  Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 3 minutes.  Using a small offset spatula transfer the cookies to a wire rack and cool to room temperature.