Sweet and Salty Chocolate Granola

This is called granola because it contains ingredients commonly found in granola - oats, nuts, etc.  But there is chocolate.  Lots of chocolate.  So it's not really granola, in that virtuous this-is-good-for-you kind of way. If you are young and reckless you can have it for breakfast.  For the rest of us I would recommend it for an afternoon or after dinner snack, or as a topping for yogurt or ice cream. 

Sweet and Salty Chocolate Granola
adapted from Pinch of Yum

3 cups old fashioned rolled oats (NOT instant or quick cooking)
1 1/4 cups sliced almonds
3/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup turbinado sugar, DIVIDED (also sold as Sugar in the Raw)
2/3 cup melted coconut oil (or vegetable oil)
1/3 real maple syrup (or agave syrup)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 semisweet chocolate chips
flaky sea salt for sprinkling


Preheat oven to 250 degrees. 

In a large bowl toss the oats, almonds, coconut flakes, cocoa powder, salt and 1/3 cup of the turbinado sugar together until evenly mixed.  Set aside.

In a separate bowl or glass measuring cup, whisk together the melted coconut oil, maple syrup and vanilla.  Pour this mixture over the oat mixture and toss until everything is evenly coated.

Transfer the oat mixture to a baking sheet, spread evenly and place in preheated oven.  After 30 minutes toss the mixture and check to make sure it isn't burning. Continue to bake for another 10 to 20 minutes, checking frequently. When the granola is starting to become crispy and fragrant, remove from the oven and toss the chocolate chips evenly over the top. Don't stir.  Finally,  sprinkle the remaining turbinado sugar and a good dose of flaky sea salt over the entire mixture. Return to the oven for about five minutes.  The chocolate chips should keep their shape but the sugar and salt should stick to them. This is where the magic happens so don't fight it.

Remove from oven and cool completely before transferring to an airtight container.  

Chocolate Crostini with Olive Oil and Salt

Chocolate Crostini with Olive Oil and Salt

from Rogue Baking tips from Alice Medrich on Food52

This isn't really a recipe.  It's a suggestion. A very good suggestion.    I don't know about you but when it comes to food I am easily suggestible.

Slice some leftover crusty bread from dinner last night, brush with your favorite olive oil and bake in a 350 degree oven until it's just crunchy.  While the bread is crisping,  melt a couple of ounces of your favorite dark chocolate in the microwave.  Drizzle the melted chocolate over the bread, sprinkle with some good flaky salt and enjoy! Next time I am going to sprinkle it with crumbled up bacon.  Just another suggestion.

Chocolate Brownie Cookies

Another chocolate cookie recipe? Why, yes, another chocolate cookie recipe, because chocolate cookie recipes are like shoes - you can't have too many and you need different ones for different occasions.  This particular cookie is especially well suited for a casual gathering of chocolate lovers.

Adapted from Food and Wine

Makes about 3 dozen

16 ounces semisweet OR bittersweet chocolate, chopped
4 tablespoons (2 ounces) unsalted butter
1/2 cup (2 1/4 ounces) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
One 12-ounce bag mini semisweet chocolate chips
Flaky sea salt, optional

In a large microwave safe bowl melt the chopped chocolate and the butter in 30 second intervals.  Stir the mixture frequently and take care to not scorch the melted chocolate on the bottom of the bowl.  Let cool for 5 or 10 minutes.

In a small bowl whisk the flour and baking powder together.  Set aside.

In another large bowl beat the eggs and sugar using an electric hand mixer (or a stand mixer) for about 5 minutes or until the mixture is thick and pale yellow.  Don't be lazy and under-beat or your cookies will be flat and lifeless.  Beat in vanilla and salt.  Pour melted chocolate over the egg mixture and gently mix together with mixer set on low. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the flour mixture until no streaks remain.  Stir in the chocolate chips.

Cover the dough tightly with plastic wrap and allow to set, either on the counter, or in the fridge or freezer until firm enough to scoop into balls. The dough will be too firm to scoop if you leave it in the freezer too long.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper.  Working in batches, scoop dough into balls, about 2 tablespoons each and place on baking sheet, about 2 inches apart.  If desired, sprinkle a small amount of flaky sea salt over each ball. Bake each sheet for about 9 to 12 minutes or until dough is just starting to set and top is puffy and cracked. Cool on baking sheet just long enough for cookies to firm up, about 5 minutes.  Transfer to counter top to continue to cool. I dare you to let them cool completely before serving.

Notes on the recipe:
-Choose your chocolate based on your preference - any type of semisweet or bittersweet chocolate should work. We preferred E. Guittard or Ghiradelli semisweet.
-It might take a time or two to determine how long to bake them.  One or two minutes too long and the cookies become a bit too dry, although still delicious.  You will know you under baked them if they fall flat several minutes after they come out of the oven.  

World Peace Cookies

Dorie Greenspan, cookbook author, cookie maven and proprietor of the newly famous NYC cookie boutique Buerre & Sel popularized this recipe from the French pastry chef Pierre Herme.  Previously known as Karova cookies, Dorrie renamed them World Peace Cookies after her neighbor declared that a daily dose of this little gem is all that is needed to "ensure planetary peace and happiness." Such lofty aspirations for an ugly little cookie, don't you think? But there might be something to them.  Dorie claims there is a group in California known as "Grandmothers for Peace" who bake these cookies every Friday and hand them out on a street corner to passersby who agree to bake their own cookies and pass them on to others. 

These aren't the cookies you give the kids.  Don't expect the same goo and chew as a classic chocolate chip cookie.  These are French sable cookies, meant to be sandy and a bit crumbly but made a tad bit chewy by the addition of some brown sugar. And chocolate.  No, not chocolate.  CHOCOLATE.  Perfectly dark, not-too-sweet, don't-you-dare-use-Baker's-chocolate, #CHOCOLATE.  

Sigh.  I feel so utterly peaceful just describing these cookies. 

World Peace Cookies
by Dorie Greenspan via Smitten Kitchen

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (160 grams)
1/3 cup dutch process cocoa powder (30 grams)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
11 tablespoons unsalted butter (156 grams) softened to room temperature
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar (180 grams)
1/4 cup sugar (50 grams)
1/2 teaspoon fleur de sel (small flake kosher will work) or 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 ounces of bitter or semi-sweet chocolate (150 grams) chopped into small chunks (3/4 cup mini chips will work)
fleur de sel for sprinkling on cookies

Sift the flour, cocoa powder and baking soda together and set aside.

Cream the butter until soft and creamy, either with a hand mixer or a large stand mixer. Add both sugars, salt and vanilla and continue to beat until mixture is light and fully, about two minutes more, stopping to scrape down the sides of the mixer bowl as needed.

Add the flour mixture and slowly mix to incorporate.  Stop just as soon as the mixture is homogeneous.  The mixture might look crumbly but it will be okay.  Add the chopped chocolate and mix again.

Turn the dough out onto work surface and divide into two equal pieces.  Shape each half into a log about 1 1/2 inches in diameter.  If the dough is too crumbly to form a cohesive log compress it with your warm hands.  Wrap each log with plastic wrap and refrigerate or freeze for several hours. When you are ready to promote world peace, preheat oven to 325 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using your sharpest knife, cut dough into 1/2 inch thick slices and place about an inch apart on lined sheet. Sprinkle each cookie with a tiny bit of fleur de sel.  Bake for 12 minutes.  The cookies will not be firm and will look underdone.  Let rest on cookie sheet until firm enough to transfer to cooling rack. 

Best served at room temperature but also amazing when the chocolate chunks are still warm and gooey.

Notes on the recipe:
-Please use really good chocolate and cocoa powder.  World peace is not achieved with cheap chocolate. If you can find E. Guittard Cocoa Rouge Cocoa Powder you will not be disappointed. According to Ms. Greenspan, some people reported to her that natural cocoa powder (vs. dutch process) produced a more crumbly dough.

-The dough is difficult to slice, especially if it is frozen.  Don't worry if some pieces crumble off - just smash them back where they belong.  This isn't a beauty pageant cookie, it's a world peace cookie.  Please forgive its imperfections.

S'more Tarts

The blogasphere is awash with s'more recipes.  Lately, I've seen s'more cupcakes, s'more pudding, s'more ice cream cake and s'more pie, to name a few.  If I didn't love the graham cracker/chocolate/toasted marshmallow combo I would be rolling my eyes and begging for no more s'more.  But I do love that combo and so, after six grueling rounds of recipe development, I would like to present my little offering to the s'more recipe repertoire:  Mason jar s'more tarts. It's a good thing moderation is built into each serving or else my family would be buying s'more pants, all a size bigger. 

S'more Tarts

Crust:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons melted butter
12 4-ounce Mason jars

Filling:
6 ounces milk chocolate (Dove is really good)
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate (Ghirardelli baking bar)
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt

Marshmallow Topping:
4 egg whites
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon cream of tarter
1 teaspoon vanilla 
pinch of salt

Prepare crusts: 
Stir together graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter. Place 2 tablespoons of mixture into each mason jar and tamp down using a spice jar or juice glass. Set aside.

Prepare filling:
Chop chocolate into small chunks; set aside in a large bowl. Crack eggs into another bowl, whisk until smooth and set aside. In a medium saucepan heat cream until hot but not boiling.  While whisking, pour 1/2 cup hot cream over eggs.  Whisk until smooth.  Pour egg/cream mixture back into saucepan with remaining hot cream.  Place pan over medium heat and whisk constantly until the mixture is 160 degrees on an instant-read thermometer.  If you don't have a thermometer, whisk the mixture until it thickens and coats the back of a spoon but stop before the eggs are scrambled. 

Pour the egg/cream mixture over the chocolate and whisk until smooth.  Whisk in the vanilla and salt. Using a scoop or large spoon, divide the chocolate mixture evenly over each crust.  Put the lids on the mason jars and chill for several hours or overnight.

Prepare marshmallow topping:
Whisk the egg whites, sugar and cream of tarter in a glass bowl set over a pan of simmering water. (Or use a double boiler if you have one.)  Heat mixture to 160 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, whisking occasionally.  Remove mixture from heat and using an electric mixer, beat egg white mixture until very thick and glossy.  Stiff peaks should form when the beaters are lifted from the topping.  Add vanilla and pinch of salt and beat until incorporated. 

Transfer the marshmallow topping into a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip.  Pipe the filling over each tart and brown with a propane torch. Best served cold.

Notes on the recipe:
I tried this using all milk chocolate and again using all dark chocolate.  We all preferred the 1/2 and 1/2 ratio of milk to dark.

You can certainly use mini marshmallows instead of making your own marshmallow topping.

This is best served cold, straight from the fridge.  You can even top with marshmallow and then chill.  The lid might smash the topping a little bit.

Propane torches are available at Home Depot for about $13 and they last for a long time. 

Chocolate Glazed Chocolate Tart

Have you been lying awake at night wondering what to make for Valentine's dessert?  Put your ambien away and go buy some chocolate.  Your sleep problems are solved.

Chocolate Glazed Chocolate Tart

adapted from Epicurious

Crust:

10 chocolate graham crackers (NOT chocolate-covered), finely ground (about 1 1/2 cups)

6 tablespoons butter, melted

1/4 cup sugar

Filling:

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

11 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

Glaze:

4 tablespoons heavy cream

3 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

2 teaspoons light corn syrup

2 tablespoons warm water

a pinch of fleur de sel (optional, kind of)

Garnish (optional):

raspberry or strawberry sauce

fresh raspberries or strawberries

whipped cream

Equipment:

11-inch round fluted tart pan, about one inch deep

Make crust:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Stir together ground crackers, butter and sugar and press evenly onto bottom and 3/4 up side of tart pan. Bake until firm, about 10 minutes.  Cool on a rack at least 15 minutes.

Make filling:

Place chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set aside. Bring cream to a gentle boil, either in the microwave or on the stove top.  Pour hot cream over chocolate and let stand for about 5 minutes.  Gently stir until smooth.  Whisk together eggs, vanilla, and salt in another bowl, then stir into melted chocolate.  Pour filling into cooled crust and bake until filling is starting to set about 3 inches from the edge, around 15 minutes give or take a few.  It's very important to make sure the center is still wobbly.  As the tart cools the center will continue to set.  Remove from oven and cool completely in the pan on a cooling rack, about an hour.

Make Glaze:

Bring cream to a gentle boil, either in the microwave or on the stove top. Pour over finely chopped chocolate and stir until smooth.  Stir in corn syrup and then the warm water.  Working quickly, pour the warm glaze onto the center of the tart, then tilt and rotate the tart so the glaze coats the top evenly.  Sprinkle glaze with a bit of fleur de sel, if desired. Let stand until glaze is set, about an hour before serving.  Serve with berries, sauce, and whipped cream if desired.

Notes on the recipe:

Make sure you use a chocolate you like eating plain.  This is all about chocolate, so I picked a chocolate bar I love - Ghirardelli Intense Dark Evening Dream 60% Cacao.  This particular bar is dark and very smooth, but not too dark.  I've never used chocolate chips so I can't comment on them, but I'm skeptical.  I'm afraid the texture would be a bit grainy.

I scaled this recipe up to fit my 11 inch Wilton tart pan. The original recipe is sized for a 9-inch round fluted tart pan.  Refer to the link on epicurious if you want the smaller tart, but you might want to double the glaze because their proportion is too skimpy and difficult to spread over the entire surface.

This is best served, IMHO, at room temperature because it retains that melt-in-your-mouth texture that is AMAZING.  I guess Scott prefers to chew his chocolate because he likes it better served cold.  He's wrong. 

The tart is best the day it is made, but nobody complains on day 2, or even day 3.  You can store it in the fridge and bring it to room temperature before serving. The crust won't be as firm.

Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes

I used to be a cupcake hater.  Then I met Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes.  We've been spending a lot of time together lately, getting to know one another.  It's a pretty intense relationship - two batches in just four days.  I'm trying to control myself, but it's hard - such a pretty face, and a heart of pure raspberry filling. Sigh. Raspberry season is fleeting, so I've been trying to make the most of this relationship while I can.  

Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes

adapted from Annies-eats.com and Smittenkitchen.com, originally published in Gourmet, now on  epicurious.com

Cupcakes:

3 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped

1 1/2 cups hot water or hot brewed coffee

3 cups sugar

2 1/2 cups (11.25 ounces) all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder (this is not a typo)

2 tsp. baking soda

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/4 tsp. salt

3 eggs

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Filling:

1 to 2 cups good quality raspberry jam or preserves, seedless or not.  

Ganache:

24 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped (I used Ghirardelli semi-sweet chips)

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

3 tablespoon sugar

3 tablespoons corn syrup

6 tablespoons butter, at room temperature

Cupcakes:  Heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line cupcake pans with paper liners.

Place the semisweet chocolate in a heatproof bowl.  Pour the hot water (or coffee) over the top and let rest for a minute.  Whisk until smooth.

In a separate bowl combine sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  Whisk or sift together until no lumps remain.

In the bowl of a standing mixer beat the eggs until thick and pale yellow, about 3 or 4 minutes.  In a slow stream, add the oil, buttermilk, vanilla, and melted chocolate mixture to the eggs.  Mix until well blended.   Add the dry ingredients and beat on medium just until the flour mixture is incorporated.

Divide the batter between the cupcake liners, filling each just slightly more than 1/2 full.  Bake about 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Let rest is the pans for several minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Ganache:  Place the chocolate in a large bowl. In a microwave safe bowl combine the cream, corn syrup, and sugar. Microwave just until boiling.  Pour the mixture over the chocolate and let rest for a few minutes.  Whisk until the mixture is smooth and silky.  Whisk in the butter one tablespoon at a time.  At this point the ganache will be too runny to pipe or spread on the cupcakes.  Either place the ganache in the fridge to firm up, or let it rest at room temperature until it is spreading or piping consistency.  If it sets up too much  microwave at 5 second increments until it cooperates. 

Assembly:  Place the raspberry jam in a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip.  Shove the tip directly into the top of the cupcake and gently squeeze about 1 to 2 teaspoons of jam into the cupcake. You will see the top of the cupcake gently grow and puff out a bit.  Stop when the jam starts to ooze out of the top.  Place the ganache into a pastry bag fitted with the tip of your choice. Pipe a generous portion of ganache over the top of each cupcake.  Place a fresh raspberry on top of each frosted cupcake before the ganache sets. If a pastry bag isn't your thing just spread ganache with a knife or small off-set spatula.  However, I can't visualize getting raspberry jam inside the cupcake without a pastry bag....

Allow to set before serving.

Makes about 36 to 40 cupcakes.

Notes on the recipe:

-I tried this with both regular and Dutch processed cocoa powder and they both worked just fine.  

-For the ganache I used Ghirardelli chocolate chips instead of Ghirardelli baking bars because I wanted the extra stability from the chips (and it was more affordable too!). 

-This recipe also works for mini cupcakes.  Reduce the baking time to about 12 to 15 minutes. They look like this:

Congo Bars

I feel a bit guilty posting this recipe.  It’s been around my mother’s family for as long as I can remember and I don’t want anybody thinking I created or discovered it.  Grandma Dickson gets all the credit for that.  (I did double the chocolate though, and I will take full credit for that.)  I feel guilty because I am quite certain there were a few people Grandma did not want to have this recipe.  But since Grandma has passed on and I don’t believe in recipe hording, I’m willing to divulge her secret.  That, and I am pretty sure that all of my cousins have this recipe too, and I have lots of cousins, so it’s not really much of a scarce resource anyway.

If you have never had a Congo bar before, they are something like chocolate chip cookie bars, only better.  Some people call them blondies.  Some people add coconut and white chocolate (I don’t).  People with discriminating palates add chopped walnuts. Some people with nut-averse husbands leave them out….

The beauty of Congo bars is that they travel well and will stay fresh in an airtight container on the counter for several days or in the freezer for several weeks. But most importantly, a pan of Congo bars can please nearly everyone.  Those who prefer a more substantial chew will like the edges, while those who favor caramel gooeyness will appreciate the interior zone.  Just take care to not overbake and you will be rewarded with at least 3 different zones of texture.

The only downside to this recipe is the pan. I have a strong preference for baking the bars in a jelly roll pan that measure 10.5" by 15.5".  You could use a 9 x 13 pan instead, but the bars will be thicker and you will need to add a couple of minutes to the baking time.

Congo Bars

Adapted from Grandma Dickson

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour (11.25 ounces if you use a scale)

2 ½ tsp. baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

2/3 cup butter (5 3/8 ounces) at room temperature

3 eggs at room temperature

2 ¼ cups light brown sugar (18.5 ounces if you use a scale)

1 tsp. vanilla

1 12-ounce package chocolate chips

1 cup chopped nuts, optional

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. (Or you could sift the ingredients, if you are that type of baker.  I’m not.)  Set aside.

In a mixing bowl cream brown sugar and butter together until well combined.  Add eggs, one at a time, making sure each is incorporated before adding the next.  Add vanilla and beat until mixture is smooth and no lumps of sugar remain.  Don’t get carried away mixing here.  If you beat until everything is light and fluffy the Congo bars will be too cake-like.

Add flour mixture and mix just until combined.  Add chocolate chips and mix again until chips are evenly dispersed.

Spray a jelly roll pan with cooking spray.  Spread dough evenly on pan – much easier imagined than accomplished – and bake for 18 minutes, or until congo bars resemble the picture above.

Remove pan from oven, place on cooling rack and cool until firm enough to cut.

Chocolate Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I’m not doing so well with my  New Year's resolutions. Oh, I'm doing okay with # 2 - eating chocolate every day.  But that wasn’t so much a resolution as it was a declaration.

Resolution # 5 (cook every recipe in Deborah Madison's "Vegetarian Suppers" cookbook) came to a grinding halt last week when I served the beet ragu with twice baked goat cheese souffles.  Without going into too much detail I will say that Scott ate 6 bites before he politely informed me that he likes beets, but only in moderation – one bite every ten years or so.  It will be another 60 years before he is willing to try again.  It is a tragedy.  The beet ragu was stunning.  The goat cheese soufflés were divine.  I am crushed. 

Thank goodness I have another recipe for chocolate!  Nothing lifts my broken semi-vegetarian heart like chocolate.  This cookie recipe is all about chocolate-chocolate dough studded with big chunks of dark chocolate.  No distractions. Just chocolate. (And lots of butter.)

Chocolate Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated

1/3 cup sugar, plus more for coating

1 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour (7.5 ounces)

3/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

scant ½ teaspoon salt

½ cup dark corn syrup

1 large egg white

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

12 tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar (2 ½ ounces)

4 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped into 1/2 –inch pieces

Whisk flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt together in medium bowl.  In another small bowl whisk corn syrup, egg white, and vanilla together.

In a stand mixer, beat butter, brown sugar, and 1/3 cup sugar at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Slowly add corn syrup mixture and beat until incorporated, about 20 seconds.  Scrape bowl as necessary.  Add flour mixture and chopped chocolate; mix just until incorporated.  Chill dough 30 minutes to firm slightly.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Place ½ cup sugar into a small bowl.  Divide dough into 16 equal portions, about ¼ cup each.  Roll each portion into a ball and toss liberally in sugar.  Place 8 balls on each cookie sheet.  Bake cookies, one sheet at a time until cookies are puffed and cracked and edges have begun to set but centers are still soft, about 10 minutes.  Cookies might seem raw but don’t overbake.

Remove cookies from oven, let rest on cookie sheet for 2 or 3 minutes.  Transfer cookies to countertop and cool until you can’t resist eating them. 

Notes on recipe:


Since this recipe is all about chocolate, good chocolate is important.  I love Penzy's Dutch-process cocoa powder.  I have my doubts about natural cocoa powder like Hershey's or Nestle, but I wonder if "Hershey's Special" dark cocoa powder will work.  Let me know if you try it.


If you want to notice the chocolate chunks in these cookies it is important to chop the chocolate into big chunks.  Little shards or chocolate chips will disappear into the dough.  If you have your heart set on using chocolate chips you might try melting them into a block, chilling until firm, then chopping into chunks.  I recently discovered that Stop and Shop sells chunks of really good Callebaut chocolate near the salad bar/deli counter.  I used to think these chunks were too expensive until I realized that the Ghirardelli semi-sweet baking bars (that I adore and buy without flinching) are almost double in price per pound.


I had great luck freezing the balls of dough first then rolling in sugar and baking.