deliciousness

chewy molasses chocolate chip cookies

makes 3 dozen cookies
via joy the baker

2 sticks unsalted butter
2 cups plus 2 Tablespoons bread flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon dark molasses, not blackstrap
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups dark chocolate chips or chunks
sea salt for sprinkling on top of cookies just before baking

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
Melt the butter in a heavy-bottom medium saucepan over low heat. Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda and set aside.

In a medium sized bowl, mix the granulated sugar and molasses until no large molasses clumps remain. Look at that! You just made your own brown sugar!

Pour the melted butter in the mixer’s work bowl. Add the homemade brown sugar. Cream the butter and sugar on medium speed for about 3 minutes. Add the egg, yolk, and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Chill the dough for about 20 minutes, then scoop onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Lightly sprinkle each dough ball with a few flecks of sea salt. It really brings out the chocolate flavor.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown, checking the cookies after 5 minutes. I like these cookies to be just a bit under-done. Rotate the baking sheet for even browning. Cool completely and store in an airtight container.

gingersnaps

from the art of simple food: notes, lessons, and recipes from a delicious revolution (via david lebovitz)
makes 40-50 cookies

2 cups (280 g) flour
1½ teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1½ teaspoons ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
11 tablespoons (150 g) butter, salted or unsalted, at room temperature
2/3 cup (130 g) sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup (80 g) mild-flavored molasses* (sometimes called ‘light’ molasses)
1 large egg, at room temperature
coarse sugar crystals for coating the cookies (optional)

1. Stir together the dry ingredients.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, or by hand, beat the butter just until soft and fluffy. Add the sugar and continue to beat until smooth, stopping the mixer to scrape down any butter clinging to the sides of the bowl.
3. Stir in the vanilla, molasses and egg.
4. Mix in the dry ingredients gradually until the dough is smooth.
5. Divide the dough in two equal portions and roll each on a lightly-floured surface until each is about 2-inches (5cm) around. Don’t worry if they’re not perfect; you can neaten them up in a second.
6. Wrap each in plastic wrap then roll them lightly on the counter to smooth them out. Refrigerate, or better yet, freeze the cookie logs until firm.
7. To bake, preheat the oven to 350F (180C) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
8. Slice cookie dough into 1/4-inch (a scant 1 cm) rounds with a sharp knife. Dip one side and press firmly in a bowl of coarse sugar if you want (you can also use granulated sugar instead), and place sugar-side up on baking sheet, evenly-spaced apart. Leave a couple of inches, about 5 cm, between cookies since they’ll spread while baking.
9. Bake for 10-14 minutes, rotating the baking sheets midway during baking, until deep-golden brown. The cookies will puff up a bit while baking, then settle down when they’re done. Bake on the lower end of the range for softer cookies, and more for snappier ones, depending on your oven.
10. Let the cookies cool two minutes, then remove them with a spatula and transfer them to a cooling rack.

Storage: The dough can be refrigerated for up to five days, or frozen for up to three months. Once baked, the cookies can be kept in an air-tight container for a couple of days but like anything made with butter, of course they’re best the day they’re baked.

Note: I also added ¼ teaspoon each of nutmeg and allspice. Cookies ended up with a bit too much heat so next time I’ll take out a little ginger too.

pumpkin chocolate chip cookies

via joy the baker
makes 45 cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola or corn oil
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips, or any chip you like

Position a rack in the middle of the oven . Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and butter the paper.

Stir the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices together in a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the eggs and sugar until smooth and lightened in color, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. On low speed, mix the oil, pumpkin, and vanilla until blended. Mix in the flour mixture to incorporate it. Mix in the chips.

Using an ice cream scoop with a 1/4-cup capacity, scoop mounds of the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing the cookies at least 2 1/2-inches apart. You could also simply use a 1/4-cup measuring cup if you don’t have a scoop. Use a thin metal spatula to smooth and flatten the rounds.

Bake the cookies one sheet at a time until the tops feel firm and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry, about 16 minutes. Cool them on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then use a wide metal spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool cimpletely.

Dust the cooled cookies lightly with powdered sugar. The cookies can be stored in a tightly covered container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Notes: instead of using a 1/4-cup ice cream scoop, I just used my normal mini scoop and baked for 10-12 min. Also, instead of powdered sugar after baking, I sprinkled the cookies with turbinado and demerrara sugar before baking.

thick, dense chocolate cookies

adapted from christopher kimball’s the dessert bible
makes 30+ cookies or 50+ with 1in. dough scoops

1 pound semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
10 tablespoons (1¼ sticks) unsalted butter
6 large eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
¾ cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
12 ounces chopped walnuts or pecans
12 ounces chocolate chips

Melt chocolate and butter in a double boiler and remove from heat right before it’s completely melted. The residual heat will finish the melting. Set aside to cool. In a large bowl, whip eggs and sugar until thick and pale yellow, about five minutes at high speed. Combine melted chocolate with egg mixture until well blended. In a separate bowl, sift together flour and baking powder, and fold into chocolate mixture (without over-mixing). Mix in nuts and chocolate chips.

Chill dough for at least two hours. Pre-heat oven to 350. Scoop out dough and place three inches apart. Bake for 18 minutes, rotating halfway through baking. Remove and cool on wire rack.

Author’s note: cookies do not hold well and should be eaten within 48 hours.

Note: Dough balls should be large, at least two inches in diameter. Not only will smaller cookies bake more quickly, it’s less likely they’ll be dense and fudgy. Also, chilling the dough will ensure that the dough doesn’t melt and spread out while baking. Make sure to let cookies cool all the way to room temperature. Otherwise, like brownies, they’ll be harder to remove and won’t hold their shape as well.

edit: I used this recipe for a company picnic on Monday, but grossly overestimated the amount of dough it would produce and had a lot leftover. Thus the leftovers were used for weekly movie night at Steve’s, but this time I tried using a smaller scoop since the large cookies took up so much space, led to a lot of batches. I was a little wary of overbaking the cookies since the author made a specific note of not using a small scoop. Cookies baked for 15 minutes, switched racks and flipped back to front halfway through. Even though they were still incredibly moist and gooey (much like a brownie), they were much easier to get off the parchment.

You know how removing brownies that haven’t cooled all the way tend to stick to the pan and are just a general pain? That’s how the first batch of cookies turned out. Even after cooling all the way to room temperature, they still stuck to the spatula that I used to remove them. And because I had plated them the night before, they had all molded into one single chocolate cookie mound the next day. The second batch of cookies were easy peasy. Hahah I guess I have to practice baking more.

picture via seven spoons

dark chocolate hazelnut bites

via chezpim
makes 29 cookies

8oz bittersweet chocolate
3 tbsp butter
1 1/2 tbsp disaronno
2 eggs at room temp
1/3 cup granulate sugar
1 (heaping) cup hazelnut (toasted in 350F oven for about 10-12 minutes, until fragrant, and then let stand until cool.)
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
a pinch of fleur de sel
more granulate sugar and powdered sugar for coating the cookies (I used about half a cup to one cup of each)

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Chop the chocolates into small pieces. Melt the chocolate and butter together (with the liquor too if using.) You can do this in a bain-marie, that’s to say in a bowl rest over a pot of simmering water..

In a mixer, whip the eggs and sugar together until they turn pale and form a ribbon, about 5 minutes. Stir in the melted chocolate.

In a food processor, pulverize the nuts with the flour, then add the baking powder. Add a pinch of fleur de sel, a big pinch if you’re me. Stir the ground nut mixture into the chocolate batter.

Chill the batter in the fridge until firm, 1-2 hours.

Take two small bowls, fill one about 2/3 way up with powdered sugar, and do the same with the other but this time using granulate sugar.

Roll the chocolate cookie batter into 1 inch balls. Roll each ball first in the granulate sugar, then the powdered sugar. Set the cookies on two parchment-lined baking sheets, making sure they are at least 1 inch apart.

Bake the cookies for 12-14 minutes, swapping the top and bottom baking sheets about half way through the baking. These cookies are done when they are slighty firm at the edges but still soft in the center. Don’t overbake them. Once they have cooled, store the cookies in an airtight container.

picture via

chocolate chip cookies

via smittenkitchen
makes 34 cookies

1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
1/2 cup (120 grams) firmly packed light brown sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick) (115 grams) unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/2-inch (1cm) pieces
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 cups (175 grams) all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt or 1/2 teaspoon flaky sea salt
1 1/2 cups (200 grams) semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup (130 grams) walnuts or pecans, toasted and chopped

Adjust the oven rack to the top third of the oven and preheat to 300F (150C). Line three baking sheets with parchment paper. Beat the sugars and butters together until smooth. Mix in the egg, vanilla, and baking soda. Stir together the flour and salt, then mix them into the batter. Mix in the chocolate chips and nuts.

Scoop the cookie dough into 2-tablespoon (5cm) balls and place 8 balls, spaced 4 inches (10cm) apart, on each of the baking sheets. Bake for 18 minutes, or until pale golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack. Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days

is how my baci di cioccolato turned out. this is what they were supposed to look like:

i’m pretty sure i know what went wrong…

baci di cioccolato - chocolate kisses

I am so excited to try out this recipe! I’ve had Gina DePalma’s Dolce Italiano for more than a year now, but I became dependent on foodblog recipes shortly thereafter, never getting a chance to open up my books. But while looking through this book, I wish that I had more excuses to bake so I could try out all the different desserts and deliciousness.

Usually there is no special occasion when I bake; I like to surprise my friends (or use them as test subjects depending on who you ask) randomly and find out their opinions on which recipes I’ll keep for future use. However, this time I’m making these cookies as a friend’s belated birthday present. Hopefully he likes them!

Baci di Cioccolato - Chocolate Kisses
via Gina DePalma’s Dolce Italiano

1/2 cup whole blanched almonds
1 tbsp. granulated sugar, plus more for rolling
1 1/2 cups plus 1 tbsp. unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup (2 sticks/8 oz) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tbsp. dark rum

8 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 tsp. dark rum or your favorite liqueur (optional)

To make the cookies: Preheat the oven to 325 F. Spread the almonds in a single layer on a baking sheet and toast them until they are light golden brown and fragrant, 14 to 16 minutes. Remove the almonds from the oven and turn off the oven until you are ready to form the cookies. Allow the almonds to cool completely, then grind them in a food processor with the 1 tablespoon sugar until they are finely chopped.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt and set aside.

Using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and confectioners’ sugar on medium speed until creamy and light, about 2 minutes, then beat in the vanilla extract and rum and scrap down the sides of the bowl. On low speed, beat in the dry ingredients, followed by the ground almonds. Remove the dough from the bowl, flatten it into a disk, wrap it in plastic, and chill for about 1 hour, until it is firm enough to handle.

Preheat the oven to 325 F. Lightly grease two baking sheets with nonstick cooking spray or butter or line them with parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, divide the dough into 3 pieces. Work with 1 piece at a time, keeping the others wrapped and refrigerated. Roll 1 portion of dough into a small log about 3/4 inch in diameter. Cut each log into 1/2-inch lengths and roll each piece into a ball, then roll the balls in granulated sugar to coat them completely. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheets, spaced 1/2 inch apart. Repeat with the remaining portions of dough.

Bake the cookies, rotating the sheets 180 degrees to ensure even browning, until they are puffed and cracking slightly on top, 12 to 15 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool on the sheets for 1 or 2 minutes, then use a spatula to remove them gently to a wire rack to cool completely.

While the cookies are cooling, make the ganache filling: Place the chopped chocolate and butter in a medium bowl. Heat the heavy cream in a saucepan until it comes to a boil and pour it over the chocolate and butter. Allow the mixture to sit for a few moments, then whisk until smooth and glossy. Whisk in the rum, if you like. Allow the ganache to cool, whisking it occasionally, until it is firm enough to pipe.

To assemble the kisses: Pair up the cookies according to size. Turn one cookie upside down and, using a pastry bag fitted with a plain or star tip, pipe a small amount of ganache onto the flat side, then place the bottom of the second cookie on the ganache to form a sandwich; the two round tops of the cookies should be facing outward. Repeat until all the cookies have been used. Allow the ganache to firm up, at room temperature or in the refrigerator if necessary, then transfer the kisses to a serving plate.

The cookies can be stored, layer between sheets of parchment paper, in an airtight container kept in a cool place for up to 3 days.

korova cookies

via smitten kitchen
makes 36 cookies

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 stick plus 3 tablespoons (11 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon fleur de sel or 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chips, or a generous 3/4 cup store-bought mini chocolate chips

Sift the flour, cocoa and baking soda together.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until soft and creamy. Add both sugars, the salt and vanilla extract and beat for 2 minutes more.

Turn off the mixer. Pour in the flour, drape a kitchen towel over the stand mixer to protect yourself and your kitchen from flying flour and pulse the mixer at low speed about 5 times, a second or two each time. Take a peek — if there is still a lot of flour on the surface of the dough, pulse a couple of times more; if not, remove the towel. Continuing at low speed, mix for about 30 seconds more, just until the flour disappears into the dough — for the best texture, work the dough as little as possible once the flour is added, and don’t be concerned if the dough looks a little crumbly. Toss in the chocolate pieces and mix only to incorporate.

Turn the dough out onto a work surface, gather it together and divide it in half. Working with one half at a time, shape the dough into logs that are 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and refrigerate them for at least 3 hours. (The dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months. If you’ve frozen the dough, you needn’t defrost it before baking — just slice the logs into cookies and bake the cookies 1 minute longer.)

GETTING READY TO BAKE: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.

Working with a sharp thin knife, slice the logs into rounds that are 1/2 inch thick. (The rounds are likely to crack as you’re cutting them — don’t be concerned, just squeeze the bits back onto each cookie.) Arrange the rounds on the baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch between them.

Bake the cookies one sheet at a time for 12 minutes — they won’t look done, nor will they be firm, but that’s just the way they should be. Transfer the baking sheet to a cooling rack and let the cookies rest until they are only just warm, at which point you can serve them or let them reach room temperature.

SERVING: The cookies can be eaten when they are warm or at room temperature — I prefer them at room temperature, when the textural difference between the crumbly cookie and the chocolate bits is greatest — and are best suited to cold milk or hot coffee.

STORING: Packed airtight, cookies will keep at room temperature for up to 3 days; they can be frozen for up to 2 months.

molasses spice cookies

via smitten kitchen

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus 1/3 cup for rolling cookies
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup unsulphured molasses

Adjust racks to upper- and lower-middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Whisk flour, baking soda, salt, and spices together in medium bowl; set aside.

Either by hand or with electric mixer, cream butter, brown sugar, and 1/2 cup granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes on medium speed. Scrape sides of bowl with rubber spatula. Add egg, vanilla extract, and molasses. Beat until combined, about 30 seconds. Scrape sides of bowl. Add dry ingredients and beat at low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds.

Place remaining 1/3 cup granulated sugar in shallow bowl. Working with 2 tablespoons of dough each time, roll dough into 1 3/4-inch balls. Rolls balls in sugar and place them on ungreased baking sheets, spacing them 1 1/2 to 2 inches apart.

Bake, reversing position of cookie sheets (from top to bottom and fron to back) halfway through baking, until outer edges begin to set and centers are soft and puffy, 11 to 13 minutes. Cool cookies on sheets for 2 to 3 minutes before transferring to cooling racks with wide spatula.