Chocolate Salty Balls (Levain Double Choc. Coconut-Walnut Cookie

A recipe purported to be from the Levain Bakery (who has never, to my knowledge, *had* a double chocolate coconut-walnut cookie). When I first baked these cookies, according to the recipe I'd found, I had been interrupted between the creaming butter & sugar step and the rest of the recipe, and the cookies never flattened out. We sat around gobbling them up and analyzing them. My thought-train ran thusly "Hmmm...needs salt, but not too much salt because then they'd be chocolate salty balls instead of cookies, and who wants chocolate salty balls?" Needless to say, the name stuck, and it is how we have referred to these incredibly rich and decadent (not to mention, enormous!) cookies ever since! I hope you love them as much as our family (and subsequently all of our guests, too!)

• Ready In: 27 mins
• Yields: 12-14 enormous cookies

Ingredients

• 8  ounces unsalted butter
• 10  ounces granulated sugar
• 2  eggs
• 2  ounces  dark cocoa
• 10  ounces all-purpose flour
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄4 teaspoon baking powder
• 6 1⁄2 ounces  semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 3  ounces  large walnut pieces
• 3  ounces unsweetened dried shredded coconut

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In bowl of electric mixer fitted with paddle, cream together butter and sugar until well-blended and fluffy.
3. Add eggs and beat until well-incorporated, then beat in cocoa powder.
4. Mix in flour, salt, and baking powder until just combined.
5. Gently stir in remaining ingredients by hand to ensure even distribution of ingredients.
6. Transfer dough to clean work surface. Divide into 12-14 equal portions and place each on sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Bake in oven 12 minutes, taking care not to overbake. Let cool on rack and store in airtight container.