recipe box: double chocolate cookies

My sweetie requested cookies of the chocolate variety and these seemed to fit the bill!

I prefer Ghiradelli chocolate, and even when a recipe calls for bittersweet I grab the semi-sweet. It's always worth the extra chocolate sweetness! This recipe comes from our Cook's Illustrated Baking book which I totally and completely swear by.

1. Sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl; set aside. Melt chocolate in medium heatproof bowl set over pan of almost-simmering water, stirring once or twice, until smooth; remove from heat. Beat eggs and vanilla lightly with fork, sprinkle coffee powder over to dissolve, and set aside.

1. 2. In bowl of standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment (or with hand mixer), beat butter at medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 5 seconds (15 seconds with hand mixer). Beat in sugars until combined, about 45 seconds (1 1/2 minutes with hand mixer); mixture will look granular. Reduce speed to low and gradually beat in egg mixture until incorporated, about 45 seconds (1 1/2 minutes with hand mixer). Add chocolate in steady stream and beat until combined, about 40 seconds (1 minute with hand mixer). Scrape bottom and sides of bowl with rubber spatula. With mixer at low speed, add flour mixture and mix until combined, about 40 seconds (1 minute with hand mixer). Do not overbeat. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature until consistency is scoopable and fudgelike, about 30 minutes.

2. 3. Meanwhile, adjust oven racks to upper- and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Leaving about 1 1/2-inches between each ball, scoop dough onto parchment-lined cookie sheets with 1 3/4-inch diameter ice cream scoop.

3. 4. Bake cookies until edges have just begun to set but centers are still very soft, about 10 minutes, turning cookie sheets from front to back and switching from top to bottom racks halfway through baking.

4. 5. Cool cookies on sheets about 10 minutes, slide parchment with cookies onto wire rack and cool to room temperature; remove with wide metal spatula.
   

These were the perfect ending to a very cold day. The chocolate flavor was surprisingly not too sweet for how much chocolate the recipe calls for, they were perfect!

recipe box: apple galette

For the pastry, place the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Pulse for a few seconds to combine. Add the butter and pulse 10 to 12 times, until the butter is in small bits the size of peas. With the motor running, pour the ice water down the feed tube and pulse just until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a floured board and knead quickly into a ball. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. (<--the dough is the best part!)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Roll the dough slightly larger than 10 by 14-inches. Trim the edges. Place the dough on the prepared sheet pan and refrigerate while you prepare the apples.

Peel the apples and cut them in half through the stem. Remove the stems and cores. Slice the apples crosswise in 1/4-inch thick slices. Place overlapping slices of apples diagonally down the middle of the tart and continue making diagonal rows on both sides of the first row until the pastry is covered with apple slices. Sprinkle with the full 1/2 cup of sugar and dot with the butter.

Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the pastry is browned and the edges of the apples start to brown. Rotate the pan once during cooking. If the pastry puffs up in one area, cut a little slit with a knife to let the air out. When the tart's done, heat the apricot jelly together with the water and brush the apples and the pastry completely with the jelly mixture. Enjoy!

What do I love as much as pumpkin this time of year? Apples! I am a northwest girl after all. This makes up a whole platter of apple tart that is quite good in the morning with coffee or in the evening to finish up a meal. And the apricot jelly surprisingly makes for a wonderful glaze. Happy fall baking!

recipe box: pumpkin bars

I love to bake, and even more then loving to bake I love to eat sweets! I think I get it from my mom, this whole sweet tooth, chocolate for breakfast (what?), looking at the desserts before dinner kind of thing. I have enjoyed baking since I was in high school, it was and is still a kind of meditation for me. It usually involves whimsical music (Billie Holiday) and melting chocolate which is truly an art. Around the holidays, and I consider fall a holiday, I really get the itch to bake and stir up warmth in the kitchen for my belly. I will be adding recipe box to my collections here to share with you my past favorites, new finds, holiday staples, and just those things that taste great. Side note: this is all about comfort food, but I will substitute oat and whole wheat flower, apple sauce for eggs, and raw sugar when possible!