Flourless Chocolate Walnut Cookies and Old Adages

As the old adage goes you get what you pay for. Sometimes though, when things are just a dollar you don't even get your money's worth. I  I had been perusing around for a really good Easter celebration flourless cake when I happened to stumble upon these little guys. These cookies were simple, flourless, and pretty light in calories (toting only 55 calories a cookie! I know!) So I got sidetracked on the Easter recipe hunting and decided to get my whisk and bowl out for these cookies.  I went to the store and got the remaining ingredients I needed on the list to make these immediately. It wasn't until I got home that I realized I had forgotten to get parchment paper! I was so overjoyed to see that I had happened to pick up a box of it a couple weeks ago. I recently purchased some parchment paper for a dollar at a store that will remain nameless (Although, I am sure you can guess the name).  Little did I know what would ensue...

Everything was going well until.....that darn parchment paper. These suckers stuck like nobody's business. So I apologize for the ugliness of the photos, but I can tell you that even though a few curse words got thrown around (ok a lot got thrown around) and I had to finally give up on the last cookie on the sheet they still taste pretty amazing.  They will remind you of the top of a brownie pan. If you cut off the crunchy top of a pan of brownies so you still got some gooeyness underneath, you would have these cookies. Let's just say even though they did not win best in show that did not stop anyone from scarfing them down.

I adapted the recipe I found from Smitten Kitchen by reducing the amount of walnuts from 2 3/4 cups to 2 cups. I used chopped walnuts, which probably results in a lot more walnuts since I measured them that already chopped. I decided to save myself the step of having to chop them later.  I also then added in 3/4 cup of miniature chocolate chips for some extra chocolatey-ness. I decided to additonally boost the chocolatey flavor by adding in a 1/2 teaspoon of espresso powder. The consistency of these cookies will remind you of your favorite brownie mix as well. These cookies poof up and will collapse after you take them out. Don't worry they are suppossed to do that.

 

So as another old adage goes do as I say (make these cookies) and not as I do (in other words, don't buy cheap parchment paper and think you can get away with it).


Flourless Chocolate-Walnut Cookies
Originally adapted from Francois Payard's Chocolate Epiphany

Yield: 20 to 24 2-inch cookies
2 cups walnuts, chopped
3/4 cups miniature chocolate chips
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon espresso powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large egg whites, at room temperature
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350. Spread the walnuts  on a large-rimmed baking sheet and toast in the oven for about 7-8 minutes, until they are golden and fragrant. Let cool slightly. (If you choose to use walnut halves, you may need to keep them in the over for an extra minute. After cooling, coarsely chop them.)
Position two racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and lower temperature to 320. Line two large-rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, whisk (or combine in an electric mixer on low speed) the confectioner’ sugar with the cocoa powder, salt, and espresso powder followed by the chopped walnuts. While whisking (or once you change the speed to medium), add the egg whites and vanilla extract and beat just until the batter is moistened (do not overbeat or it will stiffen).
Spoon the batter onto the baking sheets in 12 evenly spaced mounds, and bake for 14 to 16 minutes, until the tops are glossy and lightly cracked; shift the pans from front to back and top to bottom halfway through to ensure even baking. Slide the parchment paper (with the cookies) onto 2 wire racks. Let cookies cool completely, and store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

pot o' gold cupcakes

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone! Now I imagine that St. Patrick's Day is a crazy fun day everywhere right? Not just in Boston? Of course, if I have to be biased (and I will) what better place to celebrate the luck o' the irish then in Boston?! Boston bleeds green all year round and St. Patrick's Day is no exception.

To celebrate I made these pot o' gold cupcakes. You will want to make these regardless of what day it is.  It is a super moist chocolate cupcake with a hidden surprise of caramel in the middle topped off with a light and fluffy vanilla buttercream. Basically, it is to die for.

 It uses my go to chocolate cake recipe, which is really just Hershey's "perfect chocolate cake" recipe. What can I say Hershey got this cake right. Sometimes I find chocolate cake to be dry and lacking in flavor. Not so with this cupcake. It is moist and a breeze to throw together. The batter will be very, very thin. Don't fret! It is suppossed to be like that. It has a cup of boiling water added in as the last ingredient making it thin but super moist.  I actually ran out of vegetable oil (yup, I know I did.) I added what I thought was canola oil to only find out after I poured it in it was peanut oil. I panicked thinking I would have to throw it out and start over. After a quick google search, I found that peanut oil is fine for baking (not just frying) and can be substituted equally for vegetable oil. Phew! I actually somehow forgot to add in my baking powder, too! I didn't realize until it was too late. Oh well, a happy accident. I still liked the way these came out.

After baking I let them cool and hollowed out the center.  (It took great will power to not eat all the crumbs!) I then added about a tablespoon (or two, but who's counting) of really good caramel sauce into the center. You can definitely make your own if you would like, but since I made these last night at 8:30 p.m.  store-bough caramel would have to suffice. I used a caramel sauce from Fran's caramel sauce. If you are lucky enough to come across a jar of this, trust me, it is worth the extra dough.

I topped off these cupcakes with my favorite vanilla buttercream from Annie's Eats. It is a simple buttercream, but it is perfectly light and fluffy. It is not coyingly sweet. You know the frosting kind. That cavity sweet frosting that gets you right in the back of your teeth. This is whipped up for a good 4 minutes in the mixer which creates an airy light texture. It has the perfect blend of butter to confectioner sugar keeping it at the perfect balance of sweet and rich. I didn't have heavy cream, so I used fat free milk. Not as rich, but still provided that liquid I needed to thin it out.

So there you have it. Pot o' gold cupcakes. Perfect for any St. Patty's day celebration..or any day of the week!

Pot O' Gold Cupcakes

Chocolate cupcake recipe (slightly adapted from Hershey's Perfect Chocolate Cake)

* 2 cups sugar
* 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

* 3/4 cup cocoa powder

* 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

* 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder (not afraid to admit my mistake here..I forgot to put this in!)

* 1 teaspoon salt

* 2 eggs

* 2 teaspoons vanill extract

* 1/2 cup peanut oil (this is what I had on hand, feel free to use vegetable oil)

*1 cup milk, skim

* 1 cup boiling water

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 12-cup muffin pans with cupcake liners.

2. In your mixing bowl, sift together your dry ingredients.

3. Add in your eggs, vanilla, oil and milk and beat for two minutes.

4. Stir in the boiling water (batter will be very thin!).

5. Pour into your prepared muffins filling each cup about 2/3 full.

6. Bake about 16-18 minutes. (I set my timer for 15 minutes and kept a close eye on them. I also gave them a rotation at this time too. One side was cooking a little faster than the others. Every oven is a little different, so keep an eye on yours and take them out when the middles are set).

Vanilla Buttercream Recipe

slightly adapted from Annie's Eats (originally from Cook's Illustrated)

2 1/2 sticks butter, softened

2 1/2 cups confectioners sugar

1/8 tsp. salt

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 Tbs. milk or heavy cream

1. In a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat butter at medium-high speed until smooth, about 20 seconds.  Add in confectioners's sugar and salt, beat at medium-low speed for 45 seconds, until most of the sugar is incorporated. Scrape down the bowl at this point, then beat for another 15 seconds.  Scrape down the bowl again, and add in your vanilla and milk (or cream). Beat at medium speed for 15 seconds until incorprated.  Increase the speed to medium-high and beat the mixture for 4 minutes until it is light and fluffy (you may need to stop during this time and give the bowl a good scrape).

Blood Orange Chocolate Chip Cookies

Happy National Chocolate Chip Cookie Week! I don't know about you, but I don't need a special week to celebrate the chocolate chip cookie. I didn't just want to make the "same old chocolate chip cookie" for you. I perused the grocery shelves looking for inspiration and stumbled onto a bag of these...

And thought hmm..blood orange and chocolate..citrus..chocolate chip cookie! Eureka!

You need to make these, why? Because I said they were delicious, thats why!  Okay, yes they are, but also because blood oranges are in season right now, meaning they are at their peak of juiciness! And because you can feel good that while you may be consuming a chocolate chip cookie, you are getting some Vitamin C. That blood red juice is full of a special antioxidant, anthocyanina (antho-huh?!)A cookie full of antioxidants that can help reduce wrinkles, you say?! Ok eating a plate of these may not have you toting skin like Cindy Crawford but hey it can't hurt right?

If you are unfamiliar with the blood orange (it's ok I admit I have never had one until now either), it is a variety of the orange that when you cut into has a bright crimson (hence, the name blood) colored fruit inside. And they are season right now (ok, no not locally in season for me, that would be nice).  It is definitely worth grabbing a bag of these while you can folks.

Blood oranges can range in their sweet to tartness so I decided to use a dark brown sugar in this recipe. Not only does it give the cookie a chewiness that is unmistakable, but it also helps balance out the tartness of the blood oranges. They remind me of a milano cookie. It has the crunchy butteriness with that "hmm, what is that, orange note in the background" followed by all that chocolate. It's a perfect, is it winter still with all its chocolate chip cookie comfort and the "Has spring arrived?" citrus element.

I decided to use as the base of this cookie, Sally's Baking Addiction no. 1 ranked chocolate chip cookie recipe , which uses cornstarch (I know, cornstarch!). She raved about it so much that I figured how it could  be wrong? Well, she was right! I added in the zest and juice of one medium sized blood orange. I also added in white chocolate chips, because I had this annoying 1/4 of a bag staring me down. You know how that goes, right? I actually had 3 miscallenaeous bags overall of white and dark chocolate chips that all found a happy home in this cookie recipe. In the end, it amounted to 1/2 cup of white chocolate chips and 1 cup of dark (60 % cacao) chocolate chips.

So, there you go. A blood orange chocolate chip cookie. A little different. Totally delicious. Happy Chocolate Chip Cookie Week everyone...grab your mixer and celebrate with me!

Blood Orange Chocolate Chip Cookie
Bostonigirlbakes.com adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction Chocolate Chip Cookie

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Juice of 1 blood orange (2 Tbs. approximately)
• Zest of 1 blood orange ( 2 teaspoons approximately)
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate chunks
• 1/2 cup of white chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Line an ungreased cookie sheet with parchment paper or silpat. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl using a hand-held mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars together on medium speed until fluffy and light in color. Mix in egg, vanilla, juice and zest.  Scrape down the sides as needed. In a separate bowl, combine flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. On low speed, slowly mix into the wet ingredients. Stir in chocolate chips. Dough will be thick and sticky. Chill for at least 30 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 350F.
4. Once chilled, the dough will be slightly crumbly, but will come together if you work the dough with your hands as you are rolling individual balls. Drop 1 Tbsp balls of dough onto cookie sheet. Bake for 8-9 minutes, until barely golden brown around the edges. Do NOT cook them longer than 10 minutes. Remove and let cool for 3 minutes on the cookie sheet. If the cookies are too puffy, try gently pressing down on them with the back of a spoon. They will slightly deflate as you let them cool. Transfer to cooling rack.
5. Cookies stay soft and fresh for up to 10 days in an airtight container.
6. You can also freeze the dough as I did. Scoop them into 1-inch balls and freeze in a single layer. Keep in an airtight container or ziploc bag. Add an additional 1-2 minutes baking time when you bake them!