Chocolate Love

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I know a lot of people who are sickened by Valentine’s day. They shrug it off as an attempt for the candy and card industry to make a few bucks. But for me, any excuse to eat chocolate and tell someone you love how much you love them and then to hear it in return (hopefully) is reason enough for me to enjoy this holiday.

Whether you love or hate V-day I know for a fact you will love to sip some chocolate. This sinfully rich dessert is heaven in a cup and can be made in under ten minutes. What’s not to love?

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Drinking Chocolate
six servings – if you are willing to share
8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped in 1/2 inch pieces – The best quality you can afford. My personal favorite is Valrhona Guanaja 70%, available from Trader Joe’s.
1 cup whole milk
1 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 tsp fleur de sel (regular salt is fine in a pinch 🙂 )
1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 cup heavy whipping cream for serving

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Place chocolate in a medium bowl.
Bring milk, cream and salt to a slow boil. Watch this closely as it can scald and boil over very quickly. Add the milk and cream to the chocolate. Let sit for 1-2 minutes. Add the cinnamon. Whisk the chocolate mixture until completely combined. The resulting liquid should be smooth, creamy and about the thickness of full fat cream. If for some reason the mixture doesn’t come together through it into a blender or food process and blend until completely smooth.

Serve with lightly whipped cream.

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In all my years of consuming all things sweet this dessert continues to be number one on my list. This sophisticated dessert can be thrown together in minutes and makes a perfect treat for this time of the year. You can also add to it to make it your own. One of my personal favorite additions is cayenne and cinnamon, giving this chocolate treat a spicy kick the way it was intended to be consumed. I would also encourage you to try peppermint, vanilla and coffee.

(I’m in love with my new Terra Keramik Teapot.)

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the last chocolate chip cookie…

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You better believe me when I tell you that you have just found the last Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe you will ever need. I know. I am not the first person to claim this weighty statement. After all, it wasn’t that long ago that this recipe was spreading as quickly as that nasty stomach virus that infected our entire family over Christmas.

In actuality everyone’s definition of the perfect chocolate chip cookie is different. Asking 20 people what qualities define their perfect cookie and I am sure you are going to get as many different responses. I will say however that I have converted many followers to my recipe. In fact, just recently I was told that I had ruined someone from ever eating another cookie that wasn’t this one. And for that I am not sorry and I am not surprised.

My perfect cookie is varied in texture. The exterior rim, the color of golden brown sugar, is perfectly crisp. Beyond the crunch there lies varying levels of chewy gooey-ness. I remove the cookies from the oven just when the edges start to brown. People think I’m crazy and question my timing as the cookies appear under baked. But I assure them that I am a professional I have done this thousands of times. The cookies continue to bake on the tray and as they cool the gooey center transforms to a perfectly chewy interior. Cookie eaters question no longer.

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The dough, although perfectly flavored with salt and a high proportion of brown sugar, exists to hold the chunks of chocolate in place. That’s right I said chunks and not chips. The funny, (more sad than funny) thing about chocolate chips is that they are filled with substance similar to wax. I don’t know about you but I don’t really enjoy eating wax. The reason for the wax in the chips is so that they do not melt – they hold their shape, which is quite cute but I’ll take taste over cuteness any day. Using couverture (fancy name for quality chocolate that is used for coating truffles and such) allows the chocolate to melt and pool. If you were to break these cookies in half you would see layers of chocolate and dough – similar to the layers in puff pastry, and you all know how crazy I am about those layers.

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Look how much Roman loves cookies (actually he wasn’t eating the cookies he just always looks that happy)

I use large chunks of bittersweet chocolate, lots of brown sugar, a touch of Turbinado sugar, and sprinkle of  salt on top – making these this the last chocolate chip cookie recipe you will ever need.

 

THE Chocolate Chip Cookie
8 oz.         2 sticks butter
2 oz          1/4 cup white sugar
2 oz          1/4 cup Turbinado sugar
12 oz        1 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
2  eggs
1/4 oz       2 tsp vanilla
1 lb.          3 1/2 cup All Purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp Baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 lb. chocolate (use the best quality chocolate you can afford. With a serrated knife cut chocolate chunks roughly 1/2 inch)
Cream the butter and the sugars until light. Scrape down the side of the bowl. Continue mixing while adding the eggs one at time. Make sure each egg is incorporated before adding the next. Add the vanilla. Scrape down the bowl with a spatula. Combine the flour, soda and salt in another bowl. With a whisk, stir to combine. With the machine on low, slowly add the flour. Mix until just combined, taking care not to over mix. With a spatula fold in the chocolate.
If you so choose, and I do recommend that you do, sprinkle a very fine dusting of good quality sea salt. Fleur de Sel or Murray River Pink Salt are my recommendations.
Bake at 360* for 12 minutes. They should be lightly golden on the outside but still look gooey on the inside.

THE Chocolate Chip Cookie

  2 sticks butter (8 oz) 1/4 cup white sugar (2 oz ) 1/4 cup Turbinado sugar (2 oz ) 1 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed (12 oz ) 2  eggs 2 tsp vanilla (1/4 oz) 3 1/2 cup All Purpose flour (1 lb. ) 1 1/2 tsp Baking soda 3/4 tsp salt 1 lb. chocolate (use the best quality chocolate you can afford. With a serrated knife cut chocolate chunks roughly 1/2 inch) 1/2 teaspoon good quality salt, for sprinkling on top before baking Cream the butter and the sugars until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes on medium high. Scrape down the side of the bowl. Continue mixing while adding the eggs one at time. Make sure each egg is incorporated before adding the next. Add the vanilla. Scrape down the bowl with a spatula. Combine the flour, soda and salt in another bowl. With a whisk to combine. With the machine on low, slowly add the flour. Mix until just combined, taking care not to over mix. With a spatula fold in the chocolate. If you so choose, and I do recommend that you do, sprinkle a very fine dusting of good quality sea salt. Fleur de Sel or Murray River Pink Salt are my recommendations. Bake at 360* for 12 minutes. They should be lightly golden on the outside but still look gooey on the inside.  
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