Black Mamba Cookies

As requested, here's the recipe - from Celebrate with Chocolate, by Marcel Desaulniers:

1 pound semisweet baking chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used Scharffen Berger)
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used Scharffen Berger)
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-ounce pieces
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons instant espresso powder
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup pecans, toasted (325 degrees for 12 minutes) and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup walnuts, toasted (325 degrees for 14 minutes) and coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Melt the chopped semisweet chocolate, unsweetened chocolate and butter in the top half of a double boiler or in a medium glass bowl in a microwave oven (I microwaved for 2 minutes, stirring about every 45 seconds), and stir until smooth. Set aside.

In a sifter combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Sift onto a large piece of parchment paper or wax paper and set aside.

Place the eggs, sugar, and espresso powder in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle. (I used a regular hand mixer.) Beat on medium speed for 4 minutes until the mixture is thickened and slightly frothy. Add the chocolate and butter mixture and mix on medium to combine, about 1 minute. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Operate the mixer on low while gradually adding the dry ingredients; mix until incorporated, about 45 seconds. Scrape down the insides of the bowl. Add the chocolate chips, pecans, walnuts, and vanilla extract and mix on low to combine, about 10 seconds. (I did this part of the mixing by hand.) Remove the bowl from the mixer and use a rubber spatula to finish mixing the ingredients until thoroughly combined. Note that a yummy batter-like consistency is achieved, rather than dough-like.

Using 3 heaping tablespoons (approximately 2 1/2 ounces) or 1 heaping #20 ice cream scoop of the batter for each cookie, portioin 6 cookies, evenly spaced, on each of 3 nonstick baking sheets. Place 1 baking sheet on the top rack and 1 baking sheet on the center rack of the oven and bake for 18 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to center halfway through the baking time (at that time also turn each sheet 180 degrees). The third baking sheet may be placed in another 325-degree oven or held at room temperature and then baked after the first 2 sheets are removed from the oven. [Lisa's note: This all sounded awfully fussy to me. I used one stoneware baking pan, six cookies at a time, and baked the cookies on the center rack for 18 minutes - I didn't mess with rotating, moving from top to center, all that nonsense, and they turned out just fine.]

Remove the cookies from the oven and cool to room temperature on the baking sheets, about 15 minutes. Store the cooled cookies in a tightly sealed plastic container. [Lisa's note: I cooled the cookies on the baking sheet for just a few minutes, then moved them to a wire rack to finish cooling.]

Recipe says it makes 18 3-inch cookies, but I don't guess I made mine big enough. I made 18, and still have enough batter in the fridge for at least six more. Goooooood....