March Madness: Cookie Version

Oh, March. What a month. In it holds St. Patrick's day, the long-awaited arrival of spring and the beloved chaos known as March Madness. If you're a basketball fan like me, March has to be one of your favorite months of the year. But with hours and hours of game after game while your voice goes hoarse from screaming at your TV, comes the inevitable and undeniable growl of hunger. Because we all know, when your team is losing or your team is out, the snacks and the food become the main attraction. So with that said, I've got the perfect cookie recipe to tame all this madness. Winner or loser, this recipe never misses.

Jumbo Brookies

Ingredients

• 2-2/3 cups 60% cacao bittersweet chocolate baking chips

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cubed

• 4 large eggs, room temperature

• 1-1/2 cups sugar

• 4 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 2 teaspoons instant espresso powder, optional

• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour

• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1 package (11-1/2 ounces) semisweet chocolate chunks

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°. In a large saucepan, melt chocolate chips and butter over low heat, stirring until smooth. Remove from the heat; cool until mixture is warm.

2. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar, vanilla and, if desired, espresso powder until blended. Whisk into chocolate mixture. In another bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt; add to chocolate mixture, mixing well. Fold in chocolate chunks; let stand until mixture thickens slightly, about 10 minutes.

3. Drop by 1/4 cupfuls 3 in. apart onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake until set, 12-14 minutes. Cool on pans for 1-2 minutes. Remove wire racks to cool.

Final Thoughts

Let me know what you think about these jumbo brownie cookies! Do we love? Do we hate? A side note on this recipe is that oftentimes people add walnuts or pecans to add flavor. I haven't tried that yet, but must admit it seems like pure genius. Finally, good luck to you all and may your cookies never burn and your bracket never bust :)