I wish I could take credit for these delicious cookies but they belong to Ina Garten in her Parties! cookbook. That being said, I just love to bake these because they’re a twist on chocolate chip cookies, a chocolate cookie with white chocolate chunks. They’re delicious, easy to bake and make your kitchen smell awesome.

This recipe makes about 40 cookies. I’m baking two batches of these cookies for two different events. The cookies come out flat and are great to use for ice cream sandwiches. I have done this in a few of my cooking classes, and as one of the desserts on my Newton TV cooking episode.  The secret to these cookies is the quality of cocoa powder, so splurge and buy some good cocoa. Ina suggests William-Sonoma’s brand. I use unsweetened ground Valrona chocolate powder. Ghiradelli unsweetened cocoa powder is good too.

• 1/2 pound unsalted butter (2 sticks), at room temperature
• 1 cup light brown sugar packed
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• 2/3 cup good unsweetened cocoa
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 1/2 pounds good white chocolate, coarsely chopped (you can buy white chocolate chunks too)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Cream the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the vanilla, then the eggs, 1 at a time, and mix well. Add the cocoa and mix again (on low speed). Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt and add to the chocolate with the mixer on low speed until just combined. Fold in the chopped white chocolate

Drop the dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, using a 1 3/4-inch ice cream scoop or a rounded tablespoon. Dampen your hands and flatten the dough slightly. Bake for 13-15 minutes (the cookies will seem underdone). I always rotate the pan halfway through the cooking time.

Remove from the oven and let cool slightly on the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Makes about 3 dozen cookies.