Those wonderful Earthquake Cookies

My friend Mary Ann has done it again! She was with me last week when we tried these little deadlies at Sofra and thought they were the cat's pajamas... and now she's has searched the web trying to find a recipe that replicates them and she's already tested out two recipes. Amazing. All that productivity while I was just starting to lean back and contemplate a drive back over to Sofra to buy more cookies...

So here's the link to the better of the two recipes:

http://www.ouichefnetwork.com/oui_chef/2010/02/chocolate-earthquake-cookies.html

This blogger is bent on improvement so this recipe may change over time and become even better. As of right now it is very good and pretty darn close to the original, but falls short in moistness... the centers of the original cookie was soft and fudgelike (I mean that in the nicest way).

I'll be trying these soon myself... well, after I finish off the bag that Mary Ann gave me.

Yum!

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7/2/10

I made this recipe yesterday and baked them today and I felt pretty happy with the outcome. I made a few modifications to the recipe, however, that I'm just going to document here for my own handy reference.


substituted 4 tablespoons EVOO for butter
substituted white whole wheat flour for all-purpose flour
I used a mixture of chocolates to make up the 12 oz. - some unsweetened Scharffen-Bergen with (4 oz) with 5 teaspoons of Turbindo sugar added, some Lindt dark chocolate and some 70% dark chocolate chips.

I baked the cookies for 15 minutes.

The Winning Cookie!

Today at the Watertown Free Library the staff had a chocolate festival to help us get through a long Saturday at work. These cookies were a big hit... something chocolate, but with a twist. Recommended pairings (that we were unable to do at work)- beer and/or a nice glass of port.

Mexican Chocolate Snickerdoodles
(from Vegan Cookies by Isa Changra Moskowitz)

follow this link to the post punk kitchen and the recipe:
http://theppk.com/blog/2009/09/16/mexican-hot-chocolate-snickerdoodles

A grown-up version of the Hostess cupcake

I made these dark chocolate and coffee cupcakes for my friend Mary Ann as a birthday gift and she came up with the brilliant suggestion of piping whoopie pie frosting (made with a marshmallow fluff) into and on top of them. For me the frosting really makes them, but it only works because the cupcake is so dark, dense and chocolaty.

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes
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1 1/2 cups (7.5 ounces) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup Turbinado sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/2 cup (2 ounces) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine
2 rounded teaspoons instant espresso + 1 cup boiling water (or 1 cup hot coffee)
2/3 cup mayonnaise
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Place oven rack in the middle position. Line 18 muffin tins with liner paper/foil cups.

2. Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl.

3. In a separate bowl, combine cocoa and chocolate; pour hot coffee over cocoa mixture and whisk until smooth; let cool slightly. Whisk in mayonnaise, egg and vanilla.

4. Stir mayonnaise mixture into flour mixture until combined.

5. Using a 1/2 cup measure fill muffin tins 1/2 full to 2/3 full. Bake until wooden skewer inserted into center of cupcakes comes out with a few crumbs attached, 17-19 minutes.

6. Let cupcakes cool in pan for a few minutes and then remove from pan and cool completely on a wire rack.

7. Fill and frost with Fluff Frosting.



Fluff Frosting Recipe
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1/3 cup solid vegetable shortening
5-1/3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup confectioner's sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Pinch salt
1 heaping cup Marshmallow Fluff

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the shortening, butter, sugar, vanilla and salt. When the mixture is smooth, beat in the Fluff.

To fill and frost 18 cupcakes, you will need 1 1/2 times this recipe amount. It helps to use a pastry bag with a metal tip.

So you overbaked a chocolate cake. Now what?

I'm sure nothing like this has ever happened to you, but today I baked a chocolate pound cake that came out a little dry. I probably overbaked it a wee bit - I was using a bundt pan rather than the 9 x 5 loaf pan the recipe called for and even though I thought I was checking it often enough I probably wasn't. It still tastes quite good, it is loaded with dark chocolate chips, but it is going to need some help to get eaten.

Of course, I could just toss the cake in the garbage and move on, but I hate to do that. The cake isn't burnt or ruined beyond being edible - it is just ever so slightly too dry. Plus, I've used Valrhona cocoa and some excellent dark chocolate in it, not to mention two sticks of organic butter and four eggs - I just can't bring myself to waste all those expensive ingredients. Since no one in my house is going to eat this cake as is, I've put it into a large freezer bag and put it in my freezer. Cakes freeze beautifully so in a few weeks or a month when I need a dessert for a crowd, I can take it out and defrost it. Of course when I do that I will still have the same slightly dry but intensely chocolate cake before me that needs a little help. Here's what I'm going to do with it.

Tiramisu. Yes, I know Tiramisu is traditionally made with lady fingers or pound cake, but wouldn't it be wonderful with a deep dark chocolate cake instead - I sincerely think so and the slightly dry cake will benefit from the dip in espresso and the layer of enriched whipped mascarpone.

There is one major modification that must be made because the cake is chocolate - I decided to cut out the sweet Marsala wine, which I feel will clash with a heightened chocolate level. Instead of Marsala, however, I would happily use a coffee flavored liqueur, even a chocolate liqueur or a good orange liqueur. Or you could skip the liqueur all together and use straight up espresso. You choose.

Here's the plan:

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Tiramisu with chocolate pound cake
Serves 6-8

1/2 to 1 dark chocolate pound cake, slightly overbaked
1 cup espresso (8-10 shots)
2 tablespoons Kahlua, Godiva liqueur or Grand Marinier (optional)
4 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
3 cups mascarpone cheese
1 cup chilled heavy cream
unsweetened cocoa or bittersweet chocolate for garnish

Prepare the espresso and cool completely. Mix liquer with espresso, if using. Slice the cake into 3/4 inch thick slices and cut into strips. Dip the cake strips, one at a time, in espresso-liqueur mixture and line the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan with a single layer of cake. Set aside.

Separate the eggs. Beat the egg whites with 2 tablespoon sugar until they form soft peaks.

Beat cream in another bowl with cleaned beaters until it just holds soft peaks.

In another bowl, beat 4 egg yolks with the remaining sugar until thick and pale yellow. Add the mascarpone to the egg yolk mixture and blend until well combined.

Fold cream into mascarpone mixture gently but thoroughly.

Lightly fold the egg whites into the mascarpone mixture.

Cover the espresso soaked cake layer with a thick, even layer of the mascarpone mixture.

Dust the finished tiramisù with unsweetened cocoa or chopped bittersweet chocolate.

Refrigerate at least two hours. Can be assembled one day ahead.


Note: The eggs in this recipe are uncooked. Food safety experts caution that consuming raw eggs can expose you to salmonella contamination. Immuno-compromised patients, the very young and the elderly should not eat raw eggs. You can purchase pasturized egg whites for use in this recipe. In some parts of the country it is also possible to buy whole eggs pasturized in their shells.

Mousse au Chocolat

This recipe is a traditional french chocolate mousse that I started making when I was ten years old. My mom decided that I needed to learn some fundamental cooking skills like separating eggs and working with egg whites so she picked this recipe to be the lesson. It was certainly a delicious way to learn those basics.

You will notice right away that there are hardly any ingredients in this mousse - it is all about technique. The quality of those few ingredients then will really matter which is why I use Valrhona chocolate and Grand Marinier. When I use Valrhona I use 3 bars so I don't have to have any little piddley leftover pieces hanging around in my cupboards and I add one extra egg to compensate. I use two bars (7 ounces) of Valrhona Le Noir 56% Cocoa Bar and one bar (3.5 ounces) of Valrhona Le Noir Amer 71% Cocoa Bar. I prefer a dark mousse that is not that sweet so this mix suits me and my chocolate loving husband, but you may find that it makes a mousse that is not sweet enough for you. You may need to do some chocolate mousse testing at your house to determine the exact kind of chocolate you prefer - this kind of testing is no hardship!

I like to take a bite sized piece of cake - sponge cake, yogurt cake, madeleines' or lady fingers (whatever is on hand) - sprinkle it with liquer and put it at the bottom of the dessert cup before I fill it with mousse. I always like finding this little morsel hidden away at the bottom of the dish when I'm finishing up my last few bites of dessert. It is a fun surprise that takes away some of the pangs associated with finishing a delicious food item.

One more thing - a lot of people nowadays do not feel safe using raw eggs although I can honestly say I've never had a problem. If I'm making this for a large group or for someone who might object to raw eggs I buy a jar of egg whites that have been pasturized and then use the yolks from the eggs I separated - yolks apparently do not easily get contaminated with salmonella. I've heard that it is possible, in some parts of the country, to get eggs that have been pasturized in their shells, but I've never found them in any supermarket near me.

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Mousse au Chocolat

8 oz chocolate
5 tablespoons water
5 eggs, separated
pinch of cream of tartar
2 tablespoons Grand Marinier, Rum or other liquer

Break up chocolate into small pieces, combine with water and melt in a double boiler, or a mixing bowl set over a saucepan, or in a microwave. Melt it slowly - even very slowly - and once it is melted take it off the heat and let it cool down for five minutes.

While the chocolate is melting add the cream of tartar to the egg whites and beat them until they hold stiff peaks. With a stand mixer this takes about 2-3 minutes, with a hand held mixer this takes about 20 minutes. Set aside.

When the chocolate has cooled down a little, add the Grand Marinier and stir until nice and smooth. Even cooled down a little, the chocolate is warm enough to curddle the egg yolks so you'll need to temper them. To do that take about a tablespoon of the chocolate and stir it into the egg yolks - stirring until it is combined and smooth. Take another tablespoon of the melted chocolate and stir it into the egg mixture again until it is smooth. This will warm up the yolk a little so that they should not curddle when you add them into the rest of the chocolate. Now add the yolk mixture into the chocolate mixture and stir until smooth.

Now, fold in a quarter of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture. Don't worry if there are a few lumps, go on to fold in the next quarter of the egg whites, and the next quarter. Make sure you get the chocolate from the bottom of the bowl when you are folding - it is heavy and it tends to want to settle underneath the egg whites so you have to keep scooping all the way down and pulling it up. On the final fourth of egg whites I do try to get out the lumps, but you don't want to keep folding too long and loose the light lifting quality of the egg whites. Just fold until you think the mixture looks smooth and 99.9 % lump free.

Scoop or pour mixture into individual glasses or dessert cups and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

Serve with freshly whipped cream (I prefer unsweetened) and strawberries.

Yield: 4-6 individual servings

A Tale of Two Brownies

Six years ago, my mom gave me a cookbook for my birthday. As is usual with me, it took me a while to look through it and start using some of the recipes, but when I did, I liked them. I liked them a lot. Some of those recipes even made it into the ranks of my weekly standards. This cookbook is The Barefoot Contessa by Ina Garten.

The very first time I flipped through that book I noticed right away that there was a brownie recipe and that it looked good. I wanted to make it, but everytime I ventured to do so I just could not get past the 1 lb. of butter the recipe called for. That is so much butter, and no-one else in my family likes brownies so I'll be the only one eating them... that means that I'll be eating a whole pound of butter. I just can't do it. I'd see images of myself sitting down at the table with a bowl full of butter and a spoon and that thought alone was enough to prevent me from ever knuckling down and trying the recipe.

Meanwhile, time goes by. Years go by. My friend Mary Ann tells me about the amazing brownies that her neighbor, Peter Kelly makes. They are the best brownies ever, she says. They are the quintessential brownie, the ultimate brownie, the best of brownie kind. Hmmm. Sounds good. Maybe someday I'll be lucky enough to get a taste of one of these amazing brownies made by the master himself. Someday...

Well, this year for my birthday (mark this gentle reader - exactly six years to the day) Mary Ann made a batch of Peter Kelly's brownies for me. They were phenominal. I say "they were" because as of this writing they are all gone... gone the way of all good brownies. They were not too cakey, not too fudgy, very dark and chocolate with a hint of coffee and they had the much coveted thin, crinkly layer on top. They were amazing.

Now for the kicker. These brownies, these amazing creations, Peter Kelly's masterpieces were the very same brownies that I had resisted making for six years. Yes, Peter uses the Barefoot Contessa's recipe. It turns out that Ina Garten's brownies really have no more butter than anyone else's... her recipe does call for that frightening one pound of butter, but she also has you make the brownies in a half-sheet pan. If you cut the recipe in half for a 9x13 you only use 1/2 a pound of butter or if you cut it even further for an 8x8 pan you would only use 1/4 pound of butter... After all my hemming and hawing, after all my hand-wringing, after all my valiant efforts at resisting - these brownies were no worse for me than any other brownies. And on top of all that they are wondeful... Ina Garten calls them "outrageous" and I couln't agree with her more.

So, here is the fateful recipe for The Barefoot Contessa's amazing brownies (I've cut it in half so that you won't be frightened off by the pound of butter like I was - silly girl!). And thanks mom and Mary Ann and Peter Kelly for helping me find these brownies after all of these years.

One note about details... this recipe calls for extra-large eggs. If you feel inclined to run out to the store and buy a dozen extra large eggs feel free - or maybe you always have them in the fridge. I don't usually so I cheat and just use 3 large eggs... if you feel guilty about cheating you could add a little water to the recipe - you could even dissolve the instant coffee in said water and then add it. The bottom line is that either way I think you'll be happy with the resulting brownies. Oh my, this is getting complicated. Don't fuss, and don't worry. Just make them and eat them.

Ladies and Gentleman, start your ovens.

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Brownies

1/2 pound unsalted butter (2 sticks)
1/2 pound plus 6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
3 ounces unsweeted chocolate
3 extra-large eggs
1 1/2 Tablespoons instant coffee granules
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/8 cup sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour plus 1/8 cup
1/2 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Butter and flour a 9 x 13 baking pan.

Melt together the butter, 1/2 pound chocolate chips, and the unsweetened chocolate in a medium bowl over simmering water. When melted, remove bowl from heat and allow to cool slightly.

In a large bowl, stir (do not beat) together the eggs, coffee granules, vanilla, and sugar. Stir the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and allow to cool to room temperature.

In a medium bowl, sift together 1/2 cup of flour, the baking powder and salt. Add the cooled chocolate mixture.

Toss the walnuts and 6 ounces of chocolate chips in a medium bowl with 1/8 cup flour, then add to the chocolate batter.

Pour into the prepared baking pan.

Bake for 20 minutes, then rap (as in: to strike with a quick, smart, or light blow) the baking sheet against the oven shelf to force the air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough. Bake for about 15 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Do not overbake! Allow to cool thoroughly, refrigerate, and cut into squares.

Enjoy!

High Value Chocolates for your Valentine

Just before Valentine’s Day, The New York Times had an article on the front page (below the fold, of course) about special chocolates that cost $2000 a pound. Here’s the title and the link if you want to read more.

YOUR MONEY
Figuring Out Gift Giving in the Age of $2,000-a-Pound Chocolate

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/10/business/10money.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Well, my Valentine loves chocolate, but I wasn’t about to consider these super expensive kinds. Not even the little box from NoKa for $65 was worth it to me. No, you have to know your Valentine and mine finds value and frugality more seductive than expensive purchases.

So what was a cost conscious girl to do? I may be on a beer budget, but my tastes are very champagne… it had to be low cost, yes, but very good quality and preferably very dark chocolate. Trader Joe’s came to the rescue. While there picking up the few things I needed for something else I was making, I found a new product that fit the bill exactly: a box of handmade dark chocolates for $2.99. Should I blush to admit it? Well, I won’t I tell you. Yes, it was down right cheap, but it turned out that they are fabulous chocolates and my Valentine has nearly annihilated the entire box. They are all dark chocolate with different flavors – mocha, orange, mint… and they are truly delicious.

You must try them. I insist. For $2.99 I think I’ll buy my Valentine another box. Maybe he needs one a week. On second thought, that would add up to quite a bit over the course of a year. Why I could get 52 boxes of these chocolates for the cost of one medium sized box of NoKa truffles. I think I’ll take the 52 boxes every time – especially when they are this good.

Trader Joe's
Dark Chocolate Collection
Handcrafted, Premium Dark Chocolate

Costa Rican Single Source Drinking Chocolate

So I finally tried the third Allegro Single Source Drinking Chocolate - along with my willing volunteer tasting panel. So why has it taken me so long to write about it?

Well, it was delicious. Definitely. It was very rich and certainly very chocolate. So far so good, but all very obvious. It was not like the Peruvian or the Columbian - it continued to amaze me by being quite distinctly flavored. Now the hard part. How to describe the rich chocolatiness as something completely distinct and unique. I've been stumped. It has required repeated "tests" of the Costa Rican hot chocolate.

We all liked it. I still like it. My favorite of the three types will remain the Colombian - the espresso of hot chocolates in my book. This Costa Rican was delicious. It reminded me of chocolate pudding, but I couldn't tell you why. Imagine a drinkable and warm chocolate pudding.

Again, I'd have to say recommended with reservations - delicious, chocolaty, but also farely expensive. One of my volunteer tasters has recommended Green and Black's Organic Hot Chocolate. That will be up next in my chocolate testing schedule. Any volunteers?

Penzeys Hot Chocolate Mix

After my stint, a few weeks ago, trying out those rich, delicious and rather pricey single source drinking chocolates I feel compelled to try every other new hot chocolate mix I run into.

Penzey's Hot Chocolate Mix is $2.09 for a 4 oz. jar which is six servings.
available at Penzey stores and from their webstie (wwwpenzeys.com)

This mix has a light chocolate flavor with other flavors mixed in - there is cinnamon and vanilla. There is no chocolate in this mix only cocoa so that accounts for the thinner consistency... this drink is much less like drinking a melted chocolate bar. This is a more beverage like beverage. If you know what I mean.

I liked the taste of it, but I'm guessing not all chocolate lovers will. It is a sweet and spicy drink that is mostly chocolate flavored but the spices definitely change the experience - in a good way for me, but a purist might be distressed by the addition of anything to their chocolate moment. I would also like to point out that it is quite a bit less decadent - only has 1 gram of fat per serving - everything always tastes better without the added weight of guilt thrown-in.

My Favorite Chocolate Pecan Pie

My mom makes this pie every Thanksgiving, but you needn't wait to have it just once a year. The key here is good dark chocolate - the stronger the better as far a I'm concerned. The original recipe called for semi-sweet chocolate chips, but we use bittersweet chunks to ramp up the chocolate punch.

You will need an 8 inch pie plate for this one - it really works best in this size. I don't recommend trying to double the recipe or increase it by half to fit a larger pie plate because you'll run into trouble with getting the proper consistency in the filling.

One 8 inch Chocolate Pecan Pie

Ingredients:

1 pre-baked 8" pie crust, partially baked

1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped pecans (6 oz)
6 oz bittersweet chocolate chips or chunks

1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup sugar
2 extra large eggs
1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled

>Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

> Sprinkle pecans and chocolate evenly into pie shell.

> Combine corn syrup, sugar, and eggs in a medium mixing bowl.

> Add butter to corn syrup mixture and combine thoroughly.

> Pour slowly & evenly iinto pie shell.

> Bake 1 hour.

Chocolate Product Testing

It is a tough job but someone has to do it. Why not me.

The first product we tested (for some odd reason I got a lot of volunteers to help me with this assignment) was chocolate covered cocoa nibs. Here are the details:

Sweetriot
flavor 50 and flavor 65 (there is also flavor 80 but we couldnt' get our hands on that to try it)

flavor 50 is 100% cacao covered with 50% dark chocolate, flavor 65 is 100 % cacao covered with 65% dark chocolate and... well you get the idea.

The candies come in a fetching little tin. The copy on the label is hip and kind of trying to be interesting and fun. The only problem for us was that the pieces are so small - think chocolate covered pop rocks here - that we were not experiencing the intense burst of chocolate flavor we were expecting. The little pieces have a nice crunch, but surprisingly the flavor was just not there.

If you want a little chocolate kick you'd do better carrying Hershey's kisses in your purse than a tin of these. I know that is the ultimate in chocolate heresy to admit, but in this case I'm afraid it is the truth.


Next we went on to test out some new Single Source Drinking Chocolates (that's fancy talk for hot chocolate) by Allegro coffee. These babies are expensive - let me get that off my chest. A package - containing six servings - cost $13 at Whole Foods.

Here are the details:

Allegro coffee
Single Origin Drinking Chocolate
Peruvian 64 and Columbian 53 (there is also a Costa Rican one that I have yet to try)

First off, I expected that this was a marketing gimmick. I thought we'd try these hot chocolates and find them good, but not discernably different from each other. Boy was I wrong. Even the color is different. The Colombian is very dark in color and flavor - it is the chocolate equivalent of espresso. The Peruvian was a lighter shade and a sweeter lighter taste. Both of them were completely delicious and energizing (I was zinging around for a few hours after this testing session). Will I buy them again? Yes, probably. Will I buy them often? Not likely. The cost (in dollars and in calories - each serving contains about 13 grams of fat and that's not including the milk or cream you use) is just too high for me - this is a wonderful and delectable chocolate excursion - a chocolate vacation even - that I might go on once or twice a year. On the other hand, if you are looking for a gift for a chocolate lover in your life these might be just the thing.