chocolate

the cats have it: chocolate mint cookies

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Many times I have tried and semi-succeeded in making chocolate cookies dipped in melted minty chocolate.

Thanks to a colleague scoping out different products when she visits the US and kindly bringing them back for me to try, I had a bag of Andes chocolate mint baking bits. (If you, like me, do not live somewhere that such a product is readily available, you can always get some whole Andes mints or After Eight mints, which are much easier to find in northern Europe and break them into little pieces.)

Chocolate and mint can be a very popular flavor combination, so I decided I might as well make some chocolate-mint cookies that do not involve the rigmarole of the aforementioned chocolate-dipped cookies.

I do not have a foolproof chocolate-based cookie (something similar in theory to basic chocolate chip cookies dough), so I decided to try out a recipe that I was going to make for Halloween… a chocolate cookie that could then be formed into a black cat face, decorated with candy corn and red hots. Naturally this did not happen because I cannot find candy corn on a regular basis and cannot find red hots at all. The recipe, though, seemed simple and like exactly what I wanted.

Chocolate cookies with Andes mint baking pieces

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar (I used slightly less)
2 whole eggs
3 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups flour (I used 2.5 cups instead, to make this dough a little less stiff)
1 cup cocoa (I used slightly more to make this a bit more chocolaty)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 bag of Andes mint baking pieces (or broken up pieces of other chocolate mint candy)

Preheat oven to 350F/175-180C.

Mix butter and sugar well. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda; gradually add dry mixture to the creamed mixture. Mix in the mint candy. Roll dough into small balls. Place on parchment-lined baking sheets.

Bake at 350°F (about 175-180C) for 10-12 minutes or until cookies are set. Remove from the oven, let sit for a few minutes, remove to racks to cool.

The recipe seems to have worked perfectly. Only tomorrow will the real test occur (taste test in the office)!

(Many apologies once more for the (lack of) quality of the pictures.)

The good goo: Chocolate-Rice-Krispie-treat mice

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Baked goods: Chocolate peanut butter bundt cake

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Apparently, November is bundt month. I had no idea. The 15th is bundt day. I recently learned the entire history of the bundt pan. Fascinating stuff.

I decided to bake this because chocolate and peanut butter are a nice combination but one I rarely see in Europe, given the anti-peanut butter feelings most Europeans harbor. This was an experiment since it was my first time attempting this, but most of those who ate some have reported enjoyment.

CHOCOLATE BUNDT CAKE WITH PEANUT BUTTER FILLING

For the filling

2/3 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon butter, softened
3 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour

To make the filling

Beat peanut butter, cream cheese and butter until combined. Add egg yolks, one at a time, and beat until combined. Mix in vanilla. Mix in sugar and flour until combined. Fit a pastry bag with a large plain tip and scoop the filling into the bag. (Or put into plastic Ziploc-type bag and cut a hole in one of the corners for piping.) Refrigerate until ready to use.

For the cake

1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoons salt
12 tablespoons cocoa powder
3/4 cup boiling water
3 ounces (85 grams) bittersweet chocolate, chopped
3/4 cups sour cream
3/4 cups butter, softened
1 2/3 cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla

Preheat oven to 350F/175C. Grease/flour a bundt cake pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a medium metal or glass bowl, whisk cocoa and boiling water together. Add in chopped chocolate and whisk until smooth. Mix in sour cream.

In large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in eggs, one at a time, and then beat in vanilla. Alternately mix in the dry ingredients and the cocoa mixture, beginning and ending with the flour. Mix until just combined with each addition.

Spoon a little less than half of the batter into bottom of the bundt pan. Using the pastry bag of peanut butter mixture, carefully pipe a ring of the filling over the center of the chocolate batter. Pour the remaining cake batter on top and gently tap the pan to remove air bubbles. Do not let the peanut butter touch the sides.

Bake until top springs back when lightly touched or a toothpick comes out mostly clean with a few crumbs attached – about 50-60 minutes. Remove from the oven and set on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Place a wire cooling rack on top of the cake and carefully turn over – remove the pan and let cool completely.

Baked Goods in B2B: Cinnamon cookies

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I had three leftover egg yolks to use and a lot of chocolate frosting. Cinnamon and chocolate being a great flavor combination, I decided to make these very simple cinnamon cookies and sandwich two together with the leftover chocolate buttercream.

CINNAMON COOKIES
After chilling the dough, preheat oven to 350F/175C.
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
3 egg yolks
2 tablespoons milk
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoons salt

In a medium bowl, combine butter and sugar. Beat in the egg yolks, then stir in the milk. Combine flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt. Stir dry mixture into the wet ingredient mixture. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill for at least two hours.

Preheat the oven. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface. Roll to about ¼ inch thickness. Cut into shapes and place about 1 inch apart on cookie sheets. (I cut into circles using the edge of a glass).
Bake 10-12 minutes. Let sit on pan for a minute or two after removing from oven. Transfer to wire rack for thorough cooling.

Baked Goods in B2B: Peanut butter cups

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Not technically a baked good, but candy. Also not necessarily a favorite with everyone in the world, since peanut butter is a love/hate thing. But even peanut-butter naysayers often enjoy this small treat. Very simple to make.

PEANUT BUTTER CUPS
Set out mini muffin cups (paper or aluminum).

12 ounces (340g) milk chocolate, to melt
1 cup peanut butter (crunchy or smooth)
½ cup powdered sugar

Melt chocolate in microwave or double boiler. Using a small spoon, put a small amount of chocolate in the bottom and up the sides of the muffin cups. Coat entire inside if possible. Put in fridge to harder. Over low heat, combine peanut butter and powdered sugar. Spoon a small amount into cups. Refrigerate one hour. Add the rest of the melted chocolate over the tops of the cups. Chill.

Baked Goods in B2B: Basic chocolate cake

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Baked Goods in B2B: Chocolate biscotti

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