Maida Heatter’s big, chunky, double chocolate brownie cookies, called “Whoppers”, are packed with chocolate chips, crunchy pecans, and walnuts. Our favorite chocolate cookies ever!

Photo of a stack of chocolate nut cookies on a rack with a black background.


There’s a story behind this chocolate Whopper cookies recipe, very much inspired by Maida Heatter. A long time ago, I lived in Miami and spent a few years working at a wine store.

My job consisted of tasting, spitting, sometimes not spitting (a job perk), unloading cases of wine and every once in a while selling wine to customers.

One of my clients was none other than Maida Heatter, a renowned teacher, baker and cookbook writer.

Best Maida Heatter cookbooks

Maida lived in Miami Beach and would come in periodically to stock up on wine and gourmet goodies. She had a sweetly disarming way about her, and she’d usually bring in some of her cellophane-wrapped homemade cookies for us to sample.

We’d swoon with delight and thank her profusely. Then she’d yell, “Honey, I can’t hear you, I’m deaf as a post. Now where’s that chardonnay I bought last time?”

I hope that she’s been outfitted with one of those high-tech hearing aids these days, because if she were listening I’d tell her — loudly — about how I’ve been collecting her mostly now out-of-print cookbooks and using her remarkably detailed, never-fail recipes for cookies, cakes and all manner of  sweets for years and years. I just love her.

Photo showing a stack of chocolate cookies, split in half to show the inside,

In fact, one of my all-time favorite Maida recipes are these Chocolate Whoppers, big, chunky, brownie-like confections with crisp, shiny tops and moist, dark and nutty chocolate interiors.

Chocolate whopper cookies ingredients

These monster-sized treats are chock full of crunchy pecans, walnuts and two different types of chocolate, semisweet and bittersweet.

The dough includes a small amount of flour along with a “secret” ingredient – espresso powder. The dried concentrated coffee really enhances the chocolate flavors.

All in all, these whoppers are totally worthy of the word “devilish”. The cookie dough comes together easily, and all you need to do is drop blobs of the batter onto baking sheets.

You’ll most certainly be very popular if you make a batch or two to give to friends and family. Just be sure to keep one for yourself, too.

stack of chunky double chocolate whopper cookies
4.87 from 22 ratings

Maida Heatter’s Double Chocolate Whopper Cookies

Karen Tedesco
Chocolate Whoppers are big, gorgeous, super-chocolatey cookies that are crisp on the outside and chewy inside, just like your favorite brownie.
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Yield: 12 cookies
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 17 minutes
Total Time: 37 minutes

Ingredients
 

  • 4 ounces (125 g) semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
  • 4 ounces (125 g) bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
  • 6 tablespoons (85 g) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
  • ¼ cup (30 g) sifted unbleached all-purpose flour (sift before measuring)
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ¼ teaspoon baking powder
  • 2 eggs
  • ¾ cup (180 g) sugar
  • 2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 6 ounces (175 g) dark or semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1 cup (100 g) pecans, broken into large pieces
  • 1 cup (100 g) walnut halves, broken into large pieces

Instructions
 

  1. Heat oven to 350 (175C) degrees with rack in the center. Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. Place the chopped chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a medium saucepan of simmering water. Stir gently until melted and smooth. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.
  3. Whisk the flour in a small bowl with salt and baking powder.
  4. Beat the eggs, sugar, espresso and vanilla in a large bowl using an electric mixer on high speed until light and lofty, 2 or 3 minutes.
  5. Drizzle in the melted chocolate on low speed until blended. Add the flour mixture and mix until incorporated. Turn off the mixer and stir in the chocolate chips and nuts.
  6. Use a ⅓-cup measure to scoop the dough into 6 mounds on each of the prepared baking sheets, spacing about 2 inches apart. Use a small spatula to scrape the dough out – it's a little gooey.
  7. Bake one sheet at a time for 17 minutes. The tops of the cookies should look dry and shiny. Cool the cookies on the pan for 15 minutes, then transfer with a spatula to a wire rack cool completely.

Notes

This recipe is from which is an out-of-print treasure. Look out for used copies of all Maida’s books at used bookstores.

Nutrition per serving

Calories: 433kcal Carbohydrates: 35g Protein: 6g Fat: 31g Sodium: 121mg Fiber: 4g Sugar: 25g

Nutrition facts are calculated by third-party software. If you have specific dietary needs, please refer to your favorite calculator.

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