Cookie bars (chocolate)

The actual title is Black Bottom Cookie Bars denoting that the cookie is half chocolate and half plain. Not a big cookie and brownie fan, but other household members are.

Cocoa, vanilla, sugars, coconut oil,eggs, chopped chocolate, flour/salt mixture. 8 inch by 8 inch pan is prepped with baking paper.

A substitute for the butter is coconut oil, which due the current weather had to measured and refrigerated to a solid consistency. (lower left)

 

I also did not have bits, so I had to go to the reserves

 

Blend coconut oil and sugars. Whisk attachment.

Once mixed, add flour gradually.

Finish adding the flour, mix till just moistened.

 

Divide the dough in half, weighed it out but note: the chocolate 1/2 should be a bit less than half because the chocolate bits will take up some volume. (just being picky)

Mix in the cocoa and bits to 1/2 of the plain dough mixture

Spread the chocolate dough, then the plain dough in the pan. Happily

Off to the oven

In the convection oven , still warm weather so no running the gas oven for now.

Chillin out till cool !

cooled finished bars, some of the chips still oozy.

I could have probably left out the chocolate chips, deep chocolate flavor. No comment from the the brownie expert so all is good. I just have about 1/2 of one of the squares, enough for me. Would be good tempered with vanilla ice cream.

Chocolate Shortbread olé

A chocolate type cookie , easy to make, cinnamon and a bit of chili powder. I choose to use smoked chili powder and it is way in the background in the taste of the cookies.

From a Nestle recipe book, instead of pecans , walnuts were used.

• 8oz chocolate bits, ghirardelli chocolate chips used
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 inch cayenne pepper (smoked dried chili flakes used)
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1 and 1/2 sticks butter
• 1 cup chopped toasted pecans, (walnuts used)

Melt the chocolate

Mix the sugar and butter till fluffy, add the melted chocolate.

Combine the flour, cinnamon and chili pepper, and stir into the above.

Stir in the nuts.

Shape into 1 inch balls (or use a scooper)  and then press them to flatten with a glass bottom coated in sugar.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes.

My cookies were a bit dry but none the less, very good.

prep, toast the walnuts, melt the chocolate

cookie dough

press with a sugar coated cup

ready to bake

cooling

The basic cookie

Not a big fan of cookies , but somehow it’s necessary to get chocolate incorporated into your diet. Another requirement, a simple recipe.

How about a one bowl, no mixer required. just the use of your hand(s) recipe.

Don’t actually recall how I found this recipe, possibly a twitter link but whatever some conversion from grams to ounces was required and maybe some translation if your not up on your french.

First the method:

Cut up the butter

Add the sugars, mash together with your fingers

The egg….

The flour….

Mix with your fingers again…

Mix till incorporated….

until it forms together…

for ease of division, form into logs….

Divide as to how large you want the cookies

Place on the cookie sheet flatten slightly, and bake..

Voila !

 

OK ! enough pictures ?

Now the particulars, by the way this is the second recipe, as I cut back on the flour from the first attempt. The first recipe was good also if you like the cookies a bit on the caky  side.

The ones pictured in the video (reference to follow) look very thin and crispy. If you are a cookie expert you can adjust the ingredients to your liking and cook till desired crispness is achieved. I note that not using a mixer (electric etc.) they are more towards a sugar cookie finish, being that mine where a bit on the grainy side. My joke, was that you need permission  from your dentist to eat them. To me a cookie is a cookie so I didn’t fret. (and they didn’t last long being on the counter and brought for working lunch either!).

So ! here’s the link that sold me on the ease of this recipe…

http://www.lexpress.fr/styles/saveurs/recette/video-les-inratables-de-jean-francois-piege-les-cookies-de-philip_1623334.html#cyvTlqxdUxGHMkoS.99

10 ounces flour , 2 cups
1/2 teaspoon sodium bicarbonate, baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
6 ounce butter
6 ounce brown sugar
4 1/2 ounces sugar
1 egg
8 oz chocolate (Don’t be a whimp, 60% or better chocolate (chips))
400 degree oven
Try less flour 9.4 oz by weight, about  1 and 1/2 cups.

I would like to press this (cookie dough) into a large round in a spring form pan, bake , and build a ice cream cake on top !

Thanks for stopping by Sweet Tooth !

made before the holidays, more drafts to post, now turkey soup I’m working on.

Bonus photo my “kitchen” at my day job !

 

Banana Chocolate Chip Cake

Prep 2 , 9 inch cake pans, line the bottom with parchment paper and grease.
A recipe modified from a sweet potato spice cake utilizing bananas.

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl.
2 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Combine in a bowl
15 ounces mashed banana (about 4 bananas)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar

Blend and add 3 eggs, one at at time.

 

 

Add 1 cup vegetable oil, stir and
Add 1 cup chocolate chips. (I chopped large chips.) 60%
1/2 cup pecans (optional)
Add 1 cup water
Now blend in and mix in the dry ingredients.

 

Split the batter between the two cake pans and bake.

350 degrees for about 30 to 35 minutes.
Remove from pans and cool .

I have yet to decide to frost the cake.

Update: a cream cheese frosting was made and the cake frosted.

Not a real sweet cake, the banana is apparent, but the frosting makes up for it as it is sweet. A delicious way to utilize over ripe bananas.

hot cocoa, or chocolate

Again, if you have the basic ingredients (sugar, cocoa, and of course milk) around for baking make some hot cocoa as desired. Skip all those packaged mixes, of course if your a slave to the mini marshmallows, then have some of them on the shelve.

Now the basics;

*optional ingredients

1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
Dash salt
Slight grind of nutmeg *
2 or 3 whole all spice *
Small piece of cinnamon*
Stir in 1/3 cup hot water to the above ingredients in a pan.
Cook and stir till mixture boils and stir for 2 minutes.
Add about 4 cups of milk and
Small cup of strong coffee*
Heat to short of boil, do not boil
Add Vanilla, a couple of drops,
Whisk till frothy and serve

now for the pics….

dry ingredients in a pan

mix in the hot water……..

boil and cook….. you could stop at this point and save it as chocolate syrup….

add milk…..

heat till almost boiling and froth with a whisk….

mmm mug it !!!

dust with coffee, cocoa powder or a ground spice like cardamon. Add a chocolate liquor if desired. Happy Winter !

craftsmen of confection

Jumping ahead here , still have items to post from thanksgiving but here are some pictures from an open house kitchen tour yesterday.

It’s not often that you have the opportunity to visit a kitchen of a restaurant, let alone a candy making shop.

Open house and self guided tour at Sweenor’s Chocolates, Wakefield, Rhode Island.

more text later , for now some pictures taken of the kitchen area and assembly line. S W E E T !

 

 

Cupcakes

OK, it started off as a notion to make chocolate cake as I usually do, but decided on cupcakes instead. Is making cup cakes ………. made more often by women ?

I made them anyways !

Here’s the recipe I use Hershey’s Perfectly Chocolate, Chocolate Cake

The dry ingredients, I added some extras, Cinnamon, Cardamon, and Ground Allspice. Also a bit of milled spent grain.

The weather has been humid, sifted ingredients, the sugar lumpy.

mixing the dry ingredients

prepared the cupcake trays, with paper cups, easy.

the mixed (cup) cake batter

ready to pour

some of the trays were mini muffins…..

While they bake, empty the dishwasher….

even though separate recipes for each blog , I may be cooking more than one thing at a time, like tomato sauce with peppers, sausage and onions.

MMMMMMMM……..

Back to the cupcakes,  in the oven… there was a bit of batter left so I put it in a custard cup.

hot from the oven

cooled….

Ok , not a big fancy cupcake, just plain, good for a quick dessert, easy to pack in your lunch.

Related articles

• German Chocolate Cake Cupcakes (kissmyingredients.com)
• Day 33 – Beer and Chocolate Cupcakes (myyearofcupcakes.wordpress.com)

chocolate banana oat bread

modified recipe from:

Good Housekeeping Banana-Oat Recipe

Basically just added  cocoa nibs as indicated

Ingredients

Bread:

• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup total, quick-cooking and rolled oats
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• ~ 1 –2 tablespoons roasted ground cocoa nibs*
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine
• 2 large ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs

Crumb Topping:

• 3 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoon quick-cooking oats
• 3 tablespoon brown sugar
• ~ 1 tablespoon cocoa nibs
• 3 tablespoon margarine or butter

---

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. grease a 9" by 5" loaf pan.
2. In large bowl, mix baking powder, baking soda, salt, 2 cups flour, 1 cup oats, ground cocoa nibs and 1/2 cup packed brown sugar until blended. With pastry blender or two knives used scissor-fashion, cut in 1/2 cup margarine or butter (1 stick) until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in mashed bananas, milk, vanilla extract, and eggs just until flour is moistened. Spoon batter into pan.
3. Prepare crumb topping: In small bowl, with fork, mix 3 tablespoons flour, 3 tablespoons oats, 3 tablespoons brown sugar, cocoa nibs, and 3 tablespoons margarine or butter until blended. Sprinkle crumb topping evenly over batter.
4. Bake bread 1 hour and 10 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack 10 minutes; remove from pan and finish cooling on wire rack.

 

* the cocoa nibs were roasted the same method as green coffee beans and then ground fine.

 

This is a delicious bread by the fact that it is not overly sweet and has a mild chocolate flavor.

Robusta coffee cookies

 

Once and awhile a batch of cookies is baked for snacks and packed for lunch and breaks.

I don’t like real sweet cookies, so I omitted the icing. Nuts, raisins etc are a good addition

and coffee/chocolate flavor a plus!

The Robusta give a different tone to the flavor versus regular coffee

if you can’t read my writing

cream sugar with 1/2 cup shortening, add 1 egg, mix well (with kitchen aid mixer w/ paddle).

Sift flour for 2 cups measure, and add the following:

1/2 teaspoon baking soda,

1/4 teaspoon salt,

1 teaspoon baking powder

about 1 teaspoon ground cloves (or less if fresh ground)

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (maybe 1/4),

about 1 teaspoon fine grind coffee (may be less if you are not familiar with the taste of Indian Robusta, preferred for a different flavor)

about 1 teaspoon fine grind cocoa nibs or cocoa powder to taste

Resift all dry ingredients together.

Add dry ingredients alternately to the sugar/shorting mix with 3/4 cup strong brewed coffee.

Add 1/2 cup chopped walnuts and some grated un sweetened chocolate less than an ounce, or more if preferred.

Add more flour if mixture is thin to obtain a consistency of frosting.

For ease of sheeting cookies, fill a pastry bag without a tip and pipe on prepared cookie sheet or drop with a table spoon.

about 13 minutes @ a 375- 400 degree oven for a slightly soft cookie, they will firm slightly when cool.

They can be iced if preferred, I left mine plain. about 3 dozen or less depending on size.

adapted from supermarketguru.com

Hershey’s Chocolate Cake Recipe

for file and reference: