A Match Made in the Kitchen

I love watching movies. I'm a sucker for a comedy, a romance, or the combination of the two. Throw in a murder mystery and I'm hooked. One of my all time favorite movies is the classic, Rear Window. It pairs Jimmy Stewart as the globetrotting, daredevil photographer and Grace Kelly as the elegant, glamorous New York sophisticate. They have absolutely nothing in common except they're hopelessly in love with each other.

Sometimes things that are wonderful on their own, yet an unlikely pairing are, once you finally get them together, fabulous! So it is with Fabulous Brownie Cookies. On first thought what does the Brownie, the regal queen of the baking pan have in common with the lunch bag denizen, the Cookie? When you pair them up, magic happens. The cookies puff up in the oven then as they cool, relax, leaving the surface crackled. Warm out of the oven, it's a soft, pliable cookie with oozing bits of chocolate when you bite into it. Then, amazingly, when it's cooled, it's still a soft, moist cookie with a brownie-like texture inside, studded with chunks of chocolate and nuts. Genius!

After you've made them, curl up with your sweetie, a glass of milk, and a plate of these in front of your favorite old movie. It's a great pairing.

Fabulous Brownie Cookies

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped (I used chocolate with 70% cocoa solids)
3 cups semisweet chocolate chips, divided
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 large eggs
1-1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups chopped pecans, toasted

In a large, heavy saucepan combine butter, unsweetened chocolate, and 1-1/2 cups chocolate chips. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until butter and chocolate melt; set aside and cool.

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl; set aside. Beat eggs sugar, and vanilla in a medium mixing bowl at medium speed with an electric mixer. Gradually add flour mixture to egg mixture, beating well. Add chocolate mixture; beat well. Stir in remaining 1-1/2 cups chocolate chips and pecans. I used my medium scoop (1-3/4" across) to drop blobs of dough (about 2 Tbsp) 2 inches apart onto cookie sheets lined with parchment paper.

Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Don't overbake - the cookies should just loose their sheen on top, but still be moist. Let them set on the cookie sheets for a few minutes (they will continue to bake a bit), then remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.