Wednesday
Feb042009
Volcanically Delicious: The Lava Cookie
Wednesday, February 4, 2009 
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.
, 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
- Arrange a shelf in the middle of the oven and place a baking stone on it. Preheat oven to 375 F.
- Spray several heavy baking sheets with nonstick spray and line with release foil (nonstick side up). Set aside.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Reader Comments (40)
I'm a gooey vs. cookie girl so this is RIGHT up my alley!
Oh man, that is one great lookin' cookie.
This is a keeper!They look wondeful! Thank you!
Anticiplate: I hope Erik gives them 4 stars! :-)
Stickygooey: Shirley is THE. BEST.
Jeanna: Ooh, now I want to try something like that! Sounds like a challenge!
Apparently: They're very good!
Courteous: Awesome. Shirley really knows what she is doing, doesn't she? And I am so happy you tried the Jan Hagel! They're so simple but so good!!!
Veron: Awesome. Isn't it the coolest book?
Dana: Ha! No, they're far more delicious!
Giz: That's what I thought they were when Chris first presented them! But oh, they are good.
Bonnie: I hope they come out well!!
Dallas: Thanks and hello to you too! :-)
Chou: Isn't she awesome? I love everything she does.
Diana: They're great!
Still figuring: I'm not sure since Chris has only made them the once and I don't have a point of comparison. Usually Shirley's recipes are designed that way for a reason, but I see no reason why they wouldn't still be delicious without. It might change the texture a bit but I bet the taste would still be there!
Karan: Ha! You figured it out :-)
TW: They're so fantastic. The coffee doesn't hit you right away but it's more like a little kick at the end of the bite. Mm.
Halfmad: No car! I walk everywhere...powered by sugar.
Snooky Doodle: these are for you then!
Maggie: I know! It can easily be read like a novel.
Sarah: Hope you love 'em!
Rosie: thanks!
Joy the baker: They're almost too good. You'd probably think less of us if you knew how long (er, not long) they lasted in the house. About a day.
Ash: They're one heck of a cookie, I will say that!
EB: They are so good!
Joie de vivre: Thanks!!
Cookies and Cakes: Thank YOU! Hope you enjoy!
Mmmm wow these sound delicious..Think im gonna have to try them!!
I saw those photos on flickr and i melted! i have made similar ones many times and it is just sinful!
Those look like little chocolate pieces of heaven. Mmm.
I def. must make these! They look so delicious!
Oh hello those are gorgeous. Definitely have to make those!
FINALLY made these for a dinner party yesterday! They were delightful. I did not use the baking stone, but I just substituted with parchment paper on a really high-quality baking sheet.
Without the stone, I should have cooked them for about 10 minutes to get a runnier center.
Could I freeze these raw in ball shapes and bake them later?
Natalie: hope you enjoy them!
Aran: I'll bet yours are awesome!
Peabody: They are.
Mo Diva: They are!! Make them!
Eat me delicious: oh yes you do!
AnticiPlate: YES! Glad to see that it worked on parchment. As for freezing them, I am not sure what the effect would be on the centers, but I don't think it would ruin it. Maybe I'll try that out next time I make 'em to see.
Hey! I wanted to let you know that I froze them in mini muffin tins so that I can easily access them whenever. I baked them for 10 minutes at 375 and they were AMAZING! I also wanted to let you know instead of sugar, I used agave syrup. These might be showing up on my blog:)
AnticiPlate: What a great idea! Especially for a 2-person household like ours: we don't need ALL those cookies at once! Glad to see that they survived freezing and the agave syrup sounds AMAZING. Can't wait to see your take on them at www.anticiplate.com!
hi cakespy,
i'm a new baker and i'm curious- what's the purpose of the baking stone in this recipe?
thanks!
Hi Sweetie: I usually trust in Shirley that there's a reason behind what she does. I don't know for sure but I imagine it's to ensure that the heat is dispersed evenly or something like that. However AnticiPlate, my friend, said that she didn't use the stone but said it could probably be compensated for by baking them slightly longer!