I’ve been told that my family has the chocolate gene.  The women in my family simply adore it.  Most desserts at family gatherings are chocolate and for years a birthday cake that wasn’t chocolate may as well have been considered blasphemy.  I had to chuckle when my cousin’s 8 year old son surveyed the dessert table at our last  family Christmas party with dismay and queried “Is there anything that isn’t chocolate?”  There were oreo truffles, chocolate cookies, doubly chocolate cookies and a host of other chocolate-containing cookies.  I think he settled on some sugar cookies, and possibly relented on Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies.  Poor kid.

I can relate to my little cousin.  For years, I didn’t get what all the fuss was about.  Vanilla, fruit and mint flavors piqued my interest and tantalized my taste buds far more than chocolate ever could.  My family probably wondered what was wrong with me.  However, I can assure you that my chocolate gene has kicked on and my love of chocolate has shifted into high gear in recent years.  Hershey’s Perfectly Chocolate Cake is my absolute favorite cake recipe, and I keep a supply of Ghirardelli squares and Lindt truffles on hand for chocolate emergencies.

Even in my vanilla-loving hey-day, I adored these Hershey’s Doubly Chocolate Cookies.   They’re simply perfect:  soft and chewy, chocolaty and rich, but not overly so.  Each bite is full of chocolate flavor from the mellow cocoa and the perfectly sweet chocolate chips.  I’ve been baking these for years – first with my mother and then on my own.  They’re always part of my Christmas baking rotation and make numerous appearances throughout the year.  With two kinds of chocolate rolled up into one little cookie, you just can’t go wrong.  The only way to make them better would be to add more chocolate!

Hershey’s Doubly Chocolate Cookies
Yields approximately 4 1/2 dozen cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup cocoa
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups (12 oz. package) semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 F
2. In a small bowl, stir together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.
3. In a large bowl, beat together butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla until light and fluffy.
4. Gradually add flour mixture, beating well.
5. Stir in chocolate chips.
6. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet.
7. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until just set. Cool for 1-2 minutes on cookie sheet before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.

Tags: Chocolate, Chocolate Chips

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 17th, 2011 at 8:00 am and is filed under Baked Goods, Cookies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.