Molten Lava Cookies

I had planned to make a Cupboard Project recipe for dinner, but I realized it was very similar to what we had yesterday for dinner and what we are going to have tomorrow. So I scrapped it and made something else for dinner. To redeem myself, we made a Cupboard Project recipe for FHE refreshments. 

Molten Lava Cookies

Inspired by popular molten center cakes, these pillowy-soft, brownie-like cookies are made possible with REAL BUTTER and a chocolate lava center made with semisweet and dark chocolate melted with vanilla.

Yields 2 dozen cookies.

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened 2 cups sugar 3/4 cup cocoa powder 2 eggs 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/3 cup dark or semisweet chocolate (at least 60% cacao), roughly chopped Powdered sugar for garnish (optional) Preparation Preheat oven to 350°F. Cream together butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Add cocoa powder, eggs and vanilla; mix until combined. Combine flour and baking powder in a separate bowl. Gradually add to butter mixture. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Using your thumb, press a thumbprint into the center; fill with a piece of chocolate and fold dough over to cover chocolate. Place balls 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake 9 to 11 minutes or until edges are firm and tops are soft. Remove cookies to a cooling rack; dust with powdered sugar, if desired. Serve warm, if possible. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. To reheat cookies, place cookie on microwave-safe plate and microwave on high for 5 seconds, or until cookie is slightly warm. The name makes it sound like chocolate lava cake, which they aren't. They are pretty much just chocolate chocolate chip cookies except that the chocolate chips are in a little pile in the middle. The chips didn't really get molten. And the cookies spread a little too much, so they were flat cookies with little lumps in the middle. Despite that, they taste good, and they look pretty good, too. Brian took a glamour shot, so you can compare a professional's picture, my picture, and Brian's picture to get a very accurate representation of what the cookies look like (or are supposed to look like). It made way more than two dozen. P.S. Don't you dare use margarine since this recipe is from REAL BUTTER.