Super Gooey Chocolate Raspberry Drops

So while walking through Giant Eagle I found Hershey's Raspberry filled chocolate pieces on sale and just had to buy a bag. I had a fudgy chocolate cookie recipe I had been meaning to try and decided to put them in it. The result was delicious. These cookies are very yummy and moist. If I made this recipe again, I think I would add a little raspberry puree or jam to the dough to try to kick up the raspberry flavor. I'm going to freeze the leftover cookies and make a raspberry frosting to go with them later. I only wanted to make a few so I quartered the recipe, but I must make my cookies small because I should have had 6 but I made 12. The original recipe was for "Super Gooey Chocolate Drops" but since I added the raspberry I tweaked the name a little. The original recipe uses semisweet chocolate chips and dried cherries and can be found here.

Super Gooey Chocolate Raspberry Drops

2 T unsalted butter (I used salted, it made no difference)
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 ounce semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup + 2 T granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large egg
1/2 tablespoon buttermilk
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 T natural cocoa powder, such as Hershey's or Scharffen Berger
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
a tiny pinch of salt
about 1/2 bag of Hershey's raspberry filled chocolate baking pieces

1. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 325.

2. Put the butter and the unsweetened and semisweet chocolates in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Heat at 75 percent power in the microwave until soft, about 2 minutes. Stir and heat again until melted, up to 2 minutes more. (Alternatively, put the chocolates and butter in a heatproof bowl. Bring a saucepan filled with an inch or so of water to a very slow simmer; set the bowl over, but not touching the water, and stir occasionally until melted and smooth.) (When I did this, it only took 2 minutes total)

3. Stir the light brown and granulated sugars and vanilla into the chocolate mixture with a wooden spoon. Add the eggs and buttermilk and beat vigorously until thick and glossy.

4. In another bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa, cinnamon and salt together. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir until just mixed. Stir in raspberry filled chocolate baking pieces.

5. Drop the batter in heaping tablespoons onto baking sheets. Space the cookies about 2-inches apart. Bake until the cookies set but are soft and fudgy on the inside, 12 to 15 minutes.

6. Cool cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely. Serve.

Store cookies in a tightly sealed container at room temperature for up to a week.

When I come up with my raspberry frosting recipe, I'll update this and let you know how it came out.

*update 11-30-07*
So I during a 3 hour marathon baking spree with my roommate, I finally decided to try an icing recipe for these cookies. The icing came out pretty good, although I think it would be better on a cake than a cookie. To be honest, I almost want to say they'd be better without the icing. It's not that the icing takes away from the flavor, but the cookies are so incredible by themselves they really don't need the help. However, the icing did have a purple hue and looked quite pretty on the cookies.

The original recipe is from Family Fun and can be found here. There's other variations along with the raspberry one. The recipe posted below has been quartered to cater to the small amount of cookies I made.

Raspberry Buttercream Frosting

1/4 c butter, softened
3/4 c + 2 T powdered sugar (It said to sift it, I didn't. To be honest, I kind of eyeballed this one)
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 T milk
1 T raspberry preserves (I used Smuckers Simply Fruit in black raspberry which accounts for the purple hue)

Beat cream until fluffy with an electric mixer. Add the remaining ingredients and beat until smooth. Makes 1 cup.