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Let me just start with: Whole 30.

To quote the lovely and talented J.K. Rowling, “If you have to ask, you’ll never know.”

If you’ve never had cause to join the Whole 30 train, it is probably because, unlike me, you do not have a ridiculous addiction to all things sweet.  I, on the other hand, not only love to bake, but tend to taste test every step of the way.

I know you’re thinking “even raw cookie dough”?  Um, yeh. Let’s be frank – that was my entire childhood.  And I survived.  So, why mess with a good thing?

The Whole 30 book that I have actually outlines the 30 days for you and what you will experience.  I have done it a couple of times now, and neither of those times have I actually followed their calendar. For instance, they say that somewhere around Day 21, you may start having food dreams.

For me, that was day 10.  Interestingly, mine weren’t standard food dreams.  They weren’t me “pigging out”. I had dreams about baking.

Turns out, I miss actually baking.  Like, really miss it.  Not so much the taste testing, because I have effectively staved my cravings for sugar. (Which was the point – holy cow, had I gotten bad at eating All The Things.)

I miss the art of baking. Mixing. Creating.  Having other people enjoy the result.  Cuz I also really love when others love my food.  And I’m the baker.  The birthday baker.  The neighbor who bakes.  The mom who gets her kiddos in the kitchen with the wafty deliciousness of cookies and the deep rich goodness that is chocolate.

Let me be 100% clear: This isn’t a Whole 30 recipe.  At all. I’m guessing most Whole 30-ers probably aren’t clicking on this recipe, anyway, but I want to make sure I don’t mislead anyone.

chocolate cookiesWhat they are is lots and lots and lots of chocolate. Perhaps the most chocolate I have ever crammed into one recipe, in all fairness.  Which is saying something.

Like most cookie recipes, though, these are a quick and easy treat.  You start with your traditional oven preheat to 350 degrees.  Probably a given, but just in case…

This recipes calls for a cup of butter, but that cup gets separated into two parts.  Melt the first stick with your squares of unsweetened chocolate.  Stir them together until they are nice and smooth and set off to the side.

chocolate cookiesSoften the second stick, but do not melt it.  Cream this one together with the granulated sugar for a few minutes, until the mixture is light yellow and a bit fluffy.  Slowly blend in your melted chocolate until it is fully incorporated.  To complete your wet ingredients, mix in the eggs and vanilla.

In a separate bowl blend together your dry ingredients:  flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Toss them lightly with a fork to break up any clumps that might be there.  At this point, you can add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients on a low speed with your mixer.

When your batter comes together completely, remove the bowl from the mixer and add your dark chocolate chips in by hand with a spatula or wooden spoon.  You don’t want to overmix the batter at this point, you just want the chips dispersed evenly throughout.  Place the bowl in your refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to chill.

chocolate cookiesPrepare 1-2 cookie sheets (depending on the size of your oven) with parchment paper.  When the batter has had time to cool, scoop tablespoon size portions of batter onto the prepared cookie sheets.

Again, depending on your oven, these will take approximately 12-15 minutes to bake.  When I set mine to “convect” it takes only 12.  If you don’t have that option, it may take just a bit longer.  You want the outside edge of the cookies to set lightly before removing.

Let the cookies rest on the cookie sheets for just a few minutes after removing them from the oven. This keeps the edges nice and crisp, but allows the middle to remain nice and gooey. According to my husband, these cookies should then be served with a mandatory glass of milk, but we’ll leave that up to you.