I am a bit surprised that I never blogged on this particular recipe, adapted over the years from several sources, including a version from Phil’s family. It uses a small amount of baking soda, that makes the cookie puff a little bit but not spread too much. My current favorite version includes ground star anise, I am kind of smitten by its flavor.
GINGERBREAD CUTOUT COOKIES (from The Bewitching Kitchen)
375g flour 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp salt 2 tsp ground ginger 1 + 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp nutmeg 1/2 tsp cloves 1/2 tsp cardamoon 1/2 tsp ground star anise 3/4 cup brown sugar 3/4 cup butter (170g) 1/2 cup molasses 1 egg
Mix flour, baking soda and spices in a large bowl. Reserve.
To a mixer, add butter at room temperature and brown sugar. Beat until smooth, 2 to 3 minutes. Add molasses, mix until incorporated. Add egg and mix. Add the flour mixture in two steps, mixing at low speed.
Place dough in fridge for 1 hour to overnight. Roll out, cut shapes, bake preferably from frozen for 10 min, at 350F.
I love the smell of these cookies while baking and also as they sit later at room temperature. The star anise is a fantastic addition, a tip I got a few years ago from Haniela.
Today I share three delicious recipes that center on that dreamy ingredient that almost every human being loves: chocolate. I have known a few members of our species who claim to “hate” chocolate, and my hope is that they get their genomes sequenced to solve the mystery. Anyway, I digress. The first recipe comes from my favorite baker-instructor-guru, Helen Fletcher. These are beyond amazing and not for the faint of heart. Rich. Decadent. Luscious. Special. They are Double Chocolate Truffled Muffins!
For the truffle component: ½ cup heavy cream 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (30 grams) 2 tablespoons granulated sugar (25 grams) 5 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate (140 grams) 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
for the muffin component: 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour (210 grams) 1 cup Dutch cocoa (85 grams) ¼ teaspoon baking powder ¾ teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt (I use table salt) 1 ⅓ cups brown sugar, either dark or light (265 grams) ½ cup whole milk ¾ cup canola or vegetable oil 2 large eggs 1 cup sour cream (225 grams) 1 tablespoon vanilla 1 teaspoon instant coffee or espresso powder 1 cup chocolate chunks (114 grams)
Start by making the truffle filling: Heat the cream, butter and sugar together in a small saucepan just until steamy. Do not let it come to a boil. Submerge the chocolate under the cream mixture and let it sit for 3 or 4 minutes. Whisk until smooth, making sure to get into the corners. Using a rubber spatula, go around the edges of the pan and bottom to make sure all of the chocolate is incorporated. Add the vanilla. Cover the surface with plastic wrap and set aside to cool.
Make the muffins: Line 9 jumbo muffin holes with paper liners. Set aside. Heat the oven to 425°F.
Sift the flour into a large bowl. Sift the cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt on top of the flour. Whisk together to mix well. In a very small bowl stir together the coffee or espresso and vanilla until the coffee or espresso is dissolved.
In a third smaller bowl, whisk together the milk, canola oil, eggs, sour cream, and coffee mixture. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and stir with a spoon or fold together with a rubber spatula just until everything is mixed well. Do not over mix.
With a #8 disher/scooper or a ½ cup measure, drop the batter into the paper lined muffin cups for the jumbo muffins. Top generously with the chocolate chunks. Bake at 425°F for exactly 6 minutes for the jumbo and lower the temperature to 350°F. Continue to bake for about 20 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Cool the muffins.
Starting about ½” from the edge of a muffin, insert a paring knife slanted towards the middle of the muffin and go all the way around the muffin. Remove the wedge shaped cake and set aside intact. To enlarge the hole for more filling, use a small spoon and scoop out additional cake.
Fit a piping bag with a ½” tip, fill with the truffle filling and pipe into the hole almost up to the top. Alternately, spoon the filling in. Replace the wedge shape piece pushing it into the filling.
Comments: Please make sure to read Helen’s blog post about them, as she gives detailed explanation of their origin and how she adapted the recipe to make it more user-friendly without any loss of deliciousness (I can testify to that, they are spectacular). The pictures do not make it justice, as so often is the case with brown food. Their texture is superb, and that filling is unreal! Thank you thank you thank you, Helen!
.
Moving on to the second recipe, credit goes to my beloved husband, who suggested that instead of coating Oreos with chocolate, I could do small pieces of brownies. I used a very small pan from Wilton to bake them. Without further ado…
1 cup all-purpose flour (130g) 1 cup granulated sugar (200g) 1/3 cup cocoa powder (35g) 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup vegetable oil 1 egg, lightly beaten 3 tablespoons milk 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
to coat: compound chocolate like Candy Melts or Almond Bark to decorate: sprinkles (optional)
Heat the oven to 350°F. Prepare the pan with baking spray.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Add vegetable oil, egg, milk and vanilla extract; stir well until smooth. Divide batter evenly between cavities, smoothing into an even layer (about 1 tablespoon per cavity). Bake for 13-16 minutes, or until edges are set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean. Cool in pan on a cooling rack 5-10 minutes, loosen edges if necessary, and remove. Let cool completely on the rack.
Melt the compound chocolate until smooth using gentle power in the microwave. If too thick, add a small amount of coconut oil (refined). Coat the bites and decorate right away, or after setting, if going with drizzles of melted compound chocolate.
Comments: I got this pan at a sale in Jo-Ann store in town, and of course, could not resist it (info here). You can use silicone pans, or any other type of pan that makes mini-cakes. To coat, you can use two different methods. First, just melt the chocolate in a bowl and dip the cake to coat. That will give a rustic appearance, and you can add sprinkles right away. Second method will require you to clean the pan, then add melted chocolate in each cavity and quickly place the cake inside, pressing a bit so that the chocolate moves up along the sides. You can coat the bottom or not. Let it harden, remove from the pan, and if desired, make decorations with swirls of melted chocolate, I used white for that. Below you can see the different outcome.
And now for the last recipe, what might seem like your regular chocolate chip cookie, but it is truly special, due to the inclusion of an unexpected ingredient: buttermilk. You must give this recipe a try!
BUTTERMILK CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
BUTTERMILK CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES (slightly modified from Yesterfood blog)
2 cups flour (260g) 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup butter, unsalted, melted 3/4 cup cocoa powder (75g) 1 + 1/2 cups sugar (300g) 1 teaspoon vanilla 2/3 cup buttermilk 1 (12 oz.) bag semi-sweet chocolate chips (about 2 cups)
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Set aside. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine. Set aside. In a large bowl, whisk the cocoa powder and melted butter until very smooth. Stir in the sugar, vanilla, and buttermilk until well combined.
Add the flour mixture to the chocolate mixture in thirds, stirring each time just until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
Scoop cookie dough onto prepared cookie sheets by heaping tablespoonfuls about 2″ apart. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until cookies are puffed, edges are set, and center is still moist. Place cookie sheets on wire racks for 5 minutes, then remove cookies onto wire racks to cool completely. Store tightly covered.
Comments: These cookies will definitely please any chocolate lover out there. It almost feels as if you are having a brownie. Excellent texture, I reduced the sugar from the published version and I think it was a good move. I do hope you give it a try…
So, that’s all for now, three real nice recipes celebrating chocolate!
These were made with a colleague from our department in mind, it was a big Birthday for our IT wizard who is also a lover of German Chocolate Cake. I decided to make a filling that started as a brigadeiro would, but with coconut for good measure. Some toasted pecans in the center. And a coating with chocolate. Gold luster powder to add the mandatory bling, as if you don’t sparkle on a Birthday there is something wrong with you!
GERMAN CHOCOLATE MACARONS (from the Bewitching Kitchen)
For the shells: 200g powdered sugar 115 g almond flour, preferably super fine 115 g egg whites at room temperature (approx. 4 eggs) 1/8 tsp of cream of tartar (optional) 100 g granulated sugar ¼ tsp vanilla paste or extract brown and a tiny bit of red gel food color
Line 3 heavy baking sheets with parchment/baking paper or Silpat mats. Layer the powdered sugar and almond flour in a food processor. Pulse until the mixture looks like fine meal, about 12 pulses. Pass through a sieve and transfer to a small bowl or to a sheet of parchment/baking paper. Set aside.
Place the egg whites and cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Make sure that the bowl and the whisk are impeccably clean. Starting on medium speed, whip the whites with the cream of tartar until they look like light foam. The whites should not appear liquid. The foam will be light and should not have any structure.
Slowly rain in the granulated sugar in five additions, trying to aim the stream between the whisk and the side of the bowl. Turn the speed up to high. Continue to whip the meringue until it is soft and shiny. It should look like marshmallow creme (marshmallow fluff). Add the vanilla. Whip the egg whites until the mixture begins to dull and the lines of the whisk are visible on the surface of the meringue. Check the peak. It should be firm. Transfer the whites to a medium bowl, add the gel color.
Fold in the almond flour mixture in two increments. Paint the mixture halfway up the side of the bowl, using the flat side of a spatula. Scrape the mixture down to the center of the bowl. Repeat two or three times, then check to see if the mixture slides slowly down the side of the bowl. Put the mixture in a piping bag fitted with your choice of piping tip (round, ¼ or ½ inch in diameter or 6 – 12 mm). Pipe circles. Slam each sheet hard four to six times on the counter/worktop. Let the unbaked macarons dry until they look dull but not overly dry. Drying time depends on humidity. In a dry climate, the macarons can dry in 15 to 20 minutes; in a humid climate, it can take 35 to 40 minutes.
While the macarons are drying, heat the oven to 300 F. Bake one sheet at a time on the middle rack. Check in 11 minutes. If the tops slide or move (independently of the ‘feet’ when you gently twist the top), then bake for 2 to 3 more minutes. Check one or two. If they move when gently touched, put them back in the oven for 1 to 2 more minutes until they don’t move when touched. Let the macaroons cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pan. The macarons should release without sticking.
Assemble the macarons: find two macarons similar in size and add a good amount of filling to the bottom of one of them. Place the other on top and squeeze gently to take the filling all the way to the edge. Store in the fridge for 24 hours for perfect texture.
For the filling: 1 can condensed milk 1 tablespoon butter 1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut 1 tbsp cocoa powder toasted pecans, chopped fine melted dark chocolate or candy melts toasted sweetened coconut golden luster spray (optional)
Before filling the shells, melt chocolate or candy melts and dip ONE shell that will be the top half way into it. Immediately sprinkle toasted coconut on top.
Make a “brigadeiro” mixture by adding condensed milk, butter, cocoa powder and coconut to a sauce pan. Heat in medium heat constantly stirring until the mixture releases from the bottom of the pan. Transfer to a bowl and let it cool, but do not refrigerate. You can pipe it on the shells if it is still slightly warm, but not too hot.
Add a circle of coconut brigadeiro to a bottom shell, sprinkle a little bit of pecans in the center. Cover with the decorated and fully set top shell. Spray gold luster if you like. Place shells in the fridge overnight.
Comments: I normally prefer not to add cocoa to the shells, just to the filling, because macarons are finicky enough and sometimes “stuff happens” when you add cocoa. I had never used brigadeiro to fill them, and from the feedback I got, it worked quite well. I did not have a macaron but tried the brigadeiro mixture and that is one good tasting brigadeiro, I might repeat it and roll it like the traditional stuff.
Something different for you today, a little glimpse on all that happened this past month in my little cookie blog. If you like to learn more about the different designs, click on the link above each photo.
Bewitching Kitchen 