Chocolate Chip Cookies

We adapted this easy to make recipe from The Afternoon Tea Collection published by Metro Books in 2012:

Makes 36 cookies

Ingredients

• 8 oz margarine, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup caster (superfine) sugar
• 3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 1/4 cups plain (all-purpose) flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 12 oz dark chocolate melts, chopped coarsely

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease oven trays. bowl.
2. Beat margarine, extract, sugars, and egg in a small bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Transfer mixture to large bowl; stir in sifted flour and soda, in two batches. Stir in chocolate.
3. Roll tablespoons of mixture into balls, place about 2 inches apart on trays.
4. Bake cookies about 15 minutes, cool on trays.

For dairy version you may use butter, milk chocolate or white chocolate.

Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy!

CS

Chocolate Checkerboard Cookies

Some of my grandkids will be visiting today, I thought these would make a special treat:

(adapted from Jacqueline Bellefontaine‘s What’s Cooking: Chocolate)

Detail of photo from page 125

Yield: 18

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup margarine, softened (use butter if you prefer creamier tasting dairy cookies)
• 6 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or the grated rind of 1/2 an orange
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1oz dark bittersweet chocolate, melted
• a little beaten egg white

Directions

1. Lightly grease a cookie sheet. Beat the margarine and confectioner’s sugar in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla extract or the grated orange rind.
2. Gradually beat in the flour to form a soft dough. Use your fingers to incorporate the last of the flour and to bring the dough together.
3. Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces and beat the melted chocolate into one half. Keeping each half of the dough separate, cover and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
4. Roll out each piece of dough to a rectangle about 3″ x 8″ inches long and 1 1/2 inches thick. Brush one piece of dough with a little egg white and place the other piece of dough on top.
5. Cut the block of dough in half lengthwise and turn over one half. Brush the side of one strip with egg white and butt the other up to it, so that it resembles a checkerboard.
6. Cut the block into thin slices and place each slice flat on a cookie sheet, allowing enough space to spread a little during baking.
7. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 F. for about 10 minutes, until just firm. Cool on on the cookie sheet for a few minutes before carefully transferring to a wire rack with a spatula. Cool completely.

Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy!

CS

Triple Chocolate Financiers

Hardly anything beats these “Financiers” as my idea of a coffee accompaniment, Ive adapted the following from François Payard‘s Chocolate Epiphany:

Yield: 40 financiers

If you can not get financier molds, you can make this recipe in mini muffin pans, lining them with paper baking cups before pouring the batter in the molds. The resulting financiers will be a bit larger, so you’ll have fewer, but they’ll taste just as good.

Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy!

CS

Ingredients

• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons finely ground blanched almonds
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons  Dutch processed cocoa powder
• 4 large egg whites, slightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon dark rum
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 4 tablespoons unsalted margarine **
• Vegetable cooking spray, for the molds
• 3 tablespoons semisweet mini chocolate chips
• 2 tablespoons cocoa nibs

Directions

Make the Batter: Sift together the confectioners’ sugar, finely ground blanched almonds, all-purpose flour,cocoa powder, and baking powder over a large bowl.Whisk in the egg whites, rum, and vanilla extract, until just combined.

Whisk the honey into the margarine and whisk the mixture into the batter until everything is combined, and lump free. Cover the batter and refrigerate it overnight or up to 4 days. This allows the flour to relax.

Bake the Financiers: Place a rack and preheat the oven  to 375 F. Spray to 20 count financier molds with vegetable cooking spray. If using silicone molds, arrange them on a baking sheet.

Sprinkler 8 to 10 mini chocolate chips in each cup. Spoon the batter into a pastry bag or resealable plastic bag, and cut a 1/4 inch opening in the tip or corner of the bag. Pipe the batter almost to the top of each cup, and sprinkle cocoa nibs on the top.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes, or until the financiers spring back when you lightly press on them and the sides slightly pull back from the edges of the molds. Remove the molds from the oven and leave them on the baking sheet. Let the financiers cool in the molds. They can be stored in an airtight container in a cool, dry environment for up to 2 days.

–OoOX0XOoO–

Browned Margarine

Put the quantity of margarine required by the recipe in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Let it bubble and cook until it turns light golden brown. Whisk a couple of times during the process to ensure that all the butter melts and browns evenly. Once it reachers the desired color, immediately remove the butter from the heat and transfer to a bowl to stop the cooking process. Use immediately, or let cool until just warm to the touch but still melted, as directed in the recipe. [They taste great as parve cookies, but will taste far better as dairy ones. Use butter instead of margarine; browned butter has a nutty taste that goes fantastically well in desserts.]

Hamentashen!!!

I had always made Hungarian Lekvár filled hamentashen, but for this upcoming Purim I wanted something different. So here is my variation on an old theme. These hamentaschen look great and truly taste great.

Peanut Butter Crunch Hamentashen

(Makes about 20 Hamentashen)

Dough Ingredients

2 cups flour
1 large egg
¼ tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
¾ cup sugar
8 TABLESPOONS melted margarine (1 stick)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 3 tbsp. parve milk
1 tbsp. orange zest

Dipping chocolate

2 ounces semisweet chocolate, 3 tablespoons parve cream
2 tbs.p oil or margarine

Filling

Semisweet chocolate chips
8 tbsp. Chunky Peanut Butter
1 tsp. Confectioners’ sugar

Dough prep

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in large bowl. Add in melted margarine, orange zest, parve milk, egg, vanilla. Mix at medium speed in electric mixer for about 1 minute.

Roll out dough to ¼ “ thickness on well-floured surface. Cut into circles with cookie cutter or glass mouth. ( around 3” circumference) Place about 4-5 chocolate chips in center of circle. Pinch three sides, and place on oil sprayed cookie sheets. Bake at 375° for approximately 15 minutes, till golden. Cool.

When hamentashen have cooled, squeeze peanut butter filling into center.

Microwave semisweet chocolate for 30 seconds, then stir, then heat for another 30 seconds and stir till smooth and of dipping consistency. Dip each of the three corners of the hamentashen into chocolate dip. For added color and décor, sprinkle dipped edges with topping of your choice. I used butter crunch, and colored mini chocolate chips. but get a little crazy and creative. Invite the kids to bake with you inventing fun alternative fillings and toppings… Hey it’s Purim. Turn up the music and let your creative and simcha energies flow into the foods you make for family and friends.

A freilachen Purim, chag Purim same’ach!!!

SYR