Mean Chef's Double Chocolate Chip Cookies With Pecans

I adopted this recipe after its original poster, Mean Chef (IHHDRO), departed the site. Mean posted it on Feb 12, 2003, and had these comments: "These cookies are fabulous. A double dose of chocolate. Make sure you don't overbake them. You could substitute walnuts for the pecans."

• Ready In: 35 mins
• Serves: 24
• Yields: 12-24 cookies

Ingredients

• 1  cup all-purpose flour
• 1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 11  ounces bittersweet chocolate or 11  ounces  semisweet chocolate
• 1⁄2 cup unsalted butter, cut into cubes
• 1  tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2  teaspoons instant espresso powder
• 3  large eggs
• 1⁄3 cup  packed light brown sugar
• 1  cup granulated sugar
• 12  ounces chocolate chips (about 2 cups)
• 1 3⁄4 cups  chopped pecans

Directions

1. Position 1 rack in the top 1/3 and another in the bottom 1/3 of the oven and preheat to 350°F.
2. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
3. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.
4. Melt the chocolate and butter in the top of a double boiler over hot, simmering water.
5. Remove from the heat but keep the chocolate mixture over a bowl of hot water to ensure that the mixture does not set.
6. In a small bowl, combine the vanilla extract and the espresso powder and whisk until the espresso powder is dissolved.
7. Stir the espresso mixture into the chocolate mixture.
8. Combine the eggs and both sugars in the bowl of a heavy-duty electric mixer (you can double the recipe and it will fit a 5 or 6 qt mixer bowl).
9. Set the bowl over a pan of hot, hot simmering water.
10. Stir with a hand-held wire whisk until warm to the touch.
11. Attach the bowl to the mixer stand.
12. Using the wire whip attachment, whip the mixture on high speed until pale, thickened and cool, about 5 minutes.
13. Fold into the warm chocolate mixture.
14. Fold in the flour.
15. Stir in the chocolate chips and pecans.
16. Drop the dough by rounded tablespoons onto the 2 prepared pans leaving about 1 to 1/2 inches between the cookies (at work I make these a lot bigger so that they come out about 5 inches across).
17. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until the cookies are set: switch the positions of the baking sheets halfway through the baking time for even baking.
18. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets on wire racks for about 3 minutes, then transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool completely.
19. Repeat with the remaining dough.