Chocolate chip cookie dough truffles

I need to apologize for my lack of blog entries these days - Christmas is right around the corner, and while I've been cooking often, I haven't had much time to sit down in front of the computer proper.

As I'm writing this, I have chocolate chip cookie dough (sans eggs and with condensed milk to bind everything together) chilling on a cookie sheet in the car (my car doubles as a refrigerator in the winter). Once the dough sets (approximately 2 hours in the fridge, but about 45 minutes or so in sub-zero temperatures), I'll take them out and coat them in chocolate to make truffles.

I stumbled across this recipe by Paula Deen (lovely lady with great recipes that must seriously be tested in moderation as they can get pretty rich) last year, and thought it was genius. The elegant appearance of truffles combined with the familiar and comforting taste of chocolate chip cookies. What's not to love?

Of course, like most recipes, I had to tinker - mostly with the sugar, as I find most recipes too sweet.

My tinkerings:
- 300 ML of condensed milk (slightly less than 14 ounces)
- 1/3 cup of brown sugar instead of 3/4 cup - condensed milk is already chock-full of sweetness - the brown sugar is for flavouring only
- 0.75 cups of mini chocolate chips (more than the 0.5 cups called for)
- 1.5 cups of pecans (up from the 1 cup called for)

The recipe is actually quite ingenious - no eggs, so you don't have to worry about salmonella poisoning - and it still retains all of the amazing flavours of the classic chocolate chip cookie.

I do have to say though, it is quite labour intensive. The dough was easy enough to make, but it was the chocolate dipping part that hurt the most.

Making chocolate is fun, but I'm definitely not an expert. Which means that dipping the cookie dough (which, BTW, were shaped with my awesome cookie dough scoop) into melted chocolate coating, taking it out and placing it onto waxed paper was quite painful for me.

Even with my chocolate dipping toolset, it still hurt. I definitely need more practice.

But the end results?  Not as bad as I thought.  Check it out:

While not perfectly dipped, I did manage to get the job done. Paula's recipe calls for 2 spoons if you don't have the right tools. Let's just say I did this last year and I would never, ever, ever, do this again.

Chocolate-dipped potato chips (that's right)

Chocolate chips

Whether I'm cooking, grocery shopping or trying a new restaurant, I always think of these activities as culinary adventures. Last night, I embarked on such an adventure. Along with a friend, I tried chocolate-dipped potato chips at The Chocolateria, located at 361 Roncesvalles Avenue.

The chips were interesting. The salt from the potato chips helped to balance out the sweetness from the chocolate. I liked the texture very much - crunchy and soft at the same time. Again, it's all about balance. 

However, I would say this snack is only good in very small doses. Any more than 2 or 3 chips, and the overall experience becomes too much.  Too much sweetness, too much saltiness and just too much in general.  (And when I start thinking about the calories involved....ugh...)  

Having said this, I think the chips could be much more enjoyable if paired properly with a beer.  Chocolate beer has been around for a while - a black chocolate stout would go well, as would a beer like Okocim Porter.  

One other thought: someone I know used to put potato chips in the freezer. I've tried this and chips do tasted better cold - less salty. I think freezing these chips could also improve the experience.

The chocolate was a little heavy

Beyond the potato chips, The Chocolateria also has a wide array of truffles, and other goodies.  I didn't get a chance to try them, but could see myself going back. 

BTW - my friend didn't enjoy the chips, but he is willing to go along with my craziness and try the chips with beer. I'll be sure to write about it when it happens. 

The road to cake is paved with brownies...

I cannot bake cakes.  If my life depended on me making a cake that didn't resemble a brick, I'd be in deep trouble.  I don't know if it's because I over or under beat the eggs - I've done both - but my cakes never turn out.  So a few months ago,  I decided I'd take a step back and try something in between a cookie and a cake.

The answer?  Brownies.  And who better than Martha Stewart (crazy, high-strung perfectionist that she is) to teach me about brownies?

To date, I've made cake brownies, fudge brownies (the fact that there are different types of brownies was news to me), rocky road brownies (they were either extremely loved or met with lukewarm enthusiasm), and something called blondies.  Today, I tried making peanut butter brownies.  (The recipe can be found here.)

As I type this, I am waiting for the brownies to bake.  The house smells like a Reece's Peanut Butter Cup - flavourful chocolate mixed with peanut butter.

I'll write a follow-up post to let everyone know how it goes.  Hopefully it'll turn out - bringing me one step closer to successfully baking a cake.  Stay-tuned.

Rocky Road Brownies

As teenagers, my best friend and I used to take the bus to one of the local malls and hit up the Baskin Robbins. Instead of plain vanilla, my friend convinced me to try rocky road. The combination of nuts, marshmallows and chocolate bits, mixed in with the ice cream...absolute summer heaven.

But now that I'm a little older, my metabolism can no longer keep up with the calories...but it's still nice to indulge once in awhile - with a twist. Instead of ice cream, the chocolate is amplified using a chocolate brownie as the base.

Martha Stewart (scary genius that she is)'s web site has some amazing recipes.  I tried this one.  (No tinkering required).

And for those who still have an amazing metabolism,  serve the brownie with ice cream. 

Who knew brownies could be so difficult?

I don't think I have enough readers to call this short posting "long-awaited" - definitely a delayed one though.

Life has been busy the last month - with a family wedding and my professional life taking up much of my time, I haven't had a chance until this week to actually try new recipes...

This past Thursday, I decided to try making one of the hundreds of brownie recipes squirreled away in my recipe box.

Using this recipe, I attempted my first batch of brownies. Being me, of course, I had to substitute and mess with the recipe (1 cup less sugar, dark chocolate, etc). The result? I thought I had screwed up (but I actually hadn't!). I did learn the difference between cake brownies and fudge brownies...one is supposed to be light(ish) and fluffy. The other, thick and gooey.

I started with the fudge brownie and thought the end result too dense, so I tried making a cake brownie. The result? It was too dry (which, at 10:30 p.m., was NOT amusing).

But after reflecting (and getting some awesome feedback from a friend who's an amazing chef), the solution seemed simple: mixing the two recipes together to make the perfect brownie.

Have I tried to? Not yet...but I will soon.

But if I did...this is what the recipe would look like:

Ingredients
- Vegetable oil cooking spray
- 8 ounces (2 sticks) butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 eggs, beaten
- 3/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 5 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
- 2 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
- 1 cup pecans/walnuts, coarsely chopped

Directions
- Preheat oven to 345 degrees F.
- Spray a 13 by 9-inch pan with vegetable oil spray.
- Beat the eggs together and set aside.
- Whisk the flour, salt and baking powder together
- Melt the butter in a deep pot / pan on the stove (this will be where you actually mix all the ingredients together)
- Whisk in the sugar, eggs, cocoa, and vanilla.
- Stir in the flour, baking powder and salt mixture.
- Add chopped chocolate and nuts.
- Spread the batter in prepared pan.
- Bake about 25 minutes, just until brownies test moist but not wet.
- Cool completely before cutting.

Messing with Martha Stewart

I love changing recipes and making them my own once I'm familiar with them - especially cookie recipes. It's rare that I'll add or take away from a cookie recipe on the first try though - especially if it's by MARTHA STEWART (insert echo here). After all, she's the grand dame of cooking. Who am I to question the greatness of her words?(And to be honest, if I ever met her in an alley, I'd run the other way).

But I did...and I'm lucky. I've been meaning to try her Outrageous Chocolate Cookies recipe for awhile now...it looked relatively easy-to-make, plus there are quite a few people in my life who are, quite frankly, chocolate freaks.

To be honest, I find working with oodles of chocolate quite overwhelming. It gets everywhere, plus I find melting chocolate quite a tedious process (this particular recipe calls for using the microwave to melt the chocolate and butter together...let's just say butter EXPLODES).

But this particular recipe was...interesting. This recipe calls for very little flour, which had me questioning whether or not the cookie would ever solidify, or if I'm just making a very expensive chocolate pudding (luckily I wasn't). I also didn't like using semisweet chocolate chunks twice, so I substituted with bitter sweet chocolate. Plus, I added walnuts, changed cooking times and temperatures (my oven tends to run a little hotter).

All I can say is that it turned out really well. I'd love to say it was because I'm an amazing cookie chef, but to be honest, I think it was just dumb luck.

The full recipe can be found below. I placed asterisks where I made changes. Happy baking.

Ingredients

Makes 2 dozen (I actually made 30)
- 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2/3 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar (*I only used 1/3 cup)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 package (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chunks (*substitute with bitter sweet chocolate)
- 700 grams chopped walnuts

Directions

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Heat chopped chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe bowl in 20-second increments, stirring in between, until almost melted; do not overheat.
- In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In a mixing bowl, beat eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla on high speed until light and fluffy.
- Reduce speed to low; beat in melted chocolate.
- Mix in flour mixture until just combined.
- Stir in chocolate chunks * and walnuts.
- Drop heaping tablespoons of dough 2 to 3 inches apart onto baking sheets.
- Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are shiny and crackly yet soft in centers, 12 to 15 minutes.
- Cool on sheets 10 minutes (*20 minutes)
- With a thin metal spatula, transfer to racks to cool completely.

Chocolate hazelnut cookies

I love the taste of hazelnut and chocolate, but I often find the combination to be too sweet. I came across this recipe on Foodnetwork.com, but have since modified it to have less sugar. One of my favourite cookies to make (and give away over the holidays).

- 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1/3 cup chocolate hazelnut spread (originally 1/2 cup)
- 1/3 cup sugar (originally 1/2 cup)
- 1/3 cup brown sugar (originally 1/2 cup)
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup chopped toasted hazelnuts

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In another medium bowl combine the butter, chocolate hazelnut spread, sugar, and brown sugar. Using an electric mixer, cream the ingredients together, about 4 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until smooth, about 1 minute. Using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, stir in the flour mixture until just combined. Add the hazelnuts and stir until just combined.

Using a tablespoon measure, spoon out the cookie dough onto a cookie sheet, spacing the mounds about 4 inches apart. Use the tines of a fork to flatten the cookie dough. Bake until lightly golden around the edges, about 8-10 (12 minutes max, because it'll start to burn). Use a metal spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack and let cool.