Volcanically Delicious: The Lava Cookie

Cookies made by Cake Gumshoe Chris

Confession: we love Shirley Corriher's voice. It's just so...warm and appealing...almost hypnotic. We could listen to her talk about cookies and cakes all day, and then fall asleep to her southern twang reading us recipes at night.

So now you know. 

But certainly she's not just a voice: this chemist-turned-food guru knows how to make one fine cookie. Recently, Cake Gumshoe Chris made a batch of her Lava Cookies (with some small changes) from her book BakeWise: The Hows and Whys of Successful Baking, and we can say with little hesitation that they're one of the most delicious cookies we've ever tried. Though the recipe suggests serving them warm for a gooey (lava) inside, we also liked them room temperature, when the exterior was slightly crisp, but the inside soft and fudgy; and with Chris' substitution of trablit for vanilla extract, they had an ever-so-slight coffee kick.

Lava Cookies (please note this is an adaptation--for the original recipe check out this blog post)

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, divided
  
• Nonstick cooking spray
  
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
  
• 2 large eggs
  
• 2/3 cup sugar
  
• 1 tsp salt
  
• 2 tsp trablit
  
• 1 cup spooned and leveled bleached all-purpose flour
  
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
  

1. Arrange a shelf in the middle of the oven and place a baking stone on it. Preheat oven to 375 F.
2. Spray several heavy baking sheets with nonstick spray and line with release foil (nonstick side up). Set aside.
   
3. In medium saucepan, melt remaining 6 TBL butter over medium heat. Remove from heat and add chocolate. Let stand for 1 min., and then stir. If all chocolate is not melted, place pan on very low heat for 1 min, remove, and stir. Let stand for 1 min, remove, and stir. Let stand for 1 min. and continue stirring. Repeat until all chocolate is melted. Set aside.
   
4. Min mixing bowl, beat eggs, sugar, salt, and trablit at high speed with an electric mixer for 2-3 min, or until light and pale yellow. Turn mixer down to low and pour in chocolate.
   
5. In medium mixing bowl, combine flour and baking powder, beating well with electric mixer. Stir flour into batter in several batches. Scrape down bowl and across bottom. 
   
6. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20-30 min. Using a 2-inch (#30) ice cream scoop, scoop dough place portions approx. 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Bake 1 sheet at a time.
   
7. Place baking sheet in oven on stone. Bake for exactly 12 min. Cool for 3-5 min. Best sered warm, but you can reheat each cookie in the microwave for 10 seconds for running centers. You can freeze cookies and thaw or microwave as you like.

Comments

[AnticiPlate]

I love this idea! MUST MUST TRY! I am bookmarking this one:)

[StickyGooeyCreamyChewy]

I just got this cookbook a few days ago and I'm looking forward to diving into it. These delicious cookies might just be the first thing I try!

[Jeanna]

These look and sound pretty good, but I pictured something completely different when you said Lava Cookies. Something red dripping down, maybe cinnamon.

[apparentlyjessy]

These look like perfect chewy cookies, I will have to give it a try!

[The Courteous Chihuahua]

#1 - I have an earlier edition of this book from a Baking Science class I took a few years ago. My daughter makes what I believe are THE best chocolate chip cooks from a recipe she found there.

#2 - These cookies look absolutely wonderful.

#3 - I finally made the Jan Hagel cookies and brought into work. They were a BIG hit!!!

[Veron]

I was just reading this book this morning - how weird is that. I am trying to map out a series of experiments about balancing butter , flour, egs and how one ingredient affects the other.
there's nothing more perfect than a than a warm gooey / or a room temperature fudgy cookie!

[Dana McCauley]

As long as they aren't as hard as volcanic rock, I'm in!

[giz]

These look alot like crackle cookies without the icing sugar - very dangerous cookies to have in the house (for as long as they last)

[bonnie]

i shall make these for 5th grade bingo night!

[Dallas]

The texture of those looks amazing. Great photos too. This is my first time to your blog, so hello!

[chou]

I love Shirley's work. Amazing.

[Diana Evans]

oh wow !!! these look fab! I have to try these out this weekend...

[Diana Evans]

oh wow !!! these look fab! I have to try these out this weekend...

[Still figuring it out...]

Stone...I don't have a baking or pizza stone. Does it really make that big of a difference? I would love to make these, as they look right up my cookie alley, but would rather not buy the stone.

[karan]

What's a trablit? I don't think I have that in my pantry...

[karan]

Nevermind...I dun reckon'd it by follin' yonder link.

[Halfmad]

Jessie, how do you stay thin again?

[T.W. Barritt at Culinary Types]

Oh, yum! I'm just drooling looking at the photo. And I love the idea of that coffee kick!

[Snooky doodle]

these look so good! chocolate and coffee is my favourite :)

[Maggie]

These sound fantastic! I read Bakewise cover to cover like "On Food and Cooking". It was really facinating.

[Sarah]

mmmm. Can't wait to try these!!

[Rosie]

Those look wonderful cookies a must try :0)

Rosie x

[Joy the Baker]

Gracious heavens those look incredible. It's like chocolate porn! Ag!

[Joy the Baker]

Gracious heavens those look incredible. It's like chocolate porn! Ag!

[Ash]

Now these look oh so good! gotta love the choc cookie!