Mocha Ice Pops

One of my favorite beverages is an iced mocha, so I was thrilled to find a simple recipe for Mocha Ice Pops in the July/Aug. issue of Eating Well. The recipe takes only a few minutes to prepare and the result is a low calorie, cold and refreshing treat . . . it is definitely more icy than creamy, and somehow manages to taste both light and rich. Highly recommended for coffee/mocha fans!

Mocha Ice Pops
2 1/2 cups hot brewed coffee
5 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup half-and-half
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
pinch of salt

Whisk together coffee, sugar, and cocoa in a medium bowl until sugar has dissolved. Stir in half-and-half, vanilla and salt until combined.

Divide mixture among freezer-pop molds, insert sticks and freeze until completely firm, about 6 hours. Run mold under hot water briefly to remove ice pops from mold.

Makes 10 three-ounce popsicles. Per serving: 54 calories, 3 g fat, 9 mg cholesterol, 7 g carb, 1 g protein, 0 g fiber.
- Recipe from Eating Well magazine

BB: Outrageous Brownies

As strange as it may sound, given my love for chocolate, I did not love these brownies. Maybe I did something wrong . . . I have made brownies from The Barefoot Contessa's boxed brownie mix a couple of times, and I think the boxed mix turns out better than making the recipe from scratch. Specifically, I didn't enjoy biting into a piece of kosher salt in the middle of a fudgy brownie. Normally I think salty and sweet is about the best combination possible (and I love using kosher salt in some sweets, like oatmeal cookies), but to encounter crunchy salt in a fudgy brownie . . . just wasn't for me. Making this recipe was not a good use of my time - or the ingredients. Live and learn . . .

Outrageous Brownies
1 pound unsalted butter
1 pound plus 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips, divided
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
6 extra-large eggs
3 tablespoons instant coffee powder
2 tablespoons real vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided (1 cup for batter and 1/4 cup in the chips and nuts)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups diced walnut pieces

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 13 by 18 by 1 1/2-inch sheet pan two disposable 11 x 9 x 1 1/2 pans.

Melt together the butter, 1 pound chocolate chips, and unsweetened chocolate on top of a double boiler. Cool slightly. Stir together the eggs, instant coffee, vanilla and sugar. Stir in the warm chocolate mixture and cool to room temperature.

Stir together 1 cup of the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the walnuts and 12 ounces of chocolate chips with 1/4 cup flour to coat. Then add to the chocolate batter. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake for about 30 minutes, or until tester just comes out clean. Halfway through the baking, rap the pan against the oven shelf to allow air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough. Do not over-bake! Cool thoroughly, refrigerate well and cut into squares.
- Recipe from The Barefoot Contessa, via foodnetwork.com

Creamy Chocolate Ice Cream

I got an ice cream maker last summer, but until a few weeks ago I had only tried a few ice cream recipes. Now I'm making up for lost time, making about one batch a week (and sharing most of it!). I thought this ice cream was pretty delicious . . . but some people (not naming names, you know who you are) thought it was "too creamy." Isn't ice cream supposed to be creamy?

Creamy Chocolate Ice Cream
2 cups heavy cream
3 tbsp. Dutch-process cocoa (unsweetened)
5 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt
5 large egg yolks
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Warm 1 cup of the cream with cocoa powder in a medium saucepan, whisking to blend. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer at a very low boil for 30 seconds, whisking constantly. Remove from heat; add chopped chocolate and stir until smooth. Stir in remaining cream. Pour mixture into a large bowl, scraping the saucepan as thoroughly as possible. Set a mesh strainer on top of the bowl.

Warm the milk, sugar, and salt in the same saucepan. In a separate meduim bowl, whisk together egg yolks. Slowly pour warm milk into egg yolks, whisking constantly (sloooowly - you don't want to cook the eggs with the warm milk!). Scrape warmed egg yolk mixture back into saucepan.

Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the chocolate mixture until smooth, then stir in vanilla. Stir until cool over an ice bath.

Chill mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze in ice cream maker according to mfg. directions. Store in a tightly sealed freezer container.
- Recipe from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

Triple Chocolate Cookies

I took a little break from blogging - but I'm back now with a really good recipe to share. These triple chocolate cookies are kind of a cross between a cookie, a brownie, and fudge. They are sure to satisfy any chocolate craving, no matter how intense!
Triple Chocolate Cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
16 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
10 tablespoons butter, softened to room temperature
1 ½ cups packed light brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
1 ½ cups chocolate chips (I used dark chocolate, you could also use milk, semi-sweet or white)

Whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.
Melt the chocolate in the microwave or in a small saucepan. In a small bowl, beat the eggs and vanilla lightly with a fork; set aside.

Beat the butter at medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Beat in the sugars
until combined, about 45 seconds; the mixture will look granular. Reduce the speed to low and gradually beat in the egg mixture until incorporated, about 45 seconds. Add the chocolate in a steady stream and beat until combined, about 40 seconds. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. With the mixer at low speed, add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Add the chocolate chips. Do not overbeat. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature until the consistency is fudge-like, about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 sheets with parchment paper or silpat liner. Roll the dough into 1 ½ inch balls and place them on the cookie sheets, spacing them about 1 ½ inches apart.

Bake until the edges of the cookies have just begun to set but the centers are still very soft, about 10-12 minutes, rotating the baking sheets from top to bottom halfway through the baking time. Cool the cookies on the sheets about 10 minutes or until set and transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Continue process with remaining dough, or refrigerate for up to 3 days before baking remainder of cookies.
- adapted from The New Best Recipe (Cook's Illustrated)

And . . . way to go Mizzou Tigers!

Chocolate Chocolate Cake

My husband's birthday was this week . . . great reason to bake a cake! There are several cake recipes in my "to try" file, but I needed something that would come together quickly (we've been at a basketball tournament every night this week), so I chose this recipe, which starts with a cake mix.

I found the recipe a few weeks ago at The Sisters' Cafe and shared it with Tressa and Sierra. Sierra entered a variation of this recipe into a "strangest ingredient" contest - she substituted grated spam for the oil (and used a strawberry cake mix, cheesecake pudding mix, and omitted the chocolate). She won the contest - and guess what? The cake was actually really good! Of course, I baked my cake without spam, but I'm still surprised at how good Sierra's spam cake tasted!

Chocolate Bundt Cake

1 devils food cake mix
1 pkg. instant pudding mix (the recipe calls for chocolate; I used vanilla)
4 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
½ cup warm water
½ cup oil (I used canola)
Optional: 1 ½ cups semi sweet chocolate chips

Place all ingredients except chocolate chips in a large mixing bowl. Blend with electric mixer 1 minute. Stir down sides. Continue to mix on medium speed for 2-3 minutes. Stir in chocolate chips (if using). Pour batter into prepared bundt pan. Bake 45-50 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool 20 minutes. Invert onto serving platter.

frosting
1 stick (8 tbsp.) unsalted butter (not margarine!)
4 tbsp. cocoa powder
1/3 cup milk
3 to 4 cups sifted powdered sugar

Melt butter in medium saucepan over low heat. Whisk in cocoa and milk. Bring mixture just to boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Beat in powdered sugar with electric mixer until thickened and smooth. Pour warm frosting over warm cake. Allow frosting to cool before serving or covering for storage.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing

Last spring, on a morning television show (Today Show or Good Morning America), I caught a glimpse of what they were calling "the best chocolate cake EVER," but didn't hear the source of the recipe. After a quick Google search, I found it on the Epicurious website. I printed it, filed it and forgot about it . . . until recently, when I needed a chocolate cupcake recipe!

I'm sure the original recipe does make a fabulous cake, because the cupcakes were awesome! My only minor complaint is this: they were a bit too light and fluffy for cupcakes (translation: eat with a fork, not with your hands). However, this cake recipe does live up to the hype, so give it a try!

Chocolate cake (or cupcakes)

3 ounces fine-quality semisweet chocolate
1 1/2 cups hot brewed coffee
3 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
3 large eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups well-shaken buttermilk
3/4 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 300°F. and grease pans. Line bottoms with rounds of wax paper and grease paper (or line muffin pans with paper liners).

Finely chop chocolate and in a bowl combine with hot coffee. Let mixture stand, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.

Into a large bowl sift together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In another large bowl with an electric mixer beat eggs until thickened slightly and lemon colored (about 3 minutes with a standing mixer or 5 minutes with a hand-held mixer). Slowly add oil, buttermilk, vanilla, and melted chocolate mixture to eggs, beating until combined well. Add sugar mixture and beat on medium speed until just combined well. Divide batter between pans and bake in middle of oven until a tester inserted in center comes out clean, 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes - or - divide batter between muffin cups and bake until tester comes out clean (begin testing at 25 minutes).

Cool layers (or cupcakes) completely in pans on racks. Run a thin knife around edges of pans and invert layers onto racks. Carefully remove wax paper and cool layers completely. Cake layers may be made 1 day ahead and kept, wrapped well in plastic wrap, at room temperature (I froze the cupcakes for 2 weeks). - from Epicurious.com (see the original recipe here)

Cream Cheese Icing

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1 (8 oz pkg) cream cheese, room temperature
3-3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1. With an electric mixer, mix the butter and cream cheese together, about 3 minutes on medium speed until very smooth. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure even mixing.

2. Add the vanilla extract and mix. Slowly add the powdered sugar. Keep adding until you reach the consistency and sweetness you desire.

3. Spread or pipe on to cupcakes.

- Adapted from Simply Recipes

Chocolate Chess Pie

Now that you know how to make pie crust, here is a very simple and very, very delicious pie recipe:Chocolate Chess Pie

4 heaping tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup pecans (halves or pieces)
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup unsweetened evaporated milk
optional: 1/2 cup coconut

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix all ingredients and pour into 9-inch unbaked pie shell. Bake 30 minutes. Cool and serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

(Note to my friend B.: this would be a great way to use that pie crust I left in your freezer. It is very easy and wonderful . . . just get the pie crust out of the freezer about 30-45 minutes before you bake the pie.)

My Halloween Tradition

What we lacked in trick-or-treaters, we made up for in chocolate cookies! Last fall I found an awesome chocolate cookie recipe on Orangette (the recipe is originally from Alice Medrich) and made them on Halloween. They are so tasty and so easy - and not as bad for you as lots of chocolate cookies . . . so they have officially become my Halloween tradition. I also made a variation of this recipe with pumpkin. The variation recipe can be found here; I followed it exactly up to the point where I rolled the balls of dough in powdered sugar prior to baking.

Ken liked the pumpkin-chocolate cookies but I wasn't as crazy about them . . . I guess I am a purist when it comes to chocolate (I can't stand the thought of chocolate + raspberry or chocolate + orange . . . but pumpkin + chocolate doesn't seem quite as bad . . .). In celebration of Halloween and pure chocolate, here is the recipe:

Chewy Cocoa Cookies
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
4 tbsp. (½ stick) unsalted butter
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar
7 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup plain yogurt (sour cream may be substituted)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
½ cup chocolate chips (or other mix-in)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone liner.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

Place the butter in a medium microwave-safe bowl, and microwave briefly, until just melted. Add the sugars, and sift in the cocoa. Stir to blend well. The mixture will be somewhat thick and pasty, like wet sand. Add the yogurt and vanilla and stir to mix thoroughly. Add the dry flour mixture, and stir to just combine. Add the chocolate chips and stir to incorporate.

Drop the dough by generous tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheet. You should be able to fit about 8 or 9 cookies, nicely spaced, on a standard sheet pan. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, or until the tops of the cookies have crackled slightly and look set. Transfer the sheet pan to a wire rack, and cool the cookies on the pan for 10 minutes. Transfer them to the rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough. - from Orangette, originally from Alice Medrich

The jury is still out: pumpkin swirl brownies

I was very excited to try these Pumpkin-Swirl Brownies and made them for last week's Friday Night Football tailgate. They were good, but not fantastic; I'm still looking for some good recipes to help alleviate my pumpkin baking obsession. The tailgate crowd wasn't quite sure what to think of the brownies. Some thought they were good, some just thought they were weird. One thought they'd be better with vanilla whipped cream on top. It was evident, however, that they were not the best thing I've ever baked. That's okay, not everything can be the best thing you've ever baked!

Pumpkin-Swirl Brownies

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for pan

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 3/4 cups sugar

4 large eggs

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1 can solid-pack pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling!)

1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch square baking pan or dish. Line bottom of pan with parchment paper; butter lining.

Melt chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally until smooth.Whisk together flour, baking powder, cayenne, and salt in a large bowl; set aside.

Put sugar, eggs, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; beat until fluffy and well combined, 3 to 5 minutes. Beat in flour mixture.Divide batter between two medium bowls (about 2 cups per bowl). Stir chocolate mixture into one bowl. In other bowl, stir in pumpkin, oil, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Transfer half of chocolate batter to prepared pan smoothing top with a rubber spatula. Top with half of pumpkin batter. Repeat to make one more chocolate layer and one more pumpkin layer. Work quickly so batters don't set.With a small spatula or a table knife, gently swirl the two batters to create a marbled effect. Sprinkle with nuts.

Bake until set, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack. Cut into 16 squares.
- Recipe originally from Martha Stewart; I saw it on How to Eat a Cupcake

Peanut Butter Cup Brownies

I made these peanut butter cup brownies to take to the football game last Friday night. There is a tradition of tailgating for high school football games in our small town. The weather - and the team's performance - left a lot to be desired, but at least we had some good food!

This is a "no recipe" post. Simply prepare your favorite brownies (either from a recipe or a mix), bake them in muffin pans, and insert a peanut butter cup during the last 5 minutes of baking. Yum!

Post script: Be creative with this! Use other bite-sized candies . . . or bake the brownies in a regular pan and "tile" the top with squares of Ghirardelli chocolate (the peanut butter-filled squares are good for this!) . . . oh, and if you must use a brownie mix, use either the Barefoot Contessa brownie mix or a Ghirardelli brownie mix (widely available in grocery stores, even here in rural Missouri).

Tuxedo Cake

Mmm . . . this is an awesome cake! It is from The Pastry Queen (Rebecca Rather in Fredericksburg, Texas). We visited her bakery-cafe when our friends Matthew and Gretchen got married. I thought this Tuxedo Cake would be a perfect treat for our third anniversary - and it was! Ken loved it (and so did I)!

Although it does require a little advance planning (mostly to cool before and between frosting), it is really pretty simple to make. And the results are definitely worth all the work and dirty dishes.

Tuxedo Cake
Cake
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 cups water
1 cup canola oil
4 cups sugar
1 cup [high quality] unsweetened cocoa powder
4 cups flour
4 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 tbsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. vanilla

Whipped Cream Frosting
4 cups heavy whipping cream, well chilled
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar

Chocolate Glaze
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup Lyle's Golden Syrup
2 tsp. vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottom of three 9-inch or two 10-inch cake pans with parchment paper, grease with butter and dust with flour (or spray with Baker's Joy).
2. Combine butter, water, and canola oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, stir together sugar, cocoa, and flour. When butter has melted, pour the butter mixture over the sugar mixture; whisk until smooth. Whisk in eggs, one at a time, then whisk in buttermilk. Whisk in baking soda, salt, and vanilla all at once. Transfer batter to prepared pans.
3. Stagger cake pans in the oven so that no layer is directly over another.
Bake 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Layers may be done at different times; monitor carefully.
4. Remove cakes from oven, cool about 15 minutes before inverting on to baking racks. Cool the cakes completely, at least 2 hours, before frosting (I cooled the cakes overnight in the refrigerator, in the cake pans).
5. For frosting: Using a mixer with the whisk attachment, whip cream on high speed until soft peaks form. Add powdered sugar and whip until thoroughly combined. On a platter, frost first layer of cake, add and frost second layer (repeat with third, if applicable), then frost sides. Refrigerate at least 1 hour to allow whipped cream frosting to stabilize.
6. For glaze: Place chocolate in a medium bowl. Heat cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until it is very hot and just beginning to steam. Pour hot cream over the chocolate; stir until chocolate has completely melted. Stir in syrup and vanilla. Allow glaze to cool for 10 minutes (not longer, as it will become too stiff to pour). Slowly pour glaze over cake, making sure to cover top of cake completely.
7. Refrigerate the cake until the glaze is set and the whipped cream frosting is firm, at least 1 hour. Slice cake with a long knife, dipping in hot water between each slice. Cake will keep 2-3 days in refrigerator.
- Recipe from The Pastry Queen

Notes: This recipe made enough for 3 layers of cake (I froze the third) and 12 cupcakes. I also had WAY too much whipped cream frosting (but I only frosted 2 layers and 4 cupcakes).

tiger cake: a shout out to my alma mater

The University of Missouri's College of Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources (CAFNR) has a new alumni page on their website. This is relevant to Kenzie's Kitchen for two reasons - first, because I'm a CAFNR grad . . and well, I'm the author of this blog; and second, because the new page has links to alumni blogs, including mine! How cool is that? Of course, a tiger cake is only appropriate to celebrate the new alumni page.

Tiger Cake
From Alice Medrich's Bittersweet

Ingredients:
1/2 cup natural cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
1 cup flavorful extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon finely ground white pepper
5 cold large eggs
1 cup cold milk


Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10 to 12-cup Bundt pan (or used two 6-cup loaf pans, lined with parchment).

In a small bowl, whisk the cocoa, sugar, and water together until well blended. Set aside.

Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt thoroughly and sift together onto a piece of wax paper. Set aside.

In a large bowl (with the whisk attachment if you have it), beat the sugar, oil, vanilla, and pepper until well blended. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Continue to beat until the mixture is thick and pale, 3 to 5 minutes. Stop the mixer and add one-third of the flour mixture. Beat on low speed just until blended. Stop the mixer and add half of the milk. Beat just until it is blended. Repeat with another third of the flour, the remaining milk, and then the remaining flour.

Pour 3 cups of the batter into another bowl and stir in the cocoa mixture. Pour one-third of the plain batter into the prepared tube pan (or divide it between the loaves) and top with one-third of the chocolate batter. Repeat with the remaining batters. Don't worry about marbling the batters-that happens beautifully during the baking.

Bake until a cake tester comes out clean, about 1 hour and 10 minutes for either the tube pan or loaf pans. Cool the cake in the pan(s) on a rack for about 15 minutes. Slide a skewer around the tube pan or slide a thin knife around the sides of the loaf pans to release the cake(s). Invert the pan(s) and invert again, setting the cake right side up on a rack to cool completely.

Chocolate Note: Natural cocoa powder is a must here. Dutch-process adds an unpleasant taste because it reacts with the leavening and the olive oil in the cake.
(Recipe from Bittersweet by Alice Medrich)

Fun facts:
1. Did you know that alma mater is Latin for "nourishing mother?" Hmm . . . Mizzou as a nourishing mother???

2. In modern language, alma mater is a term of academia, used in place of the college or university one graduates from. It is from the motto "Alma Mater Studiorum," from the oldest continually-operating, degree-granting university in Europe - the University of Bologna, in Italy. (How did we survive without Wikipedia?)

3. Dutch-process cocoa is alkalized, creating a milder flavor, but also destroying the flavonols (good-for-you antioxidants) in the process. Dutch-process cocoa is good for hot chocolate, but natural cocoa powder is typically better for baking because it retains more chocolate flavor and does not react with other ingredients.

4. I worked for the Mizzou Athletic Department while I was in college . . in the skyboxes at Faurot Field. This is where I learned to "plate" desserts using chocolate, caramel, and raspberry syrup . . . a skill I haven't used since. Bonus fun fact: Mr. Meat and Potatoes played football at Mizzou until he tore a ligament in his knee - ouch!

Go Tigers!

Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

As promised, here is the recipe for the best chocolate chip cookies ever. This recipe is adapted from The New Best Recipe, from the editors of Cook's Illustrated. I made a batch to sell at our garage sale on Saturday. Despite the horrible weather, we didn't have any trouble selling the cookies. I was a bit surprised when one man bought a whole plate of cookies (we were selling these cookies plus snickerdoodles - 2 to a bag - for 50 cents) . . . but then again, which would you rather have - freshly baked chocolate chip cookies or someone else's old clothes?

If you'd rather have chocolate chip cookies, but didn't make it to "the best garage sale in town," here is the recipe so you can make your own:

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

• 2 cups plus 2 tbsp. unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 sticks (12 tbsp.) unsalted butter, melted and cooled until just warm
• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg, plus 1 egg yolk
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 to 2 cups chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, or spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
3. Mix together butter and sugars until well blended (I use an electric mixer). Beat in egg, yolk, and vanilla. Add dry ingredients and beat at low speed (or stir) until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips to taste.
   
4. For oversize cookies, roll 1/4 cup dough into a ball.* Space 2 1/2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Bake until cookies are light golden brown, 15 to 18 minutes. Rotate cookie sheets from front to back and top to bottom halfway through baking. Cool cookies on sheets. Do not overbake.

* At this point in the recipe, Cook's Illustrated instructs you to shape the cookies by tearing the ball of dough in half, rotating the torn surfaces up, and pressing the bottoms back together into a ball (leave the top surface jagged). I have made these cookies many times - and usually skip this shaping step. I also usually make this dough a day in advance and keep it in the refrigerator. Dough from the refrigerator will be very stiff and may need time to soften on the counter (or in the microwave if you're in a real pinch). To add further confusion, you can also bake these cookies at 35o degrees for a little less time - just be sure to keep an eye on them and don't let them overbake. No matter how you bake them, I'm sure you'll agree they're worthy of being called the "best" chocolate chip cookies!

mocha sweetheart pictures, part two

Mmm . . . Chocolate mocha sweethearts . . .
Happy Valentine's Day!

mocha sweetheart pictures, part one

Chocolate Mocha Sweethearts - before tops are dipped in chocolate













Chocolate mocha sweethearts - still unglazed, but with a red neon glow filter applied















Pictures of the finished product (without cheesy red glow) coming tomorrow!

Chocolate Mocha Sweethearts

I'm planning to make Chocolate Mocha Sweethearts tomorrow night to take to the office on Valentine's Day (so if you know my co-workers . . . shhhh . . . don't ruin their surprise!). I've had this recipe for a few years (long enough to forget where it originated), and seem to make it only on Valentine's Day each year. I'm not sure why . . . they could easily become "Chocolate Mocha Stars" or "Chocolate Mocha Leaves" or even just "Chocolate Mocha Squares."

I'm also going to make some for my friend Amanda, because I messed up our plan to go to Chocolate Night at the Busy Bistro tonight. We went last year, with our friend Amy, and it was absolutely incredible. Every part of the meal included chocolate - the salad, the entree, and the seemingly endless desserts . . . it was heaven . . . but I haven't been feeling well so I stayed home and made homemade chicken noodle soup instead. Maybe I'll host my own chocolate night sometime this spring since we didn't get to go. It would be a daunting task to try to make it as good as Busy Bistro's, but if I don't try, even though I'm sure I'll be feeling better . . . I'm still going to feel bad about causing us to miss the big event.

I'll post pictures in a few days, but thought I'd post the recipe in case you'd like to make them for your sweetheart this Valentine's Day.

Chocolate Mocha Sweethearts
4 squares unsweetened chocolate (such as Baker's) (4 oz. total, if substituting another brand)
3/4 cup butter
2 cups sugar
4 eggs (room temperature)*
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup flour
1/4 cup instant coffee granules
6 squares semi-sweet chocolate, melted (such as Baker's) (6 oz. total)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (325 if using a glass baking dish). Line 9x13 pan with foil; grease foil.
2. Melt unsweetened chocolate and butter together in double boiler (or microwave . . . about 2 minutes on medium power in a large bowl . . . stir until chocolate is completely melted).
3. Stir in sugar. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. Add coffee and flour; stir until well blended.
4. Spread mixture into prepared pan. Bake 30-35 minutes or until toothpick comes out with fudgy crumbs. Do not overbake. Cool in pan.
5. Remove foil & brownies from pan. Cut into heart shape (with a cookie cutter**); dip top of each heart into melted chocolate. You might need to refrigerate the hearts until the chocolate has set.

* Tip: to bring eggs to room temperature, immerse them in a bowl of warm - not hot - water for 5-10 minutes.

I rely on this tip often - I can never remember to get the eggs out in advance . . . and the one time I did remember, the eggs rolled off the counter and busted on the floor . . .

** Another tip: freeze the brownie scraps leftover from cutting out hearts in a freezer-type storage bag. Use later for snacking or stir into ice cream.

Post script: I found the original recipe on kraftfoods.com - complete with nutritional information . . . and guess what? They're really not as bad for you as you might think (plus chocolate has heart-healthy antioxidants)! Based on the recipe making 17 total servings (two 1.5 inch hearts are one serving), a serving yields 160 calories, 9 g fat, 1 g fiber, and 4 points. The original recipe also calls for 1/2 cup suisse mocha mix (instead of 1/4 cup instant coffee), which would probably result in a milder, slightly sweeter brownie. If you don't like coffee, you could reduce the coffee flavor by using the mocha mix instead, or by further reducing the amount of instant coffee granules (down to 1 tbsp.). Whatever you do, don't substitute 1/2 cup instant coffee granules for 1/2 cup mocha mix - that will result in brownies with a strong (slightly bitter) coffee taste.

Seven steps to s'more cookie bars

I found this recipe on another blog (Baking Bites, maybe, I can't remember) and have been waiting for an opportunity to try it. Specifically, an opportunity in which other people would eat the majority of these bars, thus not tempting me to eat too many. Turns out, the Super Bowl gathering was a perfect opportunity. If you love s'mores (as I do), I think you'll really like these bars. I thought of a few modifications I'd try next time, so I included those in the recipe below to make preparation a little easier.
















S'More cookie bars

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, at room temperature
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/3 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 c. graham cracker crumbs
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 king-size milk chocolate bars
1 1/2 cups marshmallow creme

1. Process graham crackers to uniformly fine crumbs in a food processor. If you do not have a food processor, place graham crackers in a ziplock bag and crush them - a rolling pin or other heavy object will help.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees; grease 8-inch square baking pan (9-inch square will work fine too).
3. In a small bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
4. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars. Beat in egg and vanilla. Add graham/flour mixture, beating at low speed until combined.
5. Divide dough in half. Press half of dough into an even layer on the bottom of prepared pan.
6. Remove lid and seal from marshmallow creme, heat jar in microwave for about 15 seconds (this will help make it spreadable). Spread marshmallow creme evenly over dough. Break chocolate bars into pieces, arrange in a single layer on top of marshmallow creme. Place remaining dough in even, single layer on top of chocolate (tip: press or roll dough out on a silpat, piece of parchment paper, or piece of wax paper, then invert onto chocolate/marshmallow).
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, or until lightly golden brown; cool before cutting.

Black Russian Cake

I had a request for this recipe today from someone whose husband was having a bad day. I've made this cake for them before, to commemorate good days. That's the thing about this cake, it's equally appropriate for times of sorrow or times of celebration. With a yellow cake mix as a base, it's also easy to prepare.

Black Russian Cake
1 box yellow cake mix
1/2 cup sugar
1 c. oil
4 eggs
1/4 c. vodka
1/4 c. Kahlua
3/4 c. water
1 (3-oz.) pkg. instant Jello chocolate pudding

Glaze: 1/2 c. powdered sugar and 1/4 c. Kahlua

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together on low speed for 1 minute, then beat at medium speed for 4 minutes. Pour batter into Bundt pan and bake at 350 for 60-70 minutes. Cool cake in pan for 10 minutes. Turn onto plate; poke holes in the top of cake. Mix together ingredients for glaze (above); spoon over top of cake.

If you can't wait to celebrate (or drown your sorrows) until the cake gets out of the oven, mix together a Black Russian drink with a vodka to Kahlua ratio of 2:1 and pour over ice.

Trick or Treat

Happy Halloween! For me, this holiday has a routine all its own. I clean the house, decorate with orange and black, strategically place pumpkins around the house, move the "Sit a Spell" chair to the front porch, put the treats in a bowl, and turn on all the lights so people know we welcome trick or treaters. And I wait. And wait. And wait. Until I finally realize that we're probably not going to have trick or treaters. Fast forward one year and repeat. However, this year I did have a break in the routine. One little lion came to visit right before the sun went down. Piper, in her "tricks for treats" shirt, was quite excited to see the little lion and gave him a big lick (which resulted in her being sent back into the house, even though she was being very nice about it) to go with the goldfish crackers.

Fully knowing the Halloween routine, I made some special treats so I wouldn't be tempted to eat goldfish crackers and butterfingers all evening while I wait. Fortunately, there was a new post on Orangette this week for Chewy Cocoa Cookies, which Orangette's author, Molly, describes as "kind of low-fat." Perfect.

And perfect they are. The Orangette version look a little nicer than mine, so I decided some powdered sugar would help. I also made a few adaptations to the recipe (I used vanilla yogurt and kosher salt . . . this recipe isn't the best candidate for kosher salt, unless you really like salt).

Yesterday, I got a little pre-Halloween treat from Ken's Aunt Marie. She gave me three plates that belonged to Ken's grandma . . . just in time to use them to show off my cookies. And my mom made me a little care package, which included the ghost towels in the picture. When you are blessed with great family and you have a plate full of perfect chocolate cookies, who needs trick or treaters anyway?