Dark Chocolate Explosion Cookies- for the True Chocaholic!!

An Evie's Kitchen original...




Ingredients:

2 c bread flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 c cocoa powder
2 sticks melted butter
1/2 c granulated sugar
1 c light brown sugar
1 egg + 1 yolk
2 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp instant coffee
8 oz bittersweet chocolate (I recommend 2 x 4 oz bars of Ghirardelli 60% cacao)
4 oz semisweet chocolate (again, a 4 oz bar of Ghirardelli)

Directions:

Finely chop 4 oz bittersweet and 4 oz semisweet chocolate as shown. Set aside.




Break remaining 4 oz bar of bittersweet chocolate into about 20 pieces. This will be used as molten chocolate centers later.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder. Set aside.
Cream butter and sugars in a standing mixer. Add egg, yolk, vanilla, milk and instant coffee. Slowly add dry ingredients. Add the 8 oz finely chopped bittersweet and semisweet chocolate.
Refrigerate dough for at least 20 mins to chill. Meanwhile preheat oven to 350 and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Remove dough from refrigerator, scoop out 8-10 cookies on each sheet. Flatten gently and place a small square of chocolate in the middle as shown:



Then place another flattened dough ball on top of that, press gently so they stick together:




Press each cookie in a small dish of granulated sugar if desired to coat the cookie tops. Bake at 350 for 12-15 mins until tops look dry and slightly cracked.
Serve warm, or allow to cool and store in tupper ware at room temp, but microwave at medium power for 20 seconds before eating to enjoy the molten centers!

Guava Coconut Cookies

Guava and coconut are both cultivated throughout the tropics. What grows together goes together so I tried this flavor combination in a cookie and the results were tantalizing. Besides, I had to figure out how to use that random jar of guava jelly taking up space between the soy sauce and blue cheese dressing in the door of my fridge!
Another variation on ATK's Baking Illustrated sugar cookie recipe...

Ingredients:

2 c flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 sticks butter, softened
1 c granulated sugar
1 Tbsp light brown sugar
1 egg + 1 yolk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup toasted sweetened coconut
1 jar of guava jelly, such as Goya brand, sold in most supermarkets


Directions:

Toast coconut: spread coconut in an even layer on a baking sheet and place in oven at 375 for 1-2 mins, shake pan and toast 1 min longer until coconut is light brown. BE CAREFUL NOT TO LET IT BURN.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
In a standing mixer, cream the butter and the sugars. Add egg and vanilla.
Slowly add dry ingredients to combine.
Add coconut until combined.
Using small ice cream scoop, scoop onto 2 cookie sheets covered in parchment paper.
Bake at 375 for 12-15 mins.
Meanwhile, have jar of guava jelly ready.
Remove cookies from oven, immediately press each cookie gently with the back of a spoon to make indentations. Spoon 1-2 tsp jelly into each indentation. Transfer to wire rack and allow to cool.

Rosemary Cheddar & Leek Quiche

This is a variation on ATK's quiche lorraine recipe...

Ingredients:

Crust...

1 1/4 c. all purpose flour
1 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp butter, cold, cut into 2 pieces
5 Tbsp shortening, cold, cut into 5 pieces
4 Tbsp ice water

Filling...

2 strips bacon
2 leeks, sliced thinly, green parts discarded
2 c. half & half
2 eggs + 2 yolks
1/2 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp salt
pinch nutmeg
1 c. grated extra sharp cheddar


Directions:

In a food processor, combine salt, flour, sugar and rosemary. Pulse for 1 min or until combined. Add pieces of butter and shortening, one at a time. Pulse in food processor until pea size pieces are formed. Transfer to large bowl. With a rubber spatula, fold in the 4 Tbsp of ice water until dough comes together. Remove from bowl and form into a disc, 4" in diameter. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 45 mins.

Par bake the crust:

Preheat oven to 375. Roll dough between 2 pieces of plastic wrap to about a 12" diameter and transfer to pie plate. place piece of tin foil over pie shell and fill with pie weights or dried beans or rice. This will prevent crust from bubbling up while baking in the oven. Bake for 25 to 30 mins then remove from oven and remove foil with pie weights. Return to oven and bake for an addtl' 5 mins or until light golden. Remove from oven.

Make the filling:

Fry bacon in a skillet until fat is rendered and bacon is crispy. Remove bacon and transfer to paper towel-lined plate. Pour off all but 1 Tbsp bacon grease and saute leeks in bacon grease until tender, about 5 mins.



Chop bacon into small pieces, about 1/4 inch each.
Whisk eggs, yolks, half & half, nutmeg, white pepper and salt. Put cheese, leeks, and bacon into bottom of pie shell.




Pour egg mixture on top of bacon, cheese and leeks.
Return to oven and bake at 375 for 30-35 mins or until a knife blade inserted in middle of quiche comes out clean.
Allow to cool 10 mins before serving.

Earl Grey Cookies Dipped in Dark Chocolate

Ingredients:

2 heaping Tbsp loose Early Grey tea (about 6 teabags)



2 1/2 c all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 c granulated sugar
2 sticks of butter, cut into 16 pieces
2 tsp apple juice or apple cider
2 Tbsp cream cheese

For chocolate glaze:

4 oz bar of bittersweet chocolate, broken up into several small pieces.
1 Tbsp corn syrup
1 Tbsp butter

Directions:

Put sugar and loose tea in food processor, process until tea leaves begin to become powdery, about 3 mins.



Add flour and salt, process x 10 pulses.
Add butter, 1-2 pieces at a time. Add cream cheese and cider, pulse in food processor a few more times until larger globs of dough begin to form and dough becomes well blended.
Turn out dough onto counter top and knead into smooth dough, shape into 2 discs, 4" diameter each. Wrap in plastic and place in fridge for at least 1 hr.
* you can use a standing mixer when you add the cider and cream cheese



Preheat oven to 375. Cover two baking sheets in parchment paper. Roll dough on floured surface x 1/8 inch thick. Use cookies cutters to cut as many cookies as possible and reform extra dough trimmings into a thick disc and roll out again to form more cookies. Repeat up to 3 times. Transfer cookie dough to sheets using a metal spatula.

Bake x 10 mins.

Remove from oven and carefully slide paper with cookies to wire cooling rack.

Meanwhile, place chocolate, butter, and corn syrup in double boiler and melt over low heat, stirring often. Decorate cookies with chocolate glaze while it is still warm and liquid. Allow to cool.

Crab Cakes

I made these with cheap-o canned crab...
..Mixed with some diced red pepper, scallions, Old Bay Seasoning, salt, pepper, bread crumbs and eggs.
The chutney is a mixture of corn, sauteed onions, red bell peppers, chili powder, cumin and cilantro... serve with chipotle mayo with lime and cilantro.

Rosemary Blackberry Scones

Again with the scone recipe in America's Test Kitchen's Baking Illustrated...
I typically use this one... after a recent trip to Harvest restaurant in Harvard Square, I came up with the idea of using rosemary and blackberry. Harvest was serving a peach raspberry rosemary shortcake for dessert during restaurant week... I thought the rosemary and raspberry went well together and I decided to make these scones. Why blackberry and not raspberry? Well, I happened to have blackberries in the fridge...but you should would try these with raspberries too!






Ingredients:

2 c. all purpose flour, plus more for dusting counter top
1 Tbsp baking powder
3 Tbsp sugar, plus more for dusting tops of scones
1/2 tsp salt
5 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1/2 c. blackberries
2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
1 c. heavy cream

1. Preheat oven to 425 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, rosemary, and salt in a large bowl.
3. Using a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. 4. Toss blackberries with about 2 tsp flour and stir them in.
5. With a spatula, stir in heavy cream until evenly combined.
6. Dust counter top with flour and gently knead dough into a 1" thick disc. Cut as you would a pie, into 8 evenly sized wedges and place on baking sheet.
7. Dust the tops with additional sugar and bake for 15 mins.

Catching Wild Yeast for Sourdough

I tried catching wild yeast for Sourdough...

Step 1: Crush some green grapes and put them in cheesecloth:


Step 2: Make a sachet our of it by bundling and tying with string, and submerge it in a mixture of about 1 c. flour and 1/2 c. water (it should be like pancake batter):




Step 3. Let it sit 12-24 hrs. It will foam and smell sort of like beer. Mine actually did foam, but I didn't get a picture of it because I forgot!!

Step 4. Stir and keep in the refrigerator, use as you would any sourdough starter in a bread recipe.

This is what happens when you leave it out too long:



It began to smell pretty bad... was probably plenty of bacteria in it...lysteria, MRSA and who knows what else, total disaster ;)