Triple-chocolate crunchy cookies

These were an attempt to replicate a store-bought cookie from my childhood for a local cookie contest.  Although they flopped at the contest, my family loves them.  First I make two very crunchy, chocolate cookies with chocolate chips.  Then I sandwich them around a chocolate ganache filling.  For the grownups, I spice the ganache with cinnamon and cayenne.  I also put a little gelatin in the ganache to firm it up, because there's nothing worse than cookie filling that squoozes out the sides when you bite it.

To get the cookies really crispy-crunchy, I used a lot of tricks from this page:  I used white sugar instead of brown, used high-protein flour, melted the butter, and swapped the whole eggs for whites only.  I also added some extra baking soda (as is sometimes done with crackers).  But I ultimately had to resort to double-baking the cookies, biscotti-style, to get them to stay crisp once filled.

In a medium bowl, sift together:

1. 5.25 oz (1 c + 2 T) King Arthur all-purpose flour
2. 1 oz (1/3 c) cocoa powder
3. 3/4 t baking soda
4. 1/4 t salt

In a standing mixer, combine with the paddle:

1. 5.25 oz (3/4 c) granulated sugar
2. 1 stick (8 T) butter, melted
3. 1 egg white
4. 1 t vanilla extract

Mix in the dry ingredients, just until thoroughly combined, followed by

1. 5.25 oz (1 c) chocolate chips

Chill the dough while the oven preheats to 375 F, about 20-30 minutes.  Line three cookie sheets with parchment.  Portion the dough by generous rounded half tablespoons, to give 36 cookies (12 per sheet).  Smash the balls into disks, so the final cookie sandwiches won't be too thick.  Bake each sheet for 14 minutes, one at a time, and let cookies cool on the sheet.  Turn the oven down to 300 F.  (I leave the oven door cracked for ~10 minutes to speed this up.)  Bake the cookies for another 15 minutes to dry them out and make them really crunchy.  You can also consolidate the cookies down to two sheets at this point, and even bake one on the lower rack and one on the other if you're in a hurry.  When they're done, let them cool completely on the cookie sheets.

In the meantime, in a 2-cup Pyrex measuring cup, combine in this order:

1. 1/4 t powdered gelatin (such as Knox)
2. 1/4 t ground cinnamon
3. 1/8 t ground cayenne pepper
4. 1.5 oz heavy cream
5. 6 oz chocolate chips
6. pinch of salt

Microwave on high ~45 seconds, then whisk until smooth.  Let cool on counter until cookies are ready.  Ganache may look slightly oily / broken;  it will be fine, just stir it back together before spreading.  Spread filling on the bottom of one cookie and top with another, to make 18 sandwiches.  Keeps up to a week in a tightly sealed plastic container.

Filled chocolate truffles

I've heard "truffle" used two ways with chocolate -- either simple balls of ganache covered in cocoa / sugar / chopped nuts, or a formed chocolate shell holding some kind of filling.  The former are pretty straightforward, but the latter are generally the domain of professional chocolate shops.  So of course, that's what we wanted to make for our friends and family this Christmas!  Although it takes time, it's not that hard to produce an attractive -- and tasty -- result!  (Flawless is still for the pros, though.)

Ingredients & Equipment

• Couverture chocolate.  This is high quality chocolate containing extra cocoa butter, and is used for the chocolate shell.  The extra fat (cocoa butter) allows the chocolate to be tempered, producing a hard, shiny coat.  Although I haven't tried it myself, the lore is that trying to use grocery-store chocolate for the shell will give poor results.  (For a ganache filling, though, cheaper stuff seems fine to me.)  The best deal I found was $15 + $10 shipping for 1 kg (2.2 lbs) of Callebaut from Golda's Kitchen on Amazon.  I got about 4 dozen truffles per kilogram, but there's always a little waste at the end, so order at least 2 kg.
• Chocolate molds.  These are simple plastic trays that for molding the truffles.  Lots of different sizes are available.  The stated volumes seem to be for solid chocolates, so you'll get more for filled ones.  I bought three 6 x 1 oz molds from Amazon.  More molds make faster work, but more than about four would be hard to manage at one time.
• Instant-read digital thermometer.  Temperature (within 1 degree F) is critical for getting a good temper on the chocolate.  Don't skip this.
• Marble slab / stone counter / sheet pan.  Ideally, you'd have a smooth, hard stone surface for tempering the chocolate.  But I didn't, so I used the back of a cookie sheet.  It's not ideal, but it's certainly workable.  Make sure it's flat and clean.

Tempering the Chocolate


Tempering chocolate consists of melting it completely and then cooling it in a controlled way.  The even cooling causes the fats to solidify in the uniform structure that produces a smooth, hard, shiny surface when the chocolate sets.

If you didn't buy callets (chips), chop the chocolate.  You'll want at least enough to fill all your molds once.  More won't hurt, you can re-use any leftovers.  Melt them in a double boiler with 140 F water, top vessel not touching the water.  Stir gently but continuously -- getting the chocolate over 140 F will scorch it, but you don't want to whip in any air.  Also watch out for water -- even a small amount of water in the chocolate will ruin it.  Keep stirring until the chocolate gets to 115 - 120 F.  (Temperatures here are for dark chocolate;  they vary somewhat for white or milk chocolate.)

Pour most (~3/4) of the chocolate out on your work surface, set the rest aside, off the heat.  Spread it thin to help it cool, and keep folding it back on itself to mix it.  I used an offset spatula in one hand and a metal bench scraper in the other.  When the chocolate gets cool enough, it will abruptly set up into a thick paste.  Scoop this back into your double boiler and stir until smooth.  If the combined chocolate is now down to 82 - 83 F, you're done.  Otherwise, pour some out and repeat -- you'll need less (maybe half) and it will set up faster (since it started off cooler).

The chocolate is now tempered.  (You can test this by dipping a corner of parchment in the paper, folding it back on itself, and freezing for a minute or two.  When set, it should break with a crisp crack.)  But to work with it, you'll want to re-warm it over the double boiler to 87 - 90 F.  Above ~93 F, the chocolate will start to lose its temper, so keep a thermometer in it while you're doing this.  You'll probably need to re-warm the chocolate before each of the following steps.

Pour the warm chocolate into the prepared molds, filling them completely.  It works best if you stop just shy of the rim -- too full and the truffles will have a little rim around the bottom.  Let the molds sit at room temperature for 4 - 5 minutes (no more), then turn them upside down and give a gentle shake over your work surface.  The molten centers should fall out, leaving chocolate shells in the molds.  Freeze the molds for 5 minutes to fully set the shells.  Scoop the chocolate on the work surface back into your double boiler to reuse.

Fill the shells with whatever you like (see below for suggestions).  Fillings should be cool (no more than 80 F) so they don't melt the shells.  If the filling seems thin, freeze for a another 5 minutes before capping.  (Otherwise, the cap chocolate may sink into it!)  To cap, pour a little more tempered couverture chocolate over the filling.  I find shaking the mold gently after pouring each one helps the cap spread out smoothly.  Work as quickly as you can;  the chocolate will want to set up almost immediately.  Freeze the truffles for 15 minutes to fully set them, then gently turn them out of the molds.  They should come out very easily -- I think the freezing makes them pull away from the mold slightly.

We decorated them with edible glitter dust.  We brushed the truffles with a little water to make it stick -- water doesn't seem to hurt them once they're solid.  We also tried colored icing on a later batch, which worked OK, but didn't look quite as good.

Whisky Ganache Filling

In a microwave-safe bowl, combine

1. 8 oz chocolate chips
2. 4 oz (1/2 c) heavy cream

Microwave about 30 seconds, until chocolate is soft.  Stir gently until smooth.  Stir in

1. 2 oz (4 T) Scotch whiskey

Let sit to cool to 80 F or less.

Any sort of liquor can be substituted:  kirsch, Chambord, creme de menthe, triple sec, etc. are all good.  We even considered tequila with candied lime peel and sea salt, but never got around to it.

Cabernet Reduction Filling

This is basically a wine jelly, a filling we invented for my father-in-law.  It's derived from this recipe.  In a small bowl, place

1. 1 packet (0.25 oz) unflavored gelatin, such as Knox
2. 3 T red wine

The wine will hydrate the gelatin.  I found it best to pour the wine over top of it.  In a medium saucepan, combine

1. 1 bottle (750 ml) red wine (3 T reserved above)
2. 6 T sugar

Boil the mix until reduced to 3/4 c (6 fl oz).  Pour it into a Pyrex measuring cup to make sure;  this needs to be pretty accurate, within about a quarter ounce.  Stir in the hydrated gelatin until melted.  This filling will probably still be liquid when you fill the truffles, it takes hours or days to set, but it does eventually set.

Dulce de Leche Filling

This is a wonderful, easy caramel sauce that I love.  Simply submerse an unopened 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk into a saucepan of water, and simmer for 90 minutes.  Do not, under any circumstances, allow the pan to run dry, or you may get an exploding can of hot caramel.  If you keep it at a simmer and keep the pan covered you should have no problem.  The label will probably fall off, but the canned caramel can be stored in the pantry for months.  Just pop the top and fill the chocolate shells when you're finally ready.  Do two or three cans at once so you'll have extra for pound cake, cheesecake, ice cream, etc.

Éclairs with peanut butter pastry cream

Pregnant women like éclairs.  Kind of a lot, actually.  I had been promising Katy I would make her some for a month before I finally got around to it, and as it happened my parents came to visit the next day.  Everybody was so taken with them that Katy and I decided to make more over Christmas, to celebrate my parents' anniversary.

As fancy as they look, the dough for these guys is a five minute proposition.  Really.  Amid some protest, I had Katy do this batch, and she admitted it was really easy.  (Of course, now she knows how to make them for herself, which could be dangerous  :)

There are lots of possibilities for filling, from whipped cream to ice cream.  I tried pudding once, but it was too wet and made the pastry soggy.  The better choice is pastry cream, which is quite similar to pudding but holds up better.  The King Arthur cookbook has a fussy version that requires you to separate eggs and fold in whipped cream, but it has a bunch of great ideas for flavor variations.  On the other hand, the version below is quite simple, but takes to flavoring equally well.  Make the pastry cream 1 - 3 days in advance so it can chill well, and then assembly is fast and easy on the day of.

Peanut butter pastry cream
(based on a recipe from The Advanced Professional Pastry Chef)

In a saucepan, bring to a simmer

1. 2 c milk
2. 1/2 vanilla bean, scraped (or add 1 t vanilla extract at the very end)

Meanwhile, whisk together

1. 4 T cornstarch
2. 4 oz (1/2 c + 1 T) granulated sugar
3. 1/4 t salt
4. 2 eggs

Slowly whisk a third of the hot milk into the egg mixture, then whisk that back into the remainder of the milk.  Bring to a full boil and hold for at least 10 seconds, then remove from heat.  It's important to get it back up to a boil to kill enzymes in the eggs, or they'll slowly digest the cornstarch and un-thicken the cream.  Remove vanilla pod (or add extract).  Whisk in

1. 4 T butter
2. 1/2 c creamy peanut butter (optional)

Press plastic wrap over surface and chill thoroughly.  I mix the eggs up in a 4 c Pyrex measure, then return the finished cream to it for chilling -- cuts down on the dishes to wash, and I figure the boiling-hot cream will safely sterilize any bits of raw egg left in the cup.  This recipe makes about 3 c of pastry cream, though you can stretch it further (if desired) by folding in a cup or two of whipped cream at the end.

Éclair dough (pâte à choux)
(from the King Arthur Baker's Companion)

In a saucepan, bring to a rolling boil

1. 1 c water
2. 1 stick (1/2 c) butter
3. 1/4 t salt

Pull off heat and dump in

1. 5 1/4 oz (1 1/4 c) flour

Return to heat and stir vigorously until the dough comes together into a single mass.  Cook about 1 minute.  Pull off the heat and allow to cool until you can comfortably stick a finger in it (about 140 F), about 5 minutes.  Transfer to a mixer and beat in, one at a time

1. 4 eggs

After beating in the last egg, beat for at least 2 more minutes.  Doing the eggs one at a time and beating the dough at the end are important -- I glossed over this once, and the dough didn't really rise.  The times I remembered, it turned out beautifully.

Transfer the dough to a large zip-top plastic bag, placing it near one of the bottom corners.  Snip away that corner, then pipe out finger-sized pieces of dough onto a baking sheet fitted with parchment paper or a Silpat.  I get three rows of six or seven.  Wet a finger and use it to flatten any little "tails" that are still sticking up where you pulled the bag away.

Bake at 450 F for 15 mintues, then drop the heat to 350 F for another 20 minutes.  Pull out the éclairs, poke their ends with a paring knife to let out any trapped steam, and return to the oven for a final 5 minutes.  Remove and cool on racks.

Chocolate glaze
(King Arthur Baker's Companion)

In the microwave (or over a double boiler) melt together

1. 1 T butter
2. 1 oz unsweetened baking chocolate

Beat these together, then beat in

1. 1 T hot tap water
2. 1/2 c (2 oz) confectioners' sugar

To assemble éclairs, cut the pastries in half horizontally and fill with cream.  Spoon chocolate glaze over top.  (If you want to be generous with the chocolate, make a double batch.)  They keep for several days, but they're really transcendant when they're first made -- after just a few minutes, they start to get a bit soggy.  If possible, fill them just before serving for best effect!

Bûche de Noël (Yule Log cake)

After Katy and I made gingerbread houses for Evan and his friends to decorate, I got to thinking about holiday baking.  I decided it might be fun to try another classic show piece, the yule log -- maybe as a treat to celebrate my parents 35th anniversary when we went down to visit.  Two days later, I got this email from my mom:

Should we make something fabulous for dessert? I've always wanted to try one of these - Buche-de-Noel-with-Marzipan-Mushrooms

Great minds think alike, I guess.  So away we went.  There are lots of recipes on the internet, but some are pretty questionable -- the first cake recipe was a disaster that called for mixing melted chocolate with water, leading to gritty, nasty clumps of seized chocolate in the cake.  (That cake was reincarnated a few days later as a trifle, but that's another story.)  Eventually we cobbled together the necessary components from trusted sources, though, and the result was delicious!  Although I'm not known for, er, pretty food, decorating it was really straightforward too.

Jelly Roll Cake
(from the King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion)

In a stand mixer, whisk until thick and doubled or tripled in volume

1. 4 eggs, at room temperature
2. 3/4 c (5 1/4 oz) granulated sugar

Start the eggs first, then slow add the sugar as the mixer is running.  To quickly get the eggs to room temperature, put them in a bowl and cover with hot tap water for a few minutes.  Mix in

1. 1 t vanilla extract

Sift together

1. 3/4 c (3 oz) all-purpose flour *
2. 3/4 t baking powder
3. 1/4 t salt

Gently whisk the flour mixture into the egg mixture.  If you want a chocolate cake, replace the 3/4 c flour with 1/2 c flour plus 1/4 c cocoa (sifted).  I think the vanilla cake would look more like "wood" under the frosting "bark", but chocolate did work well for me.  Grease a 10" x 15" jelly roll pan, cover the bottom in parchment paper, grease again, and dust with flour (shaking out excess).  This is a very sticky cake -- don't try cutting corners!  Pour in the batter and smooth out to an even layer.  Bake at 400 F until the center is just barely set, about 12 minutes.  Err on the side of underbaking, as an overbaked cake will crack when you try to roll it.
Invert the cake onto a smooth dish towel dusted with powdered sugar (to prevent sticking).  Actually, my cake still stuck, so I'm considering greased wax paper plus powdered sugar next time.  Starting at a short edge, roll up the cake and towel together, and let cool completely on a wire rack.

Rich Chocolate Buttercream
(from The Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook)

Traditional buttercreams require a boiled sugar syrup, but easy buttercreams like this one just whip together butter and powdered sugar.  The double chocolate makes it extra flavorful.

In a double boiler, melt

1. 2 oz unsweetened chocolate
2. 2 oz semisweet chocolate

We used two squares each of Baker's.  You could also probably use the microwave. In a stand mixer, beat until creamy

1. 2 sticks (1 c) butter

Add the melted chocolate and

1. 4 c sifted powdered sugar
2. 1/4 c cocoa, sifted
3. 1/4 c milk
4. 2 t vanilla extract

Beat until creamy and spreadable.

Assembly and Garnish

Once the cake has cooled, unroll and spread evenly with about two-thirds of the frosting.  Leave an inch or two at one of the short ends lightly frosted, as frosting tends to squish forward when the cake is rolled up.  Starting at the other short end, roll the cake back up into a log.

Using a serrated knife, cut off about three inches from one end, at an angle.  (Some people trim both ends, to show off the frosting/cake spiral, but I liked the tree-like look of the crispy cake ends.)  Gently smoosh the cut end up against one side of the roll to make a branch.  Cover the cake in the remaining frosting.  Use the tines of a fork to make a few knots by turning them in a circle, then trace out wood grain by dragging the fork gently along the cake.

We weren't up for making marzipan holly or meringue mushrooms this year, so we used some real holly leaves (washed) with some fresh cranberries that were rolled in sugar while still wet.  (Holly berries are poisonous, so just in case, we removed the leaves after taking the picture.)  Use a strainer to dust a little powdered sugar over the top to create the snow effect, if desired.

Mom's meringue cookies

These were a Christmas tradition growing up -- airy shells of sugar filled with chocolate. They're delicate, crispy-crumbly, mostly dry but just a bit chewy in the middle. The recipe comes from my mother and her mother, and who knows before that. Prep is pretty simple and the ingredients are few, which may explain why Mom made hundreds of these for teacher gifts, family gatherings, and holiday parties.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip to until very foamy, but not yet beginning to peak (about 1 minute)

1. 2 egg whites

Any fat at all (greasy bowl, trace of yolk, etc) will keep the whites from reaching the appropriate volume.  Slowly add sugar, and whip at high speed until soft-to-medium peaks (this may take several minutes)

1. 2/3 c sugar (4 5/8 oz)

At medium speed, whip just until incorporated

1. 1 t vanilla extract
2. 1 t cream of tartar (can be omitted in a pinch)

With a rubber spatula, fold in

1. 1 c chocolate chips (6 oz)
2. 1/2 c pecans, chopped to the size of the chips (optional; I leave these out)

Portion out by level tablespoons into 3 dozen cookies on two well-buttered cookie sheets. (Parchment paper or a Silpat is even better.) The cookies don't spread, but will approximately double in volume when baked, so leave about 1.5" between. Place sheets in a preheated 350 F oven and immediately turn off the heat. Leave cookies in the closed oven overnight or at least 8 hours. They will be dry and crisp, but not browned.

My mother-in-law says that her mother made these with chopped berries, so I may try that next!