Melt your butter and chocolate by placing both in a double boiler, or in my case, a steel bowl over a small saucepan with a bit of simmering water in it. I feel like it’s repetitive but I have to say again, there are several methods for melting chocolate and frankly if you’re not tempering it, melt the stuff however you want. In a pan or in the microwave, I really can’t see it being a problem as long as you don’t let it scorch. This recipe mentions even a Flame Tamer. Does anyone actually know what a Flame Tamer is? Anyway, once you’re melted set it aside and let it cool down. You want it to still be warm, but just barely.

In yet another bowl, combine the eggs, espresso powder and vanilla, and beat with a whisk or hand mixer until combined. Add the sugar and beat until thick, which will take a minute or two. God help you if you chose a whisk, as about 30 seconds in my wrist was staging a revolt.

Finally, add the flour and stir with the spatula until just blended.

Drop the batter by heaping tablespoons on the pans, leaving 1 1/2 inches between cookies. Bake about 15-17 minutes, until the tops look set and have that cracked, brownie-like finish. Let cool to warm on the pan before removing to a rack and/or shoving in your mouth. They have a soft interior fresh out of the oven that you want to protect so that it can firm up a bit without falling all over the place, thus the wait.

Notes:

* This is one of those things I realize not everyone will have on hand. If I hadn’t used it in a chocolate tart, I wouldn’t have it either. If you are not inclined to buy it or can’t find it (Harmons has it, SLCers) you can substitute instant coffee instead. Its only purpose is to bring out and deepen the chocolate, it doesn’t taste at all of coffee.

** My variation is ridiculous. The original recipe calls for 1 cup each of chocolate chips, chopped pecans and chopped walnuts, but I’m the only one in the house who likes nutty things and the last thing I need is to eat 20 cookies on my own. I’m not saying these aren’t insanely good, because they really, really are, but they are also really, really rich and contain a truly absurd amount of chocolate. They’re not, as such things can be, overly sweet but they are definitely bordering on too rich. Just keeping you informed! If you don’t want this much chocolate, as far as I can tell you can throw anything you want in this batter. Craving some pork fat? Caramel and bacon go well together, so why not some bacon bits, caramel pieces and cashews? You could even flavor the batter accordingly, say, a pinch of cayenne for heat and make your chunky bits Red Hots or cinnamon gummy bears or something. Could do the same with mint and make it a candy cane/York/choc. chip with creme de menthe replacing the vanilla. So many possibilities to be had here. It should also be said that the batter is good without the chunks and would make very acceptable plain cookies – the book calls these "Chocolate Planets" – but with a smaller size.

And as a final note unmarked by asterisks, when it comes to cookies – or anything, really – with this amount of chocolate, quality is important. It’s worth it to splurge a little. I mean, I’m not busting out the Valrhona or Scharffen Berger, but using Guittard chips over Nestle or Hershey, and the Ghirardelli baking bars over Baker’s chocolate squares can really make a difference.