Fudge

Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

INGREDIENTS

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)

1 cup unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces

1 tablespoon water

1-1/2 cups firmly-packed light brown sugar

9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

2 large eggs

1-1/2 cups old-fashioned oats

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and oats (in the original recipe, the oats were added to the finished dough, but I figured this would help them be more evenly distributed and also help avoid over-mixing). Set aside.

In the top of a double-boiler or a bowl over a pot of simmering water, combine the butter, water, brown sugar and chocolate. Gently heat, stirring occasionally, until it's all melted together. The mixture will remain a bit grainy because of the brown sugar.

Remove from the heat and whisk in the eggs, one at a time. Add the dry ingredients, mixing only until combined.

Using a small cookie dough scoop or a tablespoon, portion the dough onto the baking sheets about 2 inches apart to allow for spreading.

Bake for about 12 minutes, until just slightly soft in the middle, rotating the baking sheet halfway through. Allow to cool on a wire rack for a couple minutes before removing the cookies from the pan and allowing them to cool completely.