Let Freedom Ring

Hello! I trust you and your loved ones are having a wonderful and safe Fourth of July. I am making this a brief post and leaving you guys with a recipe I tested today - the most decadent chocolate mousse. It's light and airy, with a robust chocolate flavor that is sure to please all chocolate lovers. If it's too rich for you, add a dollop of sweetened whipped cream and top with milk chocolate shavings and enjoy!

Heavenly Chocolate Mousse
Serves - 6
Prep time - 30min.
Chill time - 8hrs-overnight


Ingredients:
8 (1 ounce) squares semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup water, divided
2 tablespoons butter
3 egg yolks
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/4 cups whipping cream, whipped




Directions:


1. In a double broiler, heat chocolate, 1/4 cup water and butter until the chocolate and butter are melted. Cool for 10 minutes. In a small heavy saucepan, whisk egg yolks, sugar and remaining water. Cook and stir over low heat until mixture reaches 160 degrees F, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat; whisk in chocolate mixture. Set saucepan in ice bath and stir until cooled, about 8 minutes. Fold in whipped cream. Spoon into dessert dishes. Refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.


Enjoy!

Cookies are Made of Butter and Love

Hello hello! Right now I am enjoying my first cup of coffee of the day, listening to the rain, and taking in the aroma of the most heavenly chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven. I've been feeling a bit under the weather these past few days - no pun intended - and haven't been cooking as much as I would like. However, tonight I managed to cook dinner; two types of pasta dishes, fresh Focaccia bread, and a crisp artisan salad. We were all hungry by the time it was finished cooking and I forgot to snap a picture of it for you guys. Sorry! Next time it's made I will share it with you along with the recipe. It's become a favorite in this house. 

While perusing Pinterest a couple weeks ago I found a pin for Jacques Torres' Secret Chocolate Chip Cookie and they looked divine! So, guess what I made tonight when I was wanting something sweet? http://pinterest.com/pin/78039006013541499/

Okay enough with all that jazz; let's get to the good stuff. Now I love a good chocolate chip cookie, but it has to fit my criteria: thick and chewy with equal proportions of chocolate to cookie, and most importantly NO add-ins. I've tried several recipes in the past but none of them even come close to this one. The best part? They are 5" cookies packed with chocolate in every bite. Now that is what I call a cookie. 

There were a few tips on the blog where I got the recipe from. I didn't follow them because I was a.) too impatient, b.) was not going to leave the house in the pouring rain to get pastry flour from the store, and c.) I had several bags of chocolate chunks and large chips on hand, so I used those in place of the bulk chocolate piece. Needless to say these cookies turned out without following the tips. I can only imagine how good they would be if they were followed. I have listed them for you if you would like to give them a try. 

The following tips are from the original blog post on Tender Crumb.

- Don't substitute the pastry and bread flours w. AP flour. I really believe that the combination of the pastry and bread flours give the cookie a nice slightly crunchy exterior giving way to a really tender middle.

- Hand chopped chocolate chunks, NOT premade chips - I will purchase a hunk of the best bittersweet chocolate that I can afford and hand cut them into chunks. The easiest method to chop a block of chocolate: nuke the block at 50% power for a few seconds, no more. It softens the chocolate just enough. Then take a large kitchen knife and chop away! Your effort will be rewarded with really nice ribbons of melted chocolate throughout the cookie.

- Chill the cookie dough at least 24 hours (I let my dough sit anywhere from 2-3 days) before baking. This is not for taste reasons that were recently written about in an article from NY Times (god forbid we're aging cookie dough...let's leave that for wine and cheese). IMHO, refrigeration makes a difference with the look and texture. I think the dough sets in a way so when you bake the cookies, you end up with the lovely wrinkles and folds as the balls of dough spread and bake

As I said, I did not have pastry flour on hand so I used 1 1/3cup of unbleached all-purpose flour and 2/3cup of cake flour to make 2cups of a pastry flour substitute. I also used Ghirardelli Bittersweet, Semi-sweet, and Milk chocolate pieces. Everyone in my house likes a different type of chocolate so I used the three favorite. As soon as I mixed the dough, I used a 1/4c ice cream scoop to measure the cookie dough. I started to get excited when I saw them start to spread every so slightly as they were baking and I was afraid that with a pound of butter that they would spread more than they did. But they kept a nice puff to them and browned lightly around the edges. I was also afraid that with using "pastry flour" and bread flour that they would be too dense, but I was surprised to find that they were airy in the center. I must admit that I had doubts about them as I was preparing them, but trust me, these will turn out to be the best chocolate chip cookie you have ever made. If anyone tells you they haven't ever been wowed by the homely chocolate chip cookie, hand them one of these and let them be blown away. 

Also, you can follow me on Twitter here! 

Follow @FoodieNic92 Enjoy!

Jacques Torres' Secret Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Makes twenty-six 5-inch cookies or 8 1/2 dozen 1 1/4-inch cookies

Ingredients

1lb unsalted butter

1 3/4c granulated sugar

2 1/4c packed light-brown sugar

4 large eggs

3c pastry flour

3c bread flour

1tbs salt

2tsp baking powder

2tsp baking soda

1tbs pure vanilla extract

2lbs bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Directions

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats and set aside.

-In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars.

-Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

-Reduce speed to low and add both flours, baking powder, baking soda, vanilla, and chocolate; mix until well combined.

-Using a 4-ounce scoop for larger cookies or a 1-ounce scoop for smaller cookies, scoop cookie dough onto prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. 

-Bake until lightly browned, but still soft, about 20 minutes for larger cookies and about 15 minutes for smaller cookies. 

-Cool slightly on baking sheets before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Let the Rain Sing You a Lullaby

It's raining - again. Second day in a row. We now have a lake in both the front and back yard. Sitting at the table you can hear the steady rain pattering on the skylight. It's such a soothing sound. This is also the second day into my break from school. I like to think that rainy days are the only qualifier needed for a day to be considered a lazy day. My ideal lazy day would entail: coffee, lots of it, a good book, a hearty meal, and baking. I also like to think that doing these said things qualifies as being productive. I finished reading "The Help" today. That's one more thing I can scratch off my to do list. Though I'm sad it doesn't continue; it was a wonderful read. 


Aside the rain, this is one of the rare cold days. Two days ago it was in the high 70's, but tonight it's in the high 40's. I can't help but crave hot chocolate when it gets cold outside. My mother gave me this recipe after she found it while reading one of her books. Tonight seemed like the perfect occasion to test out the recipe. It was nothing short of a cup full of joy. Never have I had hot chocolate that was so creamy and thick, It's a step under Italian hot chocolate in consistency.  The teaspoon of sugar was just enough sweet to balance the bitterness of the chocolate. I used an 80% semi-sweet chocolate. And you can't have hot chocolate without whipped cream. It's simply an injustice to even think of such a thing. I grated a bittersweet chocolate for the topping. This is the perfect cup of love to share with someone you care for. 


If you'll excuse me, but I'm going to sit down with a new book and my cup of chocolate and enjoy the rest of the rainy night.  

Celeste Madeline Chambeau Hot Chocolate
Serves: 2


2c whole milk
1tsp. white sugar
1/2tsp. vanilla extract
4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
Pinch of salt




Heat milk in a pot, stirring with a whisk. When steam starts to rise from the pot, whisk in sugar and vanilla. Slowly whisk in chocolate until it's fully melted then add the pinch of salt. Heat for five minutes on low, stirring frequently so milk doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot. Top with a dollop of whipped cream, marshmallows, or chocolate shavings.


I made a simple whipped cream with 1/4c heavy whipping cream and 2tbs superfine sugar. Whip the cream until frothy then add the sugar.