Valentine Saucepan Fudge Drops

Being valentines day weekend and all I felt the need to bake something sweet and chocolatety. I've been meaning to try this recipe for a while now because it's a chocolate cookie that tastes like a brownie, mmmm. Plus, Alice Medrich knows her shit when it comes to chocolate and any cookie that's good enough for her is good enough for me.

I made a few changes to the recipe. I went ahead and browned the butter when melting it and threw a vanilla bean in there because, well, I LOVE vanilla brown butter. I actually keep a tub of it on hand in the fridge at all times. I also used white spelt flour instead of all-purpose. Lastly, I skipped dusting them with powdered sugar before baking because I thought it was unnecessary; too much sweet takes away from the chocolate right?

These easy cookies have crunch edges and chewy, fudgy centers.

Saucepan Fudge Drops
Adapted from Alice Medrich

makes about 25 cookies

1 cup all-purpose flour or white spelt flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoon unsalted vanilla brown butter (skip the vanilla bean if you want)
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup yogurt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Arrange the racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment or wax paper.

Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together thoroughly. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, heat the butter an vanilla bean if using until nicely browned (when it smells amazing it's done), watch it carefully so that it doesn't burn. Off the heat, sift in the cocoa until blended and smooth. Stir in the sugars until blended; the mixture will be stiff and sandy. Mix in the yogurt and vanilla. Add the flour mixture all at once and fold and stir just until it is entirely moistened and incorporated into the cocoa mixture--do not stir more than necessary.

Scoop generous table spoons of the dough 1 1/2 inches apart onto the lined cookie sheets. I rolled them and then pressed them down a little because I'm a cookie perfectionist.

Bake until the cookies look dry and cracked on top but still feel a little soft when pressed, 9-11 minutes. Rotate the sheets from top to bottom and front to back about halfway through the baking. Slide the cookies, on the paper, off the sheets and onto racks to cool; or set pans on the racks and let cool.

These cookies will keep for 2 to 3 days in an airtight container, although they soften and lose their crunchy exterior. They also freeze well.

xoxo.