Chocolate Cookies

Per the request of numerous friends who devoured my last batch, here is the recipe for the greatest chocolate cookie ever. Ok, so that's a tall order, but Cook's Illustrated has made quite an amazing recipe (see, science can be fun!).

I will keep my normal preamble short. The chocolate that is used in this recipe is bittersweet, which translates to 62% cocoa. Since its chopped up pretty small I get the chips (since those are easy to find) and chop them up myself. You can go higher or lower on the % if you wish, but I would avoid straying too far. Two other sources of chocolate flavor are espresso powder and the cocoa powder. Espresso powder can be ordered online (more info here) and so can Dutch process cocoa (Valrhona is a good brand). Do not use regular cocoa! Your kitchen will explode (ok, maybe not, but they will not taste the same). I have a box of Dutch process at all times now because I actually use it much more than regular powder.



As far as the baking time goes for these cookies, I fell into the trap of "they look way too moist, I will leave them in" and the first batch got crunchy. Not bad, but these things should be super moist, so when you see them start to crack on the top (the cracks will be gooey), get them out.

Chewy Chocolate Cookies

1/3 cup granulated sugar plus 1/2 cup for coating
1 1/2 C all purpose flour (7 1/2 counces)
3/4 C Dutch process cocoa powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/4 plus 1/8 t table salt
1/2 C dark corn syrup
1 large egg white
1 t vanilla extract
12 T unsalted butter, softened
1/3 C dark brown sugar (2 1/2 ounces), packed
4 ounces good quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Put 1/2 cup granulated sugar onto a plate and set aside. Whisk flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking soda together in a small bowl and set aside. In another small bowl whisk together the corn syrup, egg white and vanilla and set aside.

Beat the butter, brown sugar and remaining 1/3 cup of white sugar together until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Add the corn syrup mixture and beat until combined (20 seconds). Add the flour mixture and chopped chocolate and mix on low until just combined (30 seconds), making sure there isn't any unmixed flour pockets. Chill dough for 30 minutes (they say no longer than this).

Roll dough into small balls (recipe says 16 but I have been able to make 24) and then roll the balls in the sugar to coat. Put on baking sheets, 2 inches apart and bake 6-8 minutes, spinning sheets halfway during baking (watch them, they cook fast). Cookies are ready when they have cracked and still look raw in between the cracks. Allow the cookies to cool 5 minutes on the cookie sheets and then cool fully on a wire rack.

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Mocha Angel Food Cake

In my previous post, "Cake or Death", I wrote about the ups and downs of making an angel food cake. At the moment it's my favorite cake because, as one of my friends described, "It's like a freaking pillow". Now I have discovered a new twist on the cake that pretty much makes it irresistible.

Instead of the original vanilla, lemon juice, and almond extract combination, this time its coffee and chocolate added to the mix. Instant espresso powder and Kahlua to be more specific. Instant espresso powder is something that I find very intriguing and is showing up in more and more chocolate deserts. Next time you make brownies add some in and see how you like it. The problem is currently the inability to purchase it at most super markets. I'm pretty sure Whole Foods carries it, but other than that I'm at a loss. I bought mine off the internet here. If you cannot find espresso powder instant coffee will do in a pinch. Quick side note, check out the King Arthur Flour blog for wicked baked goods.

Mocha Angel Food Cake

12 egg whites, room temperature
1 1/2 C sugar, divided evenly
1 1/2 t cream of tartar
1/4 C warm water
1/4 t salt
1 C cake flour
1 1/2 t vanilla
1 T instant espresso powder
1 T Kahlua
2 oz bittersweet chocolate finely chopped or grated

Preheat oven to 350°F. Sift half of the sugar with the salt the cake flour, setting the remaining sugar aside. In a large bowl or stand mixer, add egg whites and water, beating until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and salt, mix on high speed. After about 3 minutes slowly add the reserved sugar, beating continuously at medium-high speed. Meanwhile mix together the Kahlua and espresso powder into a paste. Once you have achieved near-medium peaks (the ones that sort of fall down from the whisk), add the espresso-Kahlua mixture and the vanilla and mix to combine. Sift enough of the flour mixture in to dust the top of the foam. Using a spatula, fold in the flour mixture gently. Continue adding small amounts and folding until all of the flour mixture is incorporated. Incorporate the chocolate, careful not to overmix

Carefully add mixture into an ungreased tube pan (I like the one with the removable bottom). Tap the pan against the counter to even out the batter and remove any bubbles. Bake for 35 minutes before checking for doneness with a wooden skewer. (When inserted halfway between the inner and outer wall, the skewer should come out dry).

Cool on rack for about ten minutes, and then flip pan upside down. Cool upside down on cooling rack for at least two hours before removing from pan. If your pan does not have legs (like mine) invert it on a funnel and support it with shot glasses (genius idea, Em).

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Peanut Butter Balls

To me, Christmas cookies are some of the best sweet items I eat all year. Everyone has a different method, recipe, or family tradition that they enjoy sharing with everyone else. I have had German cookies, Mexican candies, Chinese pastries, and many others. I love them all. My dentist hates them.

My personal favorite has to be peanut butter balls. I wont spend a lot of time on words, just enjoy the recipe (I know I'm making some this week).

A few notes on the recipe. First, the chocolate coating can be whatever chocolate you like. I prefer semi sweet (i just use semi sweet chips), but i have also made them with dark. The wax can be found in the baking aisle (I believe) and is used to help thin out the chocolate. I usually put in about 5 oz wax to each package of chocolate. The goal is to have a decently thin liquid to dip into. Also, this recipe probably makes 24-30 and can easily be doubled or tripled to accommodate a crowd


Peanut Butter Balls
1 C butter, melted
2 C peanut butter
2 C graham crackers, crushed
16 oz powdered sugar
12 oz semi sweet chocolate
paraffin wax

In a double boiler melt chocolate, add some wax to thin it out (melts faster if you use smaller pieces). In a large bowl combine the butter, peanut butter, powdered sugar, and graham crackers, mix well. Roll into small balls (smaller than ping pong balls), making sure to keep them packed tight. If you are not going to be dipping immediately, refrigerate them to help them set up. Dip each ball into the melted chocolate (use toothpicks or tongs) and lay out on wax paper to dry.

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Amendments

After making the chocolate cream pie for a blog post, I was not entirely satisfied with the texture and consistency of my pie. Time for tinkering, which just meant that I needed to make another one. This rarely raises objections in my house.

First thing to tackle was the crust. It was a bit too crumbly for my liking, so I decided to let it set up a bit more. After making the crust, I popped it in the fridge for 15 minutes before baking it slightly longer in the oven. This allowed the crust to become a bit more uniform in texture and cut easier.

Next I needed to fix the darn thickness of my filling. Not happy with it, as it was slightly runny. I added an egg yolk to the mixture, which would lend itself to helping the "custard" set more as well as adding a bit of richness to the pie. I also swapped out cornstarch for flour. This has a two fold effect. First, you don’t have to stir as long to get the filling to thicken, and cornstarch has a more stable structure over time, so it is less likely to go all runny on you. While I believe the egg did little for the mixture (It already has three), the cornstarch did wonders. I sliced a piece last night and it came out just like I wanted it to, thick and pie like while still tasting delicious. To make the pie come together faster, I now recommend almost simmering the milk before adding the chocolate and other ingredients. This is because cornstarch's thickening ability is improved over a certain temperature, so the quicker you get there the faster it works (and fewer lumps are formed).

I have amended the original recipe and put a link at the bottom of this post.

Chocolate Cream Pie

Next up- Pasta Carbonara

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Chocolate Cream Pie

Finally! If there is one recipe you make while reading this blog, make this one. I kid you not, its quite possibly one of the best things I have ever eaten. This is a family recipe, so full credit goes to my mom for teaching me this. And not to brag or anything, but one she made went for over $200 at a charity auction. I relate this pie to Sunday morning, because it is often not ready until the following day, which prompted us to eat a slice while reading the morning paper. Breakfast of champions and yes, I would do it again.

So what is chocolate cream pie? Its the pie you wish you had when you were eating chocolate pudding in a graham cracker crust. That pie. There are very few tricks to this recipe, but the ones that exist are crucial. My two main points would be the milk and stirring. Use at least 2% milk. I know, I use 1% for recreational purposes, but the extra bit of milk fat is the difference between pie and runny goop. If you use whole, more power to you, it will actually be even better. The other point is the stirring. When this pie is on the heat, you best be stirring it constantly. No "oh, I can go wash the dishes and stir occasionally" stuff. This recipe is more stir happy than risotto, and that's saying something. Stir constantly. The pie should be ready to go from the pot in about 15ish minutes (or as I timed it, 3 songs off the new Metallica album). Just...don't....walk....away!!

I hope you enjoy this pie as much as I (and my family, and my fiancee, and anyone who happens to be in the area to get a slice) do.

Chocolate Cream Pie

Crust
2 1/4 cups graham crackers
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 375°F. Crush gram crackers in bag with rolling pin or with food processor until fine. Combine ingredients in medium bowl and mix with hands until the butter is incorporated. Dump into a 12 inch pie pan, pressing down with the heel of your palm and fingers to make a firm, even crust (it should go part way up the sides). Pop in the fridge for 15 minutes, then bake for 12 minutes, let cool.

Filling
4 squares semi-sweet baking chocolate
3 3/4 cups milk
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
3/4 t salt
3 T cornstarch
3 T butter
1 T vanilla

In large pot over medium heat, heat milk until almost simmering, stirring occasionally. Add chocolate and stir until melted. Meanwhile, while milk is heating, in stand mixer or large bowl, combine eggs and sugar, beat until fluffy. Add salt and cornstarch, mix well. Reduce burner heat to medium low, pour about 1/3 of the milk mixture into the bowl (this will temper the eggs), mix and dump entire contents of bowl into pot. Return to heat and stir (constantly!) for about 15-20 minutes until slightly thickened. Remove from heat, add butter and vanilla, stir to combine, and pour into pie shell. Let sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes, then move to the fridge for at least 3 hours. Your patience will be rewarded. Make sure the pie is firm and cool before cutting. If its a bit runny, cook it a little longer next time. Serve with Cool Whip slathered on top.

And look, a picture! I will try to include more of these in upcoming posts so you can see what you are getting into.

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