Flourless Chocolate Cookies

I had a business meeting at a fancy hotel recently. They had a tray of assorted desserts and treats displayed and some of them were gluten free. I typically never try the hotel catered desserts and was not especially drawn to those that were gluten free, but I tried these small flourless chocolate cookies they had out as someone else was raving about them.

OH-MY-GOODNESS - they were decadent. I had two of them (yikes) and set out that evening to discover a recipe to try to create them myself. This version tasted pretty darn similar, but they baked flatter than the ones I had tried.

The batter was very silky and filled with chocolate pieces. I used yummy Guittard chocolate discs so the pieces were larger than typically chocolate chips.

I put Maldon sea salt flakes on some of the cookies and they were definitely my favorites. I'd sprinkle more of them with sea salt next time before baking them. 

I made these on Super Bowl Sunday for an easy to grab dessert treat, but they were so yummy and there were so many of them that I couldn't keep them around the house. I packaged them up to gift to a few people and take to my colleagues to enjoy.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Cupcakes

My mum has made these yummy cupcakes since I was little. It was always a favorite at school birthday celebrations or as a treat at home. 

I'm not the biggest fan of chocolate cake, but these...these cupcakes with the airy chocolate cake and the big glop of cream cheese in the center.  These are amazing. 

I made the chocolate cake batter first and put it in the cupcake papers, then mixed up the cream cheese filling to drop into each cupcake.  These are the ultimate creamy filled cupcakes without having to inject the filling. 

I dropped a heaping tablespoon of the cream cheese-chocolate chip mixture in each one and they are ready to bake.  

Here they are prefectly baked and ready to enjoy. 

The beautiful thing about putting chocolate chips into the cream cheese is that you end up with melted chcolate inside cream cheese INSIDE chocolate cake!  They are especially amazing when they're warm with a nice cold cup of milk. 

Ingredients:

Chocolate cake:

1 C. sugar

1 1/2 C. flour

1/4 C. cocoa

1 t. salt

1t. baking soda

1/2 c. oil

1 T. vinegar (white or apple cider)

1 t. vanilla

Cream cheese filling:

One 8 ox. package of cream cheese

1 egg, slightly beaten

1/3 C. sugar

1 pinch salt

6 oz. chocolate chips

Directions:

Cake: Mix all ingredients well and fill cupcake papers 1/3 to 1/2 full with the cake mixture.

Filling: In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese, egg, sugar and salt. Add the chocolate chips and mix together. 

Drop a large spoonful of the cream cheese-chocolate chip mixture on top of each cupcake in the raw batter.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until firm. 

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bake-Off

Chocolate chip cookies are classic and practically every American family probably has a token recipe that they always make on occassion. When my sister and I discussed making chocolate chip cookies for the kids, we were both proclaiming our love of our own chocolate chip cookie recipes.  So, we decided to each make our own cookies and have the family be the judge of which one they liked best. Mine are made with shortening and hers are made with butter. I know...shortening is not something I really EVER bake with, but I've always made this cookie recipe and I just can't seem to find one that I really like better - in taste or texture.  Sharon's are actually quite similar, but I'm still partial to mine (pictured above). They are crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside with a yummy combination of bittersweet and milk chocolate chips.  

We decided to both break out our recipes and see what the family thought.  However, we made them at my sister's place so she had her husband and family on her side and the familiarity of her own oven, which I discovered is a bit finicky. We made our cookie dough one evening and baked our cookies for the kids during a play date the next day.

I love using the small cookie scoop to make the size of the cookies consistent.  

These are my sister's cookies below. They were similar in size in texture also.  However, hers are made with real butter (what I usually prefer) and she used chocolate chunks instead of chips.  I like the idea, but it's a lot of chocolate in one bite. 

Here they are - my sister's vs. mine. I'm not sure if it's how they baked in her oven or the recipe, but they also turned out a little rough around the edges (no offense) and not as smooth and finished off as the way mine baked.

I still like my recipe, but will probably use hers on occasion also. I also have a few other proven recipes that I've found and would like to try and see if I find any butter recipes that I like better than mine.

The verdict!?  The toddlers were impartial, the kindergarteners were split and her husband ended up siding with her (go figure). You can try out the recipes and be the judge yourself.  Go ahead...do it.  Make a nice batch of cookies, pile up a plate with warm ones right out of the oven and grab a cold glass of milk. 

RECIPES:

Amanda's Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

1 C. shortening (I used non trans-fat shortening)

1 C. sugar

1/2 C. brown sugar

2 eggs

2 t. vanilla extract

2 C. flour

1 1/2 t. salt

1 t. baking soda

2 cups chocolate chips

Directions:

Cream the shortening, sugars, eggs and vanilla till light and fluffy. Sift together dry ingredients and stir together with the creamed mixture. Add chocolate chips and nuts (optional).

Use a small cookie scoop to drop 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes (turning part way through).  Remove and cool on wire rack.

Sharon's Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

2 sticks unsalted butter

1 C. brown sugar

1 C. white sugar

2 eggs

2 t. vanilla

3 C. flour

1 t. baking soda

1t. salt

1 bag chocolate chips

Directions:

Mix together butter, sugars, eggs and vanilla.  Sift together dry ingredients separately and add to wet. Mix in one bag of chocolate chips.  Bake at 375 degrees on an ungreased cookie sheet for about 10 minutes (turning cookie sheets part way through). 

Chocolate-Espresso Lava Cakes

This dessert has been a staple in my family for the past 10+ years and we decided to make them on New Year's Eve this year.  This is the perfect rich and over indulgent dessert to have on the last day of the year! Plus, with the espresso, they were the perfect pick-me-up to try to keep us awake to ring in the New Year!  I know...it's so lame that I have a hard time staying up that late, but true.

It's a dense cake with a rich chocolate flavor that is intensified by the espresso.  The best part?  The lava!  It has the perfect gooey chocolate center from the melted chocolate chips.

I do like individual desserts and these have to be so everyone has their own portion of molten lava.  You just pile on the chocolate chips in the center of the batter.

Then press them in with the back of a spoon to make sure it melts inside the cake as it bakes.

They puff up a little bit and almost look like chocolate souffles.  But, no, these are rich chocolate cakes that are crispy on the outside edges and filled with hot melted chocolate on the inside. 

Because they are so rich, the addition of the whipped cream is a refreshing way to top it off.  The recipe calls for adding espresso powder to the whipped cream, but I like it plain and just enjoy the addition of the espresso powder in the cake itself. You decide on the whipped cream, but a glass of milk is essential!

Recipe for Chocolate Espresso Lava Cakes

Ingredients for cakes:

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

5 t. instant espresso powder (or instant coffee powder)

1 1/2 t. baking powder

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted

1 cup sugar

1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar

4 large eggs

1 1/2 t. vanilla extract

1/4 t. almond extract

12 tablespoons semisweet chocolate chips (about 4 1/2 oz.)

Ingredients for whipped cream:

1 cup chilled heavy whipping cream

3 T. powdered sugar

1 t. espresso powder

Directions for cakes:

Sift the flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder and baking powder into a medium bowl.  Place the butter in a large bowl; add both sugars and whisk until blended. Whisk in eggs one at a time, then vanilla and almond extracts. Whisk in dry ingredients to wet.  Divide batter among 6-8 greased ovenproof mugs or ramekins and place chocolate chips into the center of each cake and press chips into batter with the back of a spoon. Refrigerate for at least one hour (or up to one day). Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake cakes uncovered until cakes are puffed and crusty and tester inserted into center comes out with thick batter attached.  Place warm ramekins or mugs on a plate to serve with whipped cream.

Directions for whipped cream:

Combine the cream, powdered sugar and espresso powder in a medium bowl and whisk until peaks form. Spoon a generous dollop on top of the cake!

Shortbread and Tea

Each Christmas for the last several years, I've made homemade shortbread. It's an icebox shortbread recipe that is very easy, but I've been told that it rivals Walkers. You can make the dough, roll it into a log shape and refrigerate or freeze it and then slice it and bake it later. This year I made cherry, pecan, chocolate and plain shortbread. I've used it to package in cellophane bags or pretty boxes to give as gifts. But, I always keep some extra to have with a nice cup of hot tea. In fact, I just indulged in one of each flavour while I sat in front of the fire with my book and cup of tea. This is one of my favorite china cups in the photo - a toast and tea set that my Auntie Vera in England gave to me a few years ago to add to my collection.

Cookies and Milk

We've all tried many different types of chocolate chip cookies, but the recipe I have seems to surpass any that I can recollect. It's perfectly chewy on the inside and crispy around the edges. And, of course, it's best warm with melting chocolate chips (I used Ghiradelli this time). I think the idyllic texture is due to the use of shortening. I tend to bake with butter instead of Crisco, but I have it in the pantry specifically for this recipe. I'm not sure where the recipe originated either, but I wrote it on a recipe card from somewhere. The recipe makes three dozen and it's not that great to have so many cookies around waiting to be eaten, so I tend to make a full batch and freeze several small packets that will make 6-12 cookies so I can bake them in a pinch for the two of us to have a treat or if we have company. Ah...gooey warm cookies with a tall glass of cold milk!