Saucepan Fudge Drop Cookies

Brownies in Cookie form

So, I've been trying to get up 10 minutes earlier every day this week in anticipation of the daylight saving time change. As I'm getting older, Springing Forward has been kicking my butt. The week following the change, I feel like I'm in a jet lag haze. So, I keep moving my clock up each night and have made a big effort to go to bed early (thank you DVR for helping me time shift!). Next week, I'll let you know if it works.

This morning, since I was up early, I decided to make a quick batch of cookies, and remember seeing these on Tracey's Culinary Adventures blog. Tracey is a blogger friend who has great recipes and photos, and is always making something mouth watering!

This recipe was adapted from the book Bittersweet by Alice Medrich. Oh, it looks so good. Yet another book on my wish list!! The original recipe calls for a sprinkling of powdered sugar before baking, but we all skipped that.

Ok. I gotta run. I have to GO TO BED soon! I am totally looking forward to the time change though..."playing in the street" after work or heading to the beach for a sunset walk. Awesome.

I hope you make these lovely cookies...seriously, you can get them done in 30 minutes, including washing the dishes while they are baking. Thanks Blue Ridge Baker and Tracey for introducing these gems to me! Good night and enjoy!

Saucepan Fudge Drops
Adapted from Bittersweet by Alice Medrich (as seen on Blue Ridge Baker and Tracey's Culinary Adventures)

See if your library has the book Bittersweet: recipes and tales from a life in chocolate by clicking here.

Makes about 2 dozen cookies

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (I used natural cocoa powder, not Dutch)
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar, tightly packed
1/3 cup yogurt (I used whole milk Greek yogurt, but I think all plain yogurts will work)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

As Tracey says, you need to work fast with the batter. I suggest having all your ingredients ready to go so you can assemble and dish it out in just a few minutes. These cookies take no time at all!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and place racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Whisk flour, baking soda and salt together in a small bowl, and set aside. Place the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat and melt. Once the butter is melted, remove from heat and whisk in cocoa until smooth. Switch to a wooden spoon, and add both sugars and stir until blended - the mixture will be stiff and sandy at this point. Stir in yogurt and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and stir gently until just combined. Don't go crazy and overmix.

Immediately scoop dough onto baking sheets. I used a cookie scoop/disher and got a total of 22 cookies. I must have made 'em big...Bittersweet's recipe says you should get about 32 cookies!

Bake the cookies until they look dry on top and are cracked all over, but are still slightly soft when pressed, about 10-12 minutes. Mine were done in 11 minutes. Rotate baking sheets from top to bottom and front to back about half way through to ensure even baking. Slide the parchment, cookies and all onto racks to cool.