Peppermint Patties

Basically, these are homemade York peppermint patties. And they are SO GOOD. The recipe claims that they are "healthy" because they have about 100 calories per patty and significantly less fat than most chocolate candies. I'm not sure that qualifies as healthy, but they are definitely delicious. If you like the mint + chocolate combo, these are perfect. For mine, I used dark chocolate (~55% cacao content) and was very pleased. In addition to the instructions in the recipe, I would do the following:

- let the balls of peppermint filling harden for about 5 minutes in the fridge before flattening them, that made it much easier and less sticky.

- split the batch of patties onto two separate sheets of wax paper, so you only have half of them out of the fridge while applying the chocolate coating. This maintains an optimal ratio of cold patty to room temperature chocolate, which I found to be key to a fun and attractive coating process. I put the whole pan back in the fridge halfway through coating to harden the remaining patties that were softening at room temp, and in the interim the chocolate hardened just a little too much, and the last few patties were really ugly and difficult to coat. Tragically, I had to eat them because they were too ugly to give away.

from seriouseats.com

Peppermint Patties

Chocolate stout cupcakes with chocolate buttercream frosting

I made these cupcakes to celebrate Jonah's first day at his new job, and they turned out smashingly. A very moist, even crumb to the cupcakes themselves, and the chocolate buttercream frosting was really delicious, and shockingly easy. I kept it in the fridge until we were ready for dessert, and just let the frosting come up to room temperature before spreading. You can really taste the stout in this particular cake, and the creamy sweetness of the buttercream balances out the earthy stout flavor nicely, I think.  

Cake from smittenkitchen.com; buttercream from Cook's Illustrated

makes 14-18 frosted cupcakes, depending how you fill/frost them

1 cup stout (such as Guinness)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream

10 Tbs. unsalted butter, softened

1 cup powdered sugar

A pinch of salt

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

4 oz. semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled

Cake:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Place paper liners in ~16 cupcake moulds. Bring 1 cup stout and 1 cup butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Set aside to cool.

Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon salt in large bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat eggs and sour cream in another large bowl to blend. Add stout-chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat just to combine. Add flour mixture and beat briefly on slow speed. Using rubber spatula, fold batter until completely combined. Pour batter into prepared moulds. Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 18-20 minutes. Transfer cake to rack, and cool completely in the pan.

Buttercream:

While the cupcakes are baking, melt 4 oz. chocolate in a double boiler over gently simmering water. Set aside to cool, stirring occasionally. With your trusty hand mixer, beat butter at medium-high speed until smooth. Add the powdered sugar and salt, and beat at medium-low speed until most of the sugar is moistened. Scrape down the bowl and beat at medium speed until mixture is fully combined, about 30 seconds; scrape down the bowl, add vanilla and beat at medium speed until incorporated, then reduce speed to low and gradually beat in chocolate. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, at least 5 minutes, scraping down the bowl once or twice.

I've been keeping my cupcakes unfrosted and my buttercream in the fridge, due to humidity. The buttercream quickly softens to room temperature and a spreadable consistency, and can be put back in the fridge when you're done. 

S'more Pie

I brought this pie to a Memorial Day barbeque and it was a big hit. I was expecting it to be good - a quick glance at the ingredients will tell you why - but it was very, very good. It had a nice texture balance between the three layers, and was not nearly as sweet as I imagined, even with a milk chocolate filling. Plus, I got to make marshmallows from scratch, which was very exciting and not as messy as it could have been. I don't think I whipped the marshmallow long enough, either because I was getting bored or because my little hand-held beater doesn't have as much oompf as a stand mixer. I followed the time estimate (5-8 minutes) but if you're doing this by hand I would recommend going as much as 10 minutes. The top was totally suitable for a cake, but definitely too runny to work as a stand alone marshmallow. Also, when you're browning the top, keep a very close eye on it. The aluminum foil to protect the crust really focused the heat onto the center of the cake, and we were mere seconds away from unappetizingly burnt topping. Fortunately we got it out in time and it was only pleasingly burnt. You could also brown the top with a creme brulee torch if you were feeling up to the task.

from smittenkitchen.com

Note: Pie (before browning topping) can be chilled up to 1 day.

Crust
5 tablespoons salted or unsalted butter, melted, plus additional for greasing
1 1/2 cups cookie crumbs (10 graham crackers or 24 small gingersnaps; about 6 oz, pulsed in a food processor until finely ground)
2 tablespoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt (omitted if you use salted butter)

Chocolate cream filling
7 oz fine-quality milk or semisweet chocolate (not more than 70% cacao; not unsweetened), finely chopped
1 cup heavy cream
1 large egg, at room temperature for 30 minutes

Marshmallow topping
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin (from a 1/4-oz package)
1/2 cup cold water
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Vegetable oil for greasing

Special equipment: a candy thermometer

Make graham cracker crust:
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly butter pie 9- to 9 1/2-inch pie plate.

Stir together all ingredients in a bowl and press evenly on bottom and up side of pie plate. Bake until crisp, 12 to 15 minutes, then cool on a rack to room temperature, about 45 minutes.

Make chocolate cream filling:
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Put chocolate in a large bowl. Bring cream just to a boil in a 1- to 1 1/2-quart heavy saucepan, then pour hot cream over chocolate. Let stand 1 minute, then gently whisk until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Gently whisk in egg and a pinch of salt until combined and pour into graham cracker crumb crust (crust will be about half full).

Cover edge of pie with a pie shield or foil and bake until filling is softly set and trembles slightly in center when gently shaken, about 25 minutes. Cool pie to room temperature on a rack (filling will firm as it cools), about 1 hour.

Make marshmallow topping:
Sprinkle gelatin over 1/4 cup cold water in a large deep heatproof bowl and let stand until softened, about 1 minute.

Stir together sugar, corn syrup, a pinch of salt, and remaining 1/4 cup water in cleaned 1- to 1 1/4-quart heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil over moderate heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved, then boil until thermometer registers 260°F, about 6 minutes.

Begin beating water and gelatin mixture with an electric mixer at medium speed, then carefully pour in hot syrup in a slow stream, beating (avoid beaters and side of bowl). When all of syrup is added, increase speed to high and continue beating until mixture is tripled in volume and very thick, about 5-8 minutes. Add vanilla and beat until combined, then immediately spoon topping onto center of pie filling; it will slowly spread to cover top of pie. Chill, uncovered, 1 hour, then cover loosely with lightly oiled plastic wrap (oiled side down) and chill 3 hours more.

Brown topping:
Preheat broiler.

Transfer pie to a baking sheet. Cover edge of pie with pie shield or foil and broil 3 to 4 inches from heat, rotating pie as necessary, until marshmallow topping is golden brown, no more than 3 minutes. Cool pie on a rack 10 minutes. Slice pie with a large heavy knife dipped in hot water and then dried with a towel before cutting each slice.

Peanut Butter Buckeyes

I consider chocolate + peanut butter to be one of the finest combinations offered in the history of food. These are quite sweet, but great for a quick sugar fix and dangerously addictive (for me, at least). They also disappear almost immediately from potlucks, file cabinets, and coffee tables, so I don't think I'm alone in my feeling that these, while not fancy or highbrow, are seriously tasty.

From The Best American Recipes, 2005 - 2006.

Makes about 30.

2 cups sifted confectioner's sugar

3/4 cup smooth peanut butter (think Skippy, not that hippy-dippy healthy peanut butter)

4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted 

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 tsp. salt

6 oz. chocolate chips (semisweet or milk chocolate, to your taste)

1/2 tsp. vegetable shortening

Line two baking sheets with wax paper.

Put the confectioner's sugar, peanut butter, butter (still warm), vanilla, and salt in a medium bowl and beat well with a wooden spoon. Roll the peanut butter mixture into 1-inch balls and transfer to a prepared baking sheet in a single layer. Freeze until firm, 15 to 20 minutes.

Melt the chocolate and shortening in the top of a double boiler (or a heatproof bowl) over barely simmering water, stirring often. Remove the pot and bowl together from the heat. 

Working with about 6 peanut butter balls and a time, insert a toothpick into the center of a ball and dip about three-quarters of the ball into the melted chocolate, leaving about a 3/4-inch circle of peanut butter visible at the top. Twirl the toothpick between your finger and thumb to swirl off excess chocolate, then transfer to the other baking sheet, chocolate side down. Slide out the toothpick and repeat the dipping process with the remaining peanut butter balls and chocolate, reheating the chocolate if necessary.

Freeze until the buckeyes are firm. Smooth out the toothpick holes left in the peanut butter. Buckeyes keep well sealed in a cool place for up to 1 week and up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Kitchen Sink Cookies

These cookies have a little bit of everything in them, hence the name. It makes a very large batch - you can halve the recipe, freeze extras, or eat a whole lotta cookies.

from The Best American Recipes, 2005 - 2006

makes 4 dozen

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter, room temperature

2 cups light brown sugar, packed

2 cups sugar

4 large eggs

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. salt

4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. baking soda

4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (no instant oats!)

2 cups chocolate chips

1 cup shredded coconut, sweetened or unsweetened

1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Cream the butter and sugars in a really large bowl with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add the eggs, vanilla, and salt and beat well.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda in a large bowl. Gradually mix into the butter mixture with a sturdy wooden spoon. Stir in the oats until the dough comes together. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips, coconut, and nuts.

Scoop out the dough in generous spoonfuls and drop onto the prepared sheets, about 2 inches apart. Flatten the tops of the dough mounds slightly with the back of a spoon. Bake for 7 to 12 minutes, rotating the baking sheets halfway through, until the cookies are light golden with tiny cracks on the tops. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Easy, classic chocolate cake

In spite of all the fancy chocolate cake recipes out there, this is the cake that most people are wishing for when they think, "I would really like a piece of chocolate cake right now." It's dead simple, and brings back childhood memories of licking batter-laden spoons and sipping tall glasses of milk to wash down every last crumb of cake. This cake is a natural partner for ice cream, too. Even for people who think they can't bake, this is within the realm of possibility, and you'll be so pleased with yourself. And you'll have chocolate cake.

All-in-the-Pan Chewy Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Butter Icing

From Regan Daley's In the Sweet Kitchen, a favorite cookbook of mine with an awesome reference section. If you've been looking to get into baking but feel like you have too many questions to be comfortable in the kitchen, buy this book. I use the reference section almost as often as I use the recipes.

Makes an 8 x 8" (time given), 9 x 9" (subtract 5-7 minutes from the baking time), or about 1 1/2 dozen cupcakes (15-18 minutes baking time). The recipe can be doubled for a 9 x 13" pan, in which case the baking time is the same, but double the icing recipe as well.

Cake

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

6 Tbs. vegetable oil, like canola

1 Tbs. white vinegar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup cool water

Icing

1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 cups powdered sugar

2-3 Tbs. milk or water

1 1/2 Tbs. natural unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp. vanilla

**This recipe can easily be made vegan by substituting the butter in the icing with Earth Balance and using the water as liquid for the frosting. I consider this cake to be a pinnacle of vegan baking.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Sift the flour into an ungreased, unfloured pan (if you'll be making cupcakes, you'll need to do all the mixing steps in bowls and then pour into baking moulds at the end). In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Add this mixture to the flour and stir well with a fork or a small whisk to blend the ingredients. Withe the back of a spoon, make three indentations or wells in the dry mixture: one large, medium and small. Into the large well pour the vegetable oil. Into the medium well, the vinegar. Vanilla goes in the smallest well. Pour the water over everything, and with a fork, stir the mixture until the ingredients are well blended, making sure you reach into the corners and sides to catch any dry pockets. Do not beat this batter, but mix just until most of the lumps are smoothed out, and there are not little patches of overly thick or runny batter. A few lumps won't hurt the batter, and it's important not to overbeat it.

Bake the cake for 30 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted in the center of cake comes out clean and the top feels springy when lightly touched. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and cool the cake completely before icing. This is a very moist cake and will tear if cut too soon. While you're waiting for the cake to cool, whip up the icing.

In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and 1 cup of the powdered sugar until the butter is well distributed. The mixture will be very dry and still powdery. Stir in 1 tablespoon of milk or water, then sift the cocoa powder over the mixture and cream to blend. Mix in the vanilla, then add the second cup of powdered sugar. Add as much of the remaining liquid as necessary to make a thick, creamy icing. Frost in the pan and dig in!

Leftovers can be stored in the pan at room temperature, covered with a piece of aluminum foil. The un-iced cake freezes well, wrapped in the pan.

Seriously, seriously rich brownies

These are the Outrageous Brownies from the first Barefoot Contessa cookbook. Ina Garten doesn't skimp on ingredients, and these are no exception. You will be the happy recipient of the undying affection of anyone lucky enough to eat one of these decadent treats, so consider cutting the pieces small for maximum luv. This particular recipe is really more like a cross between fudge and brownies, so if you're a cakey-crumbly brownie person, these will probably not be to your taste.

Makes one 9 x 13" pan.

1/2 lb. unsalted butter

8 oz. + 6 oz. semisweet chocolate chips

3 oz. unsweetened chocolate

3 extra-large eggs

1 1/2 Tbs. instant coffee

1 Tbs. vanilla

1 1/8 cups sugar

5/8 cups flour

1/2 Tbs. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts (if you're a nut person - I prefer pure chocolate)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter and flour a 9 x 13" pan, including the sides.

Melt together the butter, 8 oz. of chocolate chips, and the unsweetened chocolate in a medium bowl over simmering water. Allow to cool slightly. In a large bowl, stir (do not beat) together the eggs, coffee granules, vanilla, and sugar. Stir the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and allow to cool to room temperature. **It is very important to allow the batter to cool completely before adding the dry ingredients, or the chocolate chips will melt and ruin the brownies.

In a medium bowl, sift together 1 cup of flour, the baking powder, and salt. Add to the cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the 6 oz. of chocolate chips (and walnuts, if using) with 1/8 cup of flour in a medium bow, then add them to the chocolate batter. **Flouring the chips and walnuts prevents then from sinking to the bottom of the batter. Pour into the pan.

Bake for 20 minutes, the rap the pan firmly against the oven shelf to force the air out from between the pan and the dough. Bake for about 15 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Do not overbake! Allow to cool thoroughly, refrigerate, and cut into squares.

This recipe can be made up to a week in advance, wrapped well in plastic, and refrigerated. I've never seen them last that long, but I've heard it can be done.

Double Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Filling

Double Chocolate Layer Cake
smittenkitchen.com

The recipe below is for 2 10-inch layers filled and coated in chocolate ganache. This is a true death-by-chocolate cake. I made it with the raspberry filling to balance the intensity of all that chocolate, and was really pleased with the results. This is an incredibly moist, delicious chocolate cake. You'll be glad you made this, and, if you can bring yourself to share, your friends and neighbors will be too.

For cake layers
3 ounces fine-quality semisweet chocolate (I used Ghiradelli)
1 1/2 cups hot brewed coffee (I used instant espresso powder)
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

For ganache frosting and filling
**If you want to just use it for frosting, halve the recipe.
1 pound fine-quality semisweet chocolate (also Ghiradelli)
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter

For raspberry filling
1 lb bag frozen raspberries, thawed
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch

Special equipment: two 10- by 2-inch round cake pans

Make cake layers:
Preheat oven to 300°F and grease pans. Line bottoms with rounds of wax paper and grease paper.

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 flour-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.

Cool layers 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. **Be very careful handling the cake layers, they are fragile and will fall apart easily if not well supported at all times.

Make raspberry filling:
Puree the raspberries in a food processor, blender or immersion blender. Press the puree through a fine-mesh strainer with the back of a spoon, removing the seeds (this will be unpleasant, but so worth it - this puree really benefits from a seedless state). Heat the puree in a small pot with the sugar and cornstarch until mixture boils, stirring constantly. As it boils, it should quickly thicken.

Let it cool completely before spreading. A thin filling will make the cake easier to frost, but I applied a pretty generous layer of raspberries and didn't have much of a problem. You can dollop extra filling on top of the cake slices.

Make frosting:
Finely chop chocolate. In a 1 1/2- to 2-quart saucepan bring cream, sugar, and corn syrup to a boil over moderately low heat, whisking until sugar is dissolved. Remove pan from heat and add chocolate, whisking until chocolate is melted. Cut butter into pieces and add to frosting, whisking until smooth.

Transfer frosting to a bowl and cool, stirring occasionally, until spreadable (depending on chocolate used, it may be necessary to chill frosting to spreadable consistency). I found that stirring this over a bowl of ice water did a great job of cooling it off quickly and evenly.

Spread raspberries or frosting between the cake layers and carefully set the second round on top of the first. Frost the top and sides, being careful not to tear the cake too much. Cake keeps, covered and chilled, for 3 days. Bring cake to room temperature before serving.