Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Drops

The combination of salty-sweet is perfection in desserts: salted caramels, chocolate dipped pretzels, even chocolate bacon cake. (Trust me.) But the original, the very first experience most of us have of this nirvana of salty-sweet, is with peanut butter and chocolate, possibly my favorite flavor combination. (See my blog post on homemade peanut butter cups.)

Going a bit farther on that path (and at the request of my peanut butter and chocolate obsessed children), I came up with this recipe for cookie dough drops: basically cookie dough dipped in chocolate and finely chopped nuts (I like cashews, for an extra hit of rich, nutty flavor. Peanuts work just fine too.) Easy to make, even easier to eat, and appealing to everyone, big and little alike.

One note: I have re-imagined the peanut butter cookie dough so that it does not include eggs, just in case you are a little freaked out about eating eggs in the raw.

Recipe:

• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1/2 cup peanut butter, creamy or crunchy
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup A.P. flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8-12 ounces chocolate, (milk or dark) melted
• 1/2 cup cashews or peanuts, finely chopped

I use a food processor to make this, because it can be done in less than a minute, but it can be made by hand, just be sure to blend everything well.

1. Blend together butter, peanut butter and sugar until well combined. It should be very smooth. 
2. Add flour, baking powder and soda and salt. Blend again until very smooth. Refrigerate for about 15 minutes, until the dough is firm enough to be easily handled.
3. Using a tablespoon or a large melon baller, make 1-inch dough balls. 
4. Freeze until firm about 30 minutes. This makes the dough much easier to dip in the melted chocolate. 
5. Dip dough in melted chocolate and sprinkle with chopped nuts, and place on cooling rack until chocolate hardens.
6. Snarf.

Makes about 3 dozen 1-inch dough drops

*This makes a great peanut butter cookie too. Flatten the dough balls with a fork, sprinkle with chopped nuts, and bake in 350 degree oven 10-12 minutes until edges are crispy and the middles still a bit soft. 

Raspberry Chocolate Whipped Cream Profiteroles

Spring is here, and I simply can't wait for berry season. Until then, I will have to content myself with the fact that my chickens know it is spring too, and are laying eggs like crazy. I have dozens and dozens. Eggs are rolling off my kitchen counters. I am giving them away to my friends, neighbors, even the mailman.
In an effort to use up some of this lovely bounty (I know, I am spoiled rotten) I made choux, which is a magical pastry dough that is cooked and then baked in the oven to a fantastical puffy, golden lightness. And then I stuffed each lovely light-as-air orb with kir royal infused whipped cream and a raspberry and dipped the tops in dark chocolate.
This should do until strawberry season.

Choux Dough:

• 1 stick butter
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup water
• pinch salt
• pinch sugar
• 1 cup flour 
• 5 eggs

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees with two racks in the middle third of oven

1. In a medium saucepan over high heat, bring butter, milk and water to a boil. Once boiling, Add salt, sugar and flour all at once. Don't be alarmed if it seems a lumpy mess at first, just stir briskly with a wooden spoon or stout whisk. The mixture will quickly become smooth. Continue stirring a few more minutes until the mixture becomes a bit dry.
2. Remove from heat and let cool a moment or two and then add eggs one by one, stirring very well after each to fully incorporate. Don't worry if the mixture looks a bit curdled, it will come back together. 
3. Spray or use silpat mats and prepare two half size sheet pans and either pipe or drop rounded spoonfuls of dough onto pans. Pop into reheated oven and IMMEDIATELY turn the heat down to 375 degree. Bake approximately 25-30 minutes, rotating pans halfway through baking time, until puffs are well risen and lightly golden brown. 
4. Remove from oven and allow to cool on cooling racks before proceeding

Raspberry Whipped Cream:

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 Tablespoon confectioner's sugar
• 1 teaspoon raspberry liquor, like Chambord or vanilla extract

1. In a very cold bowl, with a very cold whisk (I put mine in the freezer for a few minutes) whip heavy cream just until it holds soft clouds. This takes about three seconds, less time than it takes to hunt up the blades for the electric mixer. Much easier to do it by hand. Really. 
2. Add sugar and favoring and give it a few more turns with the whisk, just until it holds firmer peaks. C'est fini. 

Assembly:

Choux

• Whipped Cream
• Raspberries
• Melted chocolate: 6-8 ounces of your favorite, melted in a bain marie or the microwave on 50% power.

1. Using a bread knife, split the choux open, they will be quite hollow inside. 
2. Add a dollop of cream into the hollow, then a raspberry. Replace the cap.
3. Spoon melted chocolate over the top. I like to refrigerate them, so that the chocolate gives a nice, satisfying snap, and the cream stays chilly. 

Divine.

Makes about 30-33 2-inch choux, enough for 10-11 dessert servings. 

Triple Chocolate Brownies

These truly are the very best brownies. So easy, they can be made while you are boiling water for pasta. The perfect base for an almost endless array of add-ins, you will never tire of them. The perfect gift for a lovelorn friend, a bake sale staple, an undeniably delicious bribe, a delectable way of expressing gratitude. Or, you can simply hide in a closet and keep them all to yourself. Tempting.

Recipe:

• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
• 8 ounces butter (2 sticks)
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 5 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 
• 1/2 cup All-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 large handful bittersweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rack in the middle of the oven.
Butter or spray a rectangular pyrex dish--I use one that is 11 3/4 inches by 7 1/2 inches.

1. In a medium bowl over boiling water (or in a microwave) melt chocolate and butter together. Stir gently just until melted. 
2. Add sugar, vanilla, eggs and salt and mix until eggs are just combined. Add flour and cocoa powder and mix again just until combined and there are no lumps--really DO NOT OVERMIX. The brownies will be tough and dry if you mix too much. Really you are just trying to make sure that all your ingredients are combined together and aren't left in great lumps, that's all. Use a wooden spoon, be gentle.
3. Add chocolate chips and spoon into prepared pan. Bake in the middle of the preheated oven for about 25-30 minutes until brownies are set-the surface should have a nice sheen, the edges should be  dry and well set, and the tester should come out fairly dry. The brownies will continue to cook, once they come out of the oven, and they really are best a bit on the gooey side, so it's best to under-rather than over cook.

One caveat: You MUST wait until the brownies are cool before cutting! I know, it will be hard!

If you ever get bored with the basic recipe (how could you? but still...) add chopped pecans or walnuts to the batter before baking, or sprinkle the top with some grains of super coarse salt, or pistachios, or coconut, or frost it with ganache when it cooled, or....see? practically endless....

Chocolate Dipped Orange Shortbread Cookies

Nothing is better than chocolate. Or cookies. Sadly, I am one of those perverse people who does not like chocolate cookies, under any circumstances. But cookies dipped in dark, dark chocolate? Heaven.




Recipe:

1/2 cup sugar
2 sticks of butter, cubed
2 teaspoons dried Valencia orange zest*
pinch salt
2 cups flour

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1. In the bowl of a food processor, blitz sugar for a few moments to make the texture a bit finer. Add butter, and zip it on and off in quick bursts until the butter and sugar are creamed together.

2. Sprinkle in a pinch of salt, the orange zest and the flour. Zip again just until the dough begins to form a crumbly ball. Turn it out onto some waxed paper, wrap and chill in the fridge for 15-30 minutes. It should be firm but pliable.

3. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface (or roule pat mat) until it is approximately 1/4 inch thick. Cut out shapes with cookie cutters or simply make triangles with a knife (called "petticoat tails") or use a ruler to cut nice, even rectangles. 

4. Transfer gently to a parchment lined baking sheet and bake in the middle rack of the oven for 10-12 minutes, until edges are pale golden. Shortbread gets overdone very, very quickly, so set a timer and keep an eagle eye on them. Let cool 5 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack. Cool completely.

5. While cookies are cooling, melt chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave. Stir gently until the chunks are melted completely and the chocolate is smooth and silky. 

6. When the cookies are cool, dip them into the hot, melted chocolate and return them to the cooling rack to rest until the chocolate has set. Conversely, dip a small spoon into the chocolate and drizzle chocolate over the cookie. I prefer this method--it makes a prettier cookie, the chocolate is more evenly distributed across the surface, and your melted chocolate stays smooth and crumb free. 

Depending on the size of your cookie cutter, this recipe makes about 2 dozen larger or 3 dozen smaller cookies. 

*If you can't find dried orange zest (McCormick makes a very good one, and it is available almost everywhere) feel free to use fresh orange zest, but up the quantity to 1 TABLESPOON.