Friday, November 2, 2007

Chocolate coated cookies. And a gift

Chocolate coated cookies

I have met so many wonderful people through blogging that if I start listing them it will take me days!

One of these friends I’ve made is a talented and gifted young lady, who happens to be not only a great cook but also an artist – Hannah, of the beautiful BitterSweet.

We always write to each other and I’m really glad we’ve met.

The lovely duckling is a gift she sent me by mail – isn’t it just adorable? I have been meaning to show it here forever, but I wanted to photograph it with some nice food.

These cookies are delicious and the only bad thing about this recipe is that the chocolate coating never set. The cookies were a bit messy to eat, but nobody complained about that! :)

You’ll get 2-3 tablespoons of coating left – it is fantastic over ice cream or brownies.

Hannah, my dear friend, thank you for the gift! I loved it!

Chocolate coated cookies

Chocolate coated cookies
from Big Fat Cookies

Cookies:
2 cups (280g) unbleached all purpose flour
½ cup (45g) unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks/226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (200g) sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Dark chocolate coating:
6 ½ ounces (182g) dark chocolate, chopped – I used 60% cocoa solids*
1 ½ tablespoons canola or corn oil

Make the cookies: Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on low speed, beat the butter and sugar until blended and lightened in color, about 2 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until blended, about 1 minute. On low speed, add the flour mixture, mixing just until it is incorporated and the batter looks smooth. Cover and refrigerate the dough for about 20 minutes to firm it slightly.

Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 165ºC/325ºF. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Roll heaping tablespoons** of dough between the palms of your hands into smooth balls, and place them in 5cm (2 inches) apart in the prepared baking sheets.
Using the palm of your hand, flatten the cookies to 2 ½-to 3-inch rounds.

Bake the cookies one sheet at a time until the tops feel firm and look dull rather than shiny, about 15 minutes. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then use a wide metal spatula to transfer them to a wire rack to cook completely.

Make the chocolate coating: Put the chocolate and the oil in a heatproof container or the top of a double boiler, and place it over, but not touching, a saucepan of barely simmering water (or the bottom of the double boiler). Stir until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove from the water and let the chocolate coating cool and thicken slightly, about 20 minutes.

Spoon the chocolate coating over the top of the cookies and use the back of the spoon t to spread the chocolate evenly and coat them completely. If some chocolate drizzles over the cookies edges, that is fine.
Let the cookies sit at room temperature until the chocolate if firm. Or to speed the firming of the chocolate, refrigerate the cookies for about 20 minutes, then remove them from the refrigerator.

Makes 52 cookies

* you can use the following mixture, according to the book: 6 ounces (168g) semisweet chocolate + ½ ounce (14g) unsweetened chocolate
** if you prefer to make giant cookies, roll 3 leveled tablespoons of dough for each cookie – you should get 18-20 cookies.

Chocolate coated cookies

43 comments:

Abby said...

Cute! I, too, have met the nicest people around the world through food blogging! The cookies look wonderful, and chocolate - no matter if it sets or not - is never a bad thing! Yum.

Kajal@aapplemint said...

aw these look easy to make and yummy too. The soft icing is a gr8 way to have everyone licking their fingers :)

Wendy said...

That's one very cute duckling! Isn't blogging wonderful? :)

Peter M said...

These cookies seem easy, sound tasty and you know why? Quality ingredients will always win out, like your good Dutch cocoa.

pam said...

That duck is so cute! And chocolate, even when it doesn't set, is still good!

Mandy said...

patricia, the duckling is so cute, and it's thoughtful of you to take a photo of it with the delicious chocolate cookies.

Susan from Food Blogga said...

A sweet cookies and an even sweeter story.

T.W. Barritt at Culinary Types said...

That is a smart looking duck, and the cookies look luscious!

Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) said...

The best thing about blogging is the people you "meet" -- and sometimes are lucky enough to meet in person. And if chocolate cookies are involved...well, that's even better!

Unknown said...

these look so perfect, Patricia!

Manggy said...

Those look HEAvenly! :) Maybe refrigeration would have done the trick for the glaze, or using solid shortening instead of oil :)

Truffle said...

What a lovely gift and beautiful post! It's given me a chocolate craving to boot!

MyKitchenInHalfCups said...

The little duck and the cookies are perfect together! And yes the best of blogging are such great people.

Cookie baker Lynn said...

I, too have met many wonderful and sweet people through blogging. And you're one of the top ten!

Beautiful cookies. I would happily put up with a bit of mess for one of those. :-)

Aimée said...

Beautiful cookies! Dark chocolate? Yes please!
And about all those cool bloggers, It's just to bad there is so much distance between us!

Dharm said...

Patricia! Those cookies look lovely. Haven't seen you around for awhile... glad you are back!

Tijen said...

I wish we could meet when I was in Sao Paulo Patricia! I spent about two weeks there last summer (sorry, winter). I love the milk cocada by the way, I loved Brazilian sweets.

Anonymous said...

I have been craving chocolate constantly lately and this recipe would do just the trick! It seems like they probably taste better without the chocolate setting anyway :) And that duck is so cute!

Deborah said...

Aren't the people you meet through blogging the best!?! These cookies look and sound amazing. I love chocolate!

Anonymous said...

Patricia, these cookies look divine, and the duckie is super cute. It's interesting that you don't sweeten the chocolate coating. Maybe you get a more intense chocolate flavor that way without being overly sweet. Yum!

Warda said...

- That is just the cutest duck I have ever seen My sweet patricia. What a nice gift. And look at him with his mouth wide open wanting to take a bite out of these yummy chocolote cookies. Leave me some please!

Anonymous said...

Mmm, those look heavenly.

Nora B. said...

oh so cute!!! Hannah is very talented indeed.

Your choc covered cookies look so tempting. I don't think my friends would mind either that the choc doesn't set because it will probably to polished off very quickly.

Anh said...

So lovely! I just wanna get some and eat right now!

Stef said...

I emailed Hannah for some advice and she was super nice and helpful! Love the duck!

I am excited to meet some St. Louis food bloggers in person tomorrow. Can't wait! I have yet to get to match writing styles to live talking styles. Should be fun!

Karin W. said...

You have probably heard about the health benefits of chocolate, Patricia.

Yesterday a new chocolate product went on sale in Great Britain. It is said to contain up to three times more antioxidants than other brands (healthier than broccoli). It is called Choxi+. Two squares a day of this chocolate will provide all the health boost a person needs, they say.

Isn't that lovely news for us chocolate lovers?

Graeme said...

There aren't enought homemade gifts these days, patricia.

These look so great.

Peabody said...

That is a cute little duckie...and some good looking cookies.

Carla said...

Mmmm cookies!! I bet Mr. Duckie is enjoying those. The Internet is definitely a great place to meet new and wonderful people. I already met two online friends while I was studying overseas. A little nerve-racking when you first meet them, but then you realize they are the same in real life as they are online!

Anonymous said...

Patricia! These look so delicious and Mr Duck is delightful.

eatme_delicious said...

The cookies look great Patricia! :) I had a cookie that looked like this a few days ago and it had a toasted marshmallow in between the cookie and chocolate layer. Very cute duck too. :)

Anonymous said...

the ducking is so cute and the cookies look delicious!

Patricia Scarpin said...

Abby, tks! Foodbloggers rule! :)

Kate, fingerlicking indeed. :)

Wendy, I agree!

Peter, and the chocolate I used for the icing was really good, too.

Pam, you are so right, my friend. :)

Mandy, it was a special gift, and it called for a special recipe. :)

Susan, thank you, dear.

T.W., the duck almost ate them all. :D

Lydia, you've said it all, my sweet friend.

Celine, thank you!

Manggy, good ideas!

Truffle, you should definitely take care of that craving. :)

Tanna, foodbloggers are wonderful!

Lynn, I was so moved by your comment! I feel the same way - you are such a great person I was lucky to find! :)

Aimée, true! I wish we could hang and cook and bake together.

Dharm, I am no longer a Daring Baker, maybe that's why you haven't seen me much...

Tijen, Brazilian sweets are really sweet and also delicious! And what a shame we didn't know each other back then!

Hillary, I had 2 cookies without the icing and they were wonderful!

Deb, they are the best! I have so many friends who love cooking and baking like me, it's fantastic!

Bri, you are right - the combo is not overly sweet because the icing balances well the cookie flavor.

Rose, it is a smart duck - I had to hide the cookies or else there would be nothing left. :D

Sally, tks for stopping by!

Nora, they were gone so quickly you wouldn't believe it, my friend. :)

Anh, have some, dear!

Stef, thank you for visiting my blog! And yes, Hannah is sweet and adorable and generous!
And now I'm excited for you, too - that is gonna be a fantastic meeting!

Karin, that is interesting! Another excuse to indulge. :)

Graeme, you are so right - people taking the time to make something for other people, that is rare!

Pea, the cookies were really good. :)

Carla, Mr. Duckie did! :)
And then I bet you felt like you had known them forever!

Syrie, tks, sweetie!

Hey, dear, that marshmallow idea is just perfect!!

Aamena, tks for visiting the blog!

Amrita said...

that ducky is so cute, i bet it turns people vegan!

Stella said...

Beautiful cookies ahead!
Please Pat, send me some, I'd love to dunk them in my tea!:)

Unknown said...

chocolate coated cookies!?!? What could be better! These look SO absolutely delicious! :)

Anonymous said...

I'm so happy to have sent the duckling to a wonderful new home like yours- With chocolate cookies like that, I don't think it could get much better!

Oh for the love of food! said...

Aww, what a cute ducky! These yummy cookies are calling to me, Patricia! Can you hear it?

Susan said...

Chocolate cookies and a dear little duck. I say "set the table for tea!"

Patricia Scarpin said...

Amrita, I had a laugh with your comment - I think you are right! :)

Valentina, next time I promise (if the duck doesn't eat them all). :)

Christine, thank you!

Hannah, the duckling was so welcome, I loved it! I'm glad it's enjoying its new home. :)

Carol, I can - have as many as you want, dear!

Susan, great idea! :)

Coffee and Vanilla said...

Patricia, those cookies look amazing! And the duck is sooo cute! :)

Margot

Anne said...

Oh these cookies looks absolutely yummy! I could just imagine how good they taste :)

Anonymous said...

Those cookies look amazing Patricia! Gooey chocolate and all :)

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