Feeding the kids: Fudgy walnut brownie cookies

In my ongoing quest to find tasty, kid-friendly food appropriate for the whole family, this week I chose a decadent dessert. I found the recipe in "One Bowl Baking: Simple, From Scratch Recipes for Delicious Desserts," by Yvonne Ruperti (Running Press; $22).

Fudgy Walnut Brownie Cookies
(Makes 12, 3 1/2-inch cookies)

Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 cup walnuts, chopped, divided

Directions
1. Place an oven rack in the middle position. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

2. In a large heatproof bowl, heat the butter and chocolate to just melted, stirring frequently.

3. Stir in the sugar, salt and vanilla. Stir in the eggs, one a time, until completely mixed in.

4. Add the flour and baking powder to the bowl, then stir to combine. Stir in half of the chopped walnuts.

5. Scoop the batter into 12 balls, spacing evenly on the pan. Sprinkle the remaining walnuts over the top of each cookie.

6. Bake until the cookies are puffed, cracked and barely set, about 8 minutes. Do not overbake. Let the cookies cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Recipe reprinted with permission from "One Bowl Baking: Simple, From Scratch Recipes for Delicious Desserts" © 2013 by Yvonne Ruperti, Running Press, a member of the Perseus Books Group.