[Maureen]

I've just taken a batch of these little delights from the oven.

Given the price of roasted cocao nibs ($20/pound, ~33 euro/kg) and the difficulty in finding them in Chicago, I used finely toasted chopped walnuts. I also used regular salt (mon Dieu!) because I found the (coarse) kosher salt I used previously to be too salty, as if it didn't disperse well in the dough.

I melted 1 ounce of unsweetened chocolate plus 1.5 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate morsels for the dough and used 2.5 ounces of chocolate morsels in the dough.

[Rainey]

Maureen- Thanks for your experience with these cookies. If you want to use the nibs in the future they shouldn't be hard to come by in Chicago. Whole Foods has them with their chocolate specialties (usually at the deli). Although they may well be pricey, I doubt the amount you'd need would be a prob. But then your solution sounds terrific too!
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God writes a lot of comedy... the trouble is, he's stuck with so many bad actors who don't know how to play funny. -- Garrison Keillor

[Maureen]

I will take a look at Whole Foods. Although the recipe calls for just a small amount, these nibs tend to be sold by the pound and so are a major expense all at once.

One word of warning. These are tender cookies and best stored and handled most gently as they have a tendency to crumble quite easily.

[mandysu]

Yeah, Whole Foods here in the west always has bulk cocoa nibs in tubs, sort of hidden near cheeses and such. They're Scharffen Berger, $16/lb, and the tubs are ~4oz (though I have seen an 8oz tub, and I'm sure they could repackage them into different quantities if you ask). They have a few other packaged varieties, but I think they're more expensive (organic, fair-trade...).

I just like them over vanilla ice cream, maybe with rum or caramel sauce. They have all the pleasing crunch of nuts, but a wonderful not-sweet chocolate flavor that goes well with the sweeter surroundings. Their texture is firm enough that I've wondered if I could put them *into* a batch of ice cream without them getting a bit soggy, but I haven't gotten around to trying it.

I think the cookies are next on my list (but only because my brother-in-law's birthday is coming up! really!)

[Donna]

I made these cookies from the recipe on the Blog for New Years and they were a huge hit! I served them with two types of chocolate ice cream. I must say that one thing everyone enjoyed was the crunch and flavor of the nibs. It really modulates the sugar, and intensified the chocolate sensation. They are very grown up cookies I think, with the nibs.

BTW, if you buy a large amount of nibs, you can keep them in the freezer and they last forever! In the cupboard, they tend to "turn" - which if you've spent a ton of money on them, is a BAD thing. And I don't know about anyone else - but I don't use chocolate nibs all that often.
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L'appetit vient en mangeant. -Rabelais

[creampuff]

Once you have your chocolate nibs, you'll find all sorts of ways to use them!

The taste is not exactly like chocolate so the nibs work in savory recipes as well as sweet:

Try them sauteed with garlic and green beans

I add them to the almond paste filling for tarts and top with fresh fruit and use a chocolate crust

Schafferberger the company that popularized the nibs has a cafe that made a popular chocolate chip cookie that used the nibs

I think they'd work well in a cheese cake, but haven't tried yet.

[swan]

Made them today. Half of them went as a gift, the other half appears to be very, VERY addictive. They are really good.....I used the SharffenBerger nibs (bought on my recent trip to NY as they are kind of impossible to get here) and Callebaut semisweet chocolate, and a little more coarse seasalt.I LIKE THEM!!!