Double Chocolate Cookies.

Tartine's Deluxe Double Chocolate Cookie recipe has been floating around the interweb since the book came out in 2009, but since I've only come to own the recipe collection recently, it's still new to me. I settled on the chocolate cookies for several reasons, mostly because I have several large bags of chocolate that are out of temper, and any recipe allowing me to melt the chocolate and bring it back to life is golden.

What I was really looking for was a dense, chewy chocolate cookie, a la Duchess' Rosemary-Fleur de Sel cookies. These cookies are opposite in texture - cloud like and closer to a cake style brownie - but they remain incredibly chocolate-y. Very good on their own, I think these cookies are best with a generous pinch of Fleur de Sel.

I kept the batter in the fridge so we could eat (and share) a batch or so a day. Ultimately, they ended up with a centre of Alice Medrich's vanilla bean ice cream. I've made a few different vanilla custards, and this one is by far the best - A solid level of sweetness (1/3 cup sugar), and a near perfect balance of milk and cream (1 cup to 2 1/4), make it super smooth and delicious.

So, another post on cookies and ice cream.

On a separate note, some co-workers and I headed over to What the Truck!? this past Friday in McIntyre Park. It was sort of epic - We planned on a post-it note earlier in the day, left early to avoid the lines, and divided up our tasks accordingly upon arrival. Here's what we ended up with... all delicious, by the way.

Left to right - Lamb and potatoes (Little Village), Big Fish (The Act), Turkey and bacon sausage meatballs (Bully), Crack n' Cheese (Nomad), more potatoes and Seitan Reuben (Sailin' On)

Congratulations to everyone involved! A great kick off to the 2013 season for sure!