Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies

When I went to see the Martha Show for to tweet at her cookie special, one of the cookies she made were Mexican Hot Chocolate cookies. The boyfriend (who was most certainly not there) could not stop talking about them. When I tried them at the show, they were good, but there was nothing really Mexican about them, no kick, and I am pretty sure that they left out the chili pepper, because a large crowd, not everyone likes chili, etc. So I made them my way, and they were fantastic! You can't really taste the chili, but it has a little bite to it. The cookies remind me so much of a glass of hot chocolate, I think it's the texture. They were a big hit as part of my Christmas Cookie tray and definitely my favorite of the bunch!



Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies:
1 cup of unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar, divided
2 eggs
1 tsp of vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups of flour
1/2 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp of cream of tartar
1 tsp of baking soda
1 tsp of salt
1 tsp of instant coffee
3 tsp of cinnamon, divided
1 1/2 tsp of chili powder, divided

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees, position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl, cream together butter and 1 3/4 cups of sugar until smooth and creamy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until combined. Add the cocoa, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt, coffee, 1 tsp of cinnamon, 1/2 tsp of chili powder, and 1/4 cup of flour. Mix until everything is incorporated. Add additional cup of flour, and mix until flour is incorporated, repeat with last cup of flour. In a small bowl mix remaining sugar with 2 tsp of cinnamon and 1 tsp of chili powder. Scoop dough by tablespoon, roll it into a ball and roll it in the sugar mixture, then place on the baking sheet, repeat. Place the cookies about 3 inches apart, they spread. Put the first cookie sheet in the oven on the upper level and bake there for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, repeat the cookie assembly process and fill another cookie sheet. When the first set of cookies has been in the oven 5 minutes, transfer that sheet to the lower portion, rotating the tray and place the unbaked tray on the upper rack. Bake for 5 minutes, then remove the lower sheet from the oven and move the upper sheet to the lower rack. Allow cookies to cool a few minutes before removing from sheets. Repeat this process until the dough is all gone. (recipe adapted from Martha Stewart)

Here is a picture of the Christmas Cookie Tray, the Hot Chocolate Cookies are at the top right, my sea salt chocolate chip cookies are right below that, The Ginger Bread Men recipe is from Martha, they are really spiced! And those biscotti will be coming soon to a blog near you...



Happy Eating.

Chocolate Fudge

I recently bought a new candy thermometer, because I seem to have misplaced my old one. Since then, I have been on a candy making kick and I am loving it! Some stuff just tastes better when you make it yourself! So I decided I would make fudge. Growing up going to the Jersey Shore (fudge and taffy central) I have very high standards, but I have to say this stuff is delicious and highly addictive, so much so that I made it twice. The first time I made it I topped it with chocolate chips, after it turned out so well, I made a second batch and made this batch with toasted walnuts mixed in. I liked the walnut batch better, but I really love walnuts. Before eating the fudge, I recommend bringing it back to room temperature (although it tastes good cold too). If you can make it last, it tastes even better the second day (I am serious), after sitting out (in a sealed container, of course) all night it was so creamy and amazing. It also makes a wonderful gift, if you can bare to part with it that is. This recipe makes a ton though, so you can easily share and keep some for yourself. The fudge will keep for about a week in a sealed container or plastic bag.



Chocolate Fudge:
1 cups of dark brown sugar
1 cup of white sugar
1 14-ounce can of sweetened condensed milk
3/4 cup of heavy cream
6 tablespoons of unsalted butter
1 teaspoon salt
6 oz of semisweet chocolate
8 oz of bittersweet chocolate
3 cups of mini marshmallows
2 tsp of vanilla extract
2 cups of chocolate chips or toasted walnuts (optional)

Cover a 11 by 7 inch casserole dish with tinfoil. In a large pot, over medium-low heat, combine sugars, milk, cream, butter and salt. Cook until butter is completely melted and sugar is dissolved, you can check this by rubbing the mixture between your fingers, when you don't feel any granules the sugar is dissolved. This ensures your fudge is smooth. Turn heat to high and bring to a boil. Attach a candy thermometer. Reduce heat to keep mixture at a simmer, and cook, stirring occasionally until the candy thermometer reaches 234 degrees, soft ball stage. While the mixture is cooking, break the chocolate into pieces and put in a large heat proof bowl, add the marshmallows and vanilla to the bowl. When the sugar mixture is cooked, remove from heat and pour over the chocolate. Stir with a heat proof spoon until all the chocolate and marshmallows have melted and the mixture thickens (it will look a little like ground beef). If using walnuts stir them in now. Dump the mixture into the tinfoiled dish, and using the spoon press down to smooth and even out the mixture. If using chocolate chips, sprinkle with chips now and then press down lightly. Put fudge in the fridge for at least 3 hours. When fudge is cooled, use tinfoil to remove from pan and cut into pieces. Let return to room temperature before eating.

Happy Eating.

Butterflied Leg of Lamb

Welcome to the limbo sort of week in between Christmas and New Years, a perfect time to relax and catch up on some cooking. I have cookies, and meats, and treats I made with my wonderful new kitchen toys! To start it off, some succulent and delicious lamb. This lamb is a boneless butterflied leg of lamb, a cut of meat that I had never used before, because it's on the small side and a bit pricey. But it is worth it. It is only the best, juiciest piece of the leg, cut like a steak, and with just a bit of fat. It cooks beautifully, and tastes like a magical mix of lamb and steak. I served it up with asparagus (recipe below the lamb one) and white rice, mixed with feta cheese, a splash of chipotle olive oil, and a sprinkle of toasted almond slices.



Lamb:
1 lb of butterflied boneless leg of lamb
1 tsp of salt
1 tsp of pepper
1/2 tsp of dried thyme
1/2 tsp of paprika
1 clove of garlic
1 small shallot
1 tbsp of olive oil

Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and grease lightly with olive oil. Wash the lamb and pat dry. In a small bowl mix together the salt, pepper, thyme and paprika. Rub onto the lamb on both sides. Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Mince the garlic and shallot and add to the oil. When the oil is sizzling, put the lamb in the pan, fattier side down. Cook until the side is brown, 2-3 minutes. Flip the lamb over and brown on the other side, an additional 2 minutes. Transfer to the baking sheet and cook in the oven until desired doneness. About 8 minutes for medium rare. Let sit for a few minutes before slicing and serving.



Asparagus:
1 bunch of asparagus
1 medium shallot
1/2 tsp of salt
1/2 tsp of pepper
1/2 tsp of paprika
2 tbsp of sliced almonds
1 tbsp of olive oil

Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees. Wash and trip asparagus. Spread out on a foil lined cookie sheet. drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and paprika. Cook for 15 minutes until asparagus are tender. Remove from oven and top with almonds, return to the oven and cook until the nuts are golden, about 5 minutes. Serve and enjoy.

Happy Eating.

French Macaroons

I have always wanted to make French Macaroons. They are so glamorous. Petite, beautiful and decadent sandwiches. So I decided to try it. I hunted down almond flour and caster sugar, I found my old piping equipment (from my caking phase) and replaced the missing piece that I needed. I researched a variety of very similar recipes and then I just went for it. I decided to decadent it up a bit by making them chocolate and filling them with dulce de leche (which I have also wanted to make for awhile). My piping skills could definitely use some practice, but overall, these came out delicious and beautiful. The cookies are so light and crisp, but so rich in flavor. It's like the perfect contradiction, and the filling, well there is no other way to describe that besides yum! I am so proud of my little beauties, even though my boyfriend kept calling them mini chocolate hamburgers. Oh well, I can sort of see what he means... I only kept a few of these for myself (for research/taste testing purposes) I packaged the rest up as a little gift for a friend, after all, the best part of baking is sharing!



Chocolate Macaroons:
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup almond flour
3 tbsp of dutch process cocoa
2 large egg whites
1/4 tsp of cream of tartar
1/4 cup caster sugar

Allow egg whites to sit out on the counter until they are room temperature, longer is ok, I let mine site for 2 hours. Sift powdered sugar, almond flour and cocoa into a medium bowl. Stir gently, then sift the mixture again. Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, using a hand or stand mixer and the whisk attachment, beat egg whites until foamy on medium speed, about a minute. Add the cream of tarter and beat until soft peaks form, about 2-3 minutes. Add in caster sugar and beat on low until stiff peaks form, about 8 minutes (I just timed mine for exactly 8 minutes). Sift flour mixture over egg whites, then stir with a spoon until just combined. Spoon mixture into a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch round tip. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Pipe small circles 1/2 inch apart. Try to make them all as close to the same size as possible. Tap the sheet next to each cookie, to release any air bubbles. Let the cookies sit out for 15 minutes. Transfer cookies to the oven and reduce temperature to 325 degrees. Cook for 5 minutes, then rotate the baking sheet and cook for an additional 5 minutes. n the meantime, pipe the next set of cookies on to a new sheet of parchment paper (since they need to sit for 15 minutes), I found it easier to pipe the cookies if they weren't on the baking sheet. Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 375 degrees. Let cooked macaroons cool for 5 minutes, then loosen them from the wax paper. Transfer the piped but uncooked macaroons (that had been sitting out) onto the baking sheet and into the oven. Repeat this process until all the cookies are cooked and cooled. (adapted from Martha Stewart)



Dulce De Leche:
1 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk

Pout the milk into a medium pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring frequently until thickened and caramel in color, about 20-25 minutes. Yes, that is how easy it is to make dulce de leche, when someone told me this, I could not believe it, given what they charge for a jar of that stuff! I just had to see for myself, and let's just say I'll never buy a jar again! This stuff is delicious and so easy to make. Cook it shorter if you want it more like a caramel sauce and longer if you want to make a taffy/caramel like concoction.



Allow the cookies to cool completely, but have the dulce de leche slightly warm (you can touch it with your fingers, and it doesn't burn). Pair the cookies up by how similarly shaped and sized they are. Scoop a small spoonful of dulce de leche onto one cookie, and place the other cookie on top. Repeat until all the cookies are paired off and sandwiched up. Serve immediately or Save them for later, they are amazing either way!



Happy Eating.