Tag: chocolate

Posted on » by Michael » Theme:

Salty Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Barefoot Contessa (Makes 28 – 30 cookies )

cookie2

½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
¾ cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1¾ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1¼ cups old-fashioned oats, such as Quaker
¾ pound bittersweet chocolate, such as Lindt, chopped in chunks
¾ cup dried cranberries
Fleur de sel

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line 3 sheet pans with parchment paper.

In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar on medium-high speed for 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula. On low speed, add the vanilla, then the eggs, one at a time. Scrape down the bowl again.

Meanwhile, sift the flour, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl. Mix in the oats. With the mixer on low, slowly add the flour mixture to the butter-sugar mixture. Don’t overbeat it! With a rubber spatula, stir in the chocolate and cranberries until the dough is well mixed. With a 1¾-inch ice cream scoop (or two spoons), scoop round balls of dough onto the prepared sheet pans. Sprinkle lightly with fleur de sel. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until nicely browned. Serve warm or at room temperature.

If you prefer cookies thin and crisp, bake them straight from the mixing bowl. If you prefer them chewy in the middle and crisp outside, chill the balls of dough.

I tried it both ways and preferred the ones that were refrigerated first. It also worked well right out of the freezer.

Posted on » by Michael » Theme:

Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti

Chocolate Hazelnut BiscottiYield: 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients
• 2 tablespoons (28 grams/1 ounce) unsalted butter, slightly softened
• 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon (212 grams/7.48 ounces) sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 plus 2 tablespoons (170 grams/6 ounces) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup plus 2 teaspoons (52 grams/1.83 ounces) unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 3/4 cups (227 grams/8 ounces) hazelnuts, whole, toasted
• 3/4 cup (130 grams/4.59 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 large egg for egg wash

Procedures
1. Position one rack in the middle of the oven, and preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line the cookie sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a bowl with an electric mixer, cream the butter with the sugar for 1 minute or until a sandy mixture forms. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until fluffy and lighter in color, about 1 minute more.

3. In a medium mixing bowl, add the flour, cocoa powder, coffee powder, baking soda, and cinnamon and whisk together. Add to the butter-and-egg mixture in 2 additions, and mix only until combined.

4. Fold the hazelnuts and chocolate chips into the dough, and mix until evenly distributed. The dough will be thick and hard to stir. If it is too sticky, chill briefly.

6. Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces, about 454 grams/16 ounces each. On a lightly floured surface, roll each piece of dough into a log about 2 inches wide by 14 inches long by 1 1/2 inches high. Place the logs on the prepared sheet pan with several inches between them.

8. In a small bowl, mix 1 egg with 1 teaspoon of water to make an egg wash. Brush each log with egg wash, coating them evenly on the top and sides.

10. Bake for 27 minutes, rotating the cookie sheet from front to back halfway through baking, until very lightly browned and somewhat firm. Remove from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 300ºF.

11.Cool the logs for 20 minutes, then place them on a cutting board. With a serrated knife, slice each log on a slight angle into 3/4-inch-thick pieces, keeping them in a row. Slide the row of biscotti together, lift and place back on the cookie sheet, then separate the slices, leave 1/2 inch of space between each one.

12. 9Bake again for 9 to 12 minutes, rotating once during baking, until the biscotti feel slightly firm.

Posted on » by Michael » Theme:

Spicy Ice Cream Sandwiches

Adapted from ‘The Perfect Scoop’ by David Lebowitz

ice cream

Ice Cream
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 3 tablespoons Dutch process cocoa powder
• 3-4 dried chillies (mine are from Herbies Spices)
• 140g dark chocolate, chopped
• 1 cup whole milk
• ¾ cup sugar
• Pinch salt
• ½ – 1 teaspoon ground chillies, to taste
• 5 large egg yolks
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Warm 1 cup of cream with the cocoa and dried chillies in a medium saucepan, whisking to thoroughly blend the cocoa. Bring to a boil, and then turn off the heat. Allow to infuse for 30 minutes – 1 hour. When the mixture has infused, turn the heat back on, bring to the boil and simmer for 30 seconds, whisking constantly. Remove from the heat and add the chopped chocolate, stirring until smooth, then stir in the remaining cup of cream. Pour the mixture into a large bowl, scraping the saucepan, and set a mesh strainer on top of the bowl.

Warm the milk, sugar, salt and ground chilli in the same saucepan. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly and then scrape the mixture back into the saucepan. Stir constantly with a heatproof spatula over a low heat, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour the custard through the strainer and stir into the chocolate mixture until smooth, then stir in the vanilla. Cool over an ice bath.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions.

Chocolate Ice Cream Sandwich Cookies
Makes 16 cookies, for 8 ice cream sandwiches

• 115g unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 6 tablespoons Dutch process cocoa, sifted
• 210g flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• ½ – 1 teaspoon ground chillies, to taste

Beat together the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric stand mixer, until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla. In a separate bowl, whisk together to cocoa, flour, baking powder, salt and chilli. Stir the dry ingredients gradually into the creamed butter mixture until completely incorporated and there are no streaks of butter. Chill in the fridge for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F). Line two baking trays with non-stick baking paper. Lightly dust a work surface with flour, and roll out dough into a ½ cm disk. Use cookie cutters of your choice to cut out shapes and place on baking trays. Bake for 10-15 minutes, rotating the baking trays halfway through baking, then remove from the oven. Once the cookies are cooled completely, sandwich the ice cream between 2 cookies, then wrap each sandwich in plastic wrap and store in the freezer.