My drinking club has a hiking problem.

[il2gnp]

Well done, I need to experience some of those hikes through others because I'm not as fast as Todd and have decided not to be a backpacker. Already looking forward to your next trip.

[Jen]

Well done, I need to experience some of those hikes through others because I'm not as fast as Todd and have decided not to be a backpacker. Already looking forward to your next trip.

Thank you, fellow flatlander. And no one is as fast as Todd. Except McNeil78.

[Jen]

If you give a friend a spork in the backcountry.......

]



It comes back ten fold in yumminess!!!!



Thank you to Joybird for this boxful of delicious chocolatey gooeyness!!!!

[joybird]

Ain't got no huckleberries here in Virginia...but chocolate helps.

Thank YOU again, O Most Timely Spork Fairy!

[Jen]

Seriously. These dark chocolate gooey cookies were amazing! Please post a recipe!!!!

[PJ]

Loved your trip report - had a blast reading it! Thanks!

[joybird]

Seriously. These dark chocolate gooey cookies were amazing! Please post a recipe!!!!

Sorry for the delay...I wanted to track down the original source so that I could give proper credit where it was due.

The recipe comes from a Neiman Marcus cookbook called Pure and Simple that a friend's mother gave me more than 20 years ago. Now, for any of y'all who know me IRL, the idea that this thrift-store-loving joybird would own ANYTHING from Neiman Marcus is kind of a hoot, and for years I never even bothered to open the darned thing.

But one day, as I was getting ready to give it away to a library book sale, I skimmed through the table of contents and was intrigued to see a recipe for "Chocolate Joycies".

Of course, ego dictated I check out a recipe with my name in it ...and when I saw it called for 14 oz of chocolate to 1/4 cup of flour...well, I obviously had to go a step further and make a batch. And lo and behold, it was the BEST cookie recipe I'd ever tried. (Well, it WAS the best...until I made it even better by adding a bit of instant espresso to round out and intensify the chocolate flavor.)

So, here's the recipe for you, Jen.
(Of course, now that you've seen it, you realize I'll have to kill you... Other Chatters, read on at your own risk!)

2 oz unsweetened chocolate
12 oz semisweet chocolate (they want you to use Tolber or Lindt...I just use Nestles Toll House chips)
1/4 cup sifted flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 oz (3/4 stick) sweet butter
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar (I use a bit less)
2 tsp vanilla
OPTIONAL: a little instant espresso (say 1/2 to 1 tsp)

Preheat oven to 350. Cover 2 cookie sheets with foil. Break 6 oz of semisweet chocolate into chunks and set aside. Sift dry ingredients and set aside. Melt together butter, unsweetened chocolate and remaining semisweet chocolate. Set aside to cool for a few minutes. Beat eggs, sugar and vanilla (and optional espresso powder) on high speed until foamy. Add chocolate mixture and continue beating. Stir in dry ingredients. Stir in chocolate chunks. Drop well-rounded tablespoons of batter onto cookie sheets. Bake 12-13 minutes. DO NOT OVERBAKE. Cool on racks. Yield: About 2 dozen.

I've also varied the flavor by adding a bit of cinnamon (instead of espresso), or even some raisins to the recipe. I've also thought of substituting some white chocolate for the chunks at the end, but haven't actually tried that yet...

[Tara]

I'm FINALLY getting caught up on this page! LOVED your report Jen!!!!!!!!!! Too bad you didn't have fun
So cool about the wolves...if you put that on FB, I missed it. And about the narrowly missed mountain lion too!

[Jen]

Hey Tara! Great to see you around here!

Yes, Absolutely no fun was had in 2014. I will try again next year.

[NDjason]

I need to get on here more often... or maybe not. Now I just want to start planning another trip!

[Jen]

Miss you, Jason!!!