They’re from The Improvisational Cook by Sally Schneider, which is an interesting book not only because the title describes my polar opposite but because of the approach it has towards both the recipes and the layout of the book itself. For instance, the other day I made one of the recipes demonstrating what she calls "close-roasting", a pork shoulder braised in its own juices by covering closely with aluminum foil in a dutch oven and marinated overnight in a "mole-inspired ancho chile, cinnamon and cocoa powder" rub. This was but one of 4 variations listed under the category of close-roasting – the next variation? Duck. So the goal is to show you the technique and how you might apply it to anything you have on hand, so that you might – get ready for it – improvise! Amazing how that works. We’ll see how that works out for someone like me, what with my panic attacks at having a different kind of paprika than a recipe calls for.
Anyway, my lemon cake was almost gone and I needed something to keep me from reaching out to Little Debbie, (she’s so good to me!) so I plucked this recipe out of the back since Warren prefers brownie or other chocolate + flour treats. A word of caution – these tell you heaping tablespoon or 1/4 portions of dough. If you make these with the variation I have written, they are nearly too big to be comfortably enjoyed due to the richness. If/when I make them again, I’m going to scale it back to a heaping teaspoon instead (if you do it now, remember that smaller portion = less time in the oven.) Then again, I had half of one for breakfast and two after dinner, so…
Chocolate Wonders
Adapted from "The Improvisational Cook" by Sally Schneider
You will need:
8 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, or 6 oz semisweet chocolate and 2 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped. (because who doesn’t have unsweetened chocolate on hand…)
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1/3 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tsp. instant espresso powder* (optional)
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 c. sugar
–variations**–
1 c. milk chocolate chips
1 c. semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 c. white chocolate chips
1/2 c. bittersweet chocolate chips
Now, down to business. There’s some instructions as to placement for two racks in the oven, but I know my limitations as a baker so I keep to a single rack in the center of the oven unless a recipe tells me specifically that I cannot do that. Preheat your oven to 325F and prepare your cookie sheets by lining them either with parchment paper (my favorite) or aluminum foil with the shiny side up. If you are fancy and have a Silpat or the equivalent, I see no reason why this wouldn’t be a perfectly good application for it.
Melt your butter and chocolate by placing both in a double boiler, or in my case, a steel bowl over a small saucepan with a bit of simmering water in it. I feel like it’s repetitive but I have to say again, there are several methods for melting chocolate and frankly if you’re not tempering it, melt the stuff however you want. In a pan or in the microwave, I really can’t see it being a problem as long as you don’t let it scorch. This recipe mentions even a Flame Tamer. Does anyone actually know what a Flame Tamer is? Anyway, once you’re melted set it aside and let it cool down. You want it to still be warm, but just barely.
While it cools, sift/whisk your flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
In yet another bowl, combine the eggs, espresso powder and vanilla, and beat with a whisk or hand mixer until combined. Add the sugar and beat until thick, which will take a minute or two. God help you if you chose a whisk, as about 30 seconds in my wrist was staging a revolt.
Use a rubber or silicone spatula to add the chocolate mixture into the eggs and mix until just combined.
Finally, add the flour and stir with the spatula until just blended.
Add your variations – "chunky embellishments" she calls them – by folding into the batter with the spatula until evenly incorporated.
Drop the batter by heaping tablespoons on the pans, leaving 1 1/2 inches between cookies. Bake about 15-17 minutes, until the tops look set and have that cracked, brownie-like finish. Let cool to warm on the pan before removing to a rack and/or shoving in your mouth. They have a soft interior fresh out of the oven that you want to protect so that it can firm up a bit without falling all over the place, thus the wait.
Notes:
* This is one of those things I realize not everyone will have on hand. If I hadn’t used it in a chocolate tart, I wouldn’t have it either. If you are not inclined to buy it or can’t find it (Harmons has it, SLCers) you can substitute instant coffee instead. Its only purpose is to bring out and deepen the chocolate, it doesn’t taste at all of coffee.
** My variation is ridiculous. The original recipe calls for 1 cup each of chocolate chips, chopped pecans and chopped walnuts, but I’m the only one in the house who likes nutty things and the last thing I need is to eat 20 cookies on my own. I’m not saying these aren’t insanely good, because they really, really are, but they are also really, really rich and contain a truly absurd amount of chocolate. They’re not, as such things can be, overly sweet but they are definitely bordering on too rich. Just keeping you informed! If you don’t want this much chocolate, as far as I can tell you can throw anything you want in this batter. Craving some pork fat? Caramel and bacon go well together, so why not some bacon bits, caramel pieces and cashews? You could even flavor the batter accordingly, say, a pinch of cayenne for heat and make your chunky bits Red Hots or cinnamon gummy bears or something. Could do the same with mint and make it a candy cane/York/choc. chip with creme de menthe replacing the vanilla. So many possibilities to be had here. It should also be said that the batter is good without the chunks and would make very acceptable plain cookies – the book calls these "Chocolate Planets" – but with a smaller size.
And as a final note unmarked by asterisks, when it comes to cookies – or anything, really – with this amount of chocolate, quality is important. It’s worth it to splurge a little. I mean, I’m not busting out the Valrhona or Scharffen Berger, but using Guittard chips over Nestle or Hershey, and the Ghirardelli baking bars over Baker’s chocolate squares can really make a difference.
I am going to try this today! I was thinking of making brownies for a concert snack tonight, but individual servings looks better.
The first look at that crackled top and you had me won over. Then four types of chocolate? What decadence.
Oh my.
Quick question – is that really only 1/3 C flour? Or should it be 1 1/3 C? I’m totally making these tomorrow…
It’s really only 1/3 cup. Took me by surprise, too. Let me know how they turn out for you!
Where does the sugar come in?
Colleen, the sugar gets added after you’ve combined the eggs, espresso powder and extract. Throw it in and beat the crap out of it.
Oh my god. I wonder if I can stop after two (not likely), and I wonder if they’ll survive the night with my hungry roommates milling about.
These are amazing. I think my oven is running a bit hotter than yours, so I ended up taking mine out after 12 minutes and they were perfect. I stuck with essentially the same “chunky embellishments” – didn’t have bittersweet, though, so went with Special Dark. Delicious!!
Wow! Those look great!