Darling Desserts

Impress your Valentine’s this year with a simple yet tasty chocolate Valentine’s Day treat! Yum!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup Dutch process cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 10 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoons instant coffee granules
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

1. Melt chocolate over a double boiler or in the microwave, stirring occasionally until smooth. Sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, cream butter with white sugar and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in coffee crystals and vanilla until well blended. Stir in melted chocolate. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the dry ingredients just until everything comes together. Cover, and let stand for 35 minutes so the chocolate can set up.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Roll dough into walnut sized balls, or drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets, leaving 2 inches between cookies.
4. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Cookies will be set, but the centers will still be very soft because of the chocolate. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Here is a great Christmas cookie and it’s actually healthy for you! Dark chocolate packs antioxidants and almonds are very good for us as well.  Enjoy making and have a very merry Christmas! Please let me know how they turn out!

• 6 oz dark chocolate (preferably 60% or greater)
• 2 large egg whites, at room temperature
• 1/8 tsp. cream of tartar
• 1/4 cup granulated white sugar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup finely ground almonds

Melt dark chocolate in microwave at 30-second intervals on 70% power until smooth. Set aside to cool slightly.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray two large cookie sheets with nonstick spray. Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Continue beating, adding in sugar and vanilla slowly, until mixture forms stiff peaks.

Gently fold in chocolate and almonds until fully incorporated. Drop teaspoons of batter onto the prepared cookie sheets, leaving one inch between cookies.

Bake 10-12 minutes, switching racks (put bottom cookie sheet on top rack and top cookie sheet on bottom rack) halfway through baking to ensure even browning. Cookies are done when there is a light crust on the outside, but they are soft on the inside.

Makes 36 cookies.

Per cookie: 52 calories, 3 g fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 1 g fiber, 1 g protein, 0% Vitamin A, 0% Vitamin C, 1% calcium, 2% iron

Here’s a great recipe for any time of year. The perfect marriage of chocolate and peanut butter all rolled into a yummy browny goodness! Hey, save some for me!

Ingredients:

• 1 (19.5 oz.) package Pillsbury® Classic Traditional Fudge Brownie
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 cup Jif® Creamy Peanut Butter
• 1/2 can Pillsbury® Chocolate Fudge Frosting

Directions:
1.    HEAT oven to 350°F. Beat brownie mix, melted butter, cream cheese and egg in medium bowl 50 strokes with spoon until well blended (dough will be sticky).
2.    DROP dough by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets to make 24 cookies; smooth edge of each to form round cookie.
3.    MIX powdered sugar and peanut butter in small bowl with spoon until mixture forms a ball. With hands, roll rounded teaspoonfuls peanut butter mixture into 24 balls. Lightly press 1 ball into center of each ball of dough.
4.    BAKE 10 to 14 minutes or until edges are set. Cool on cookie sheets at least 30 minutes.
5.    SPREAD thin layer of frosting over peanut butter portion of each cooled cookie.

High Altitude (above 3500 ft.):
1.    FLATTEN cookies slightly before baking. Bake at 350° F for 11 to 15 minutes.
Yield: 24 cookies

I found an interesting story about the Neiman-Marcus chocolate chip oatmeal cookie recipe today. The story has to do with a woman eating lunch at Neiman-Marcus and asking for the recipe for their famous chocolate chip cookies. She got the recipe, however she also received a bill for $250.

Apparently, this story has been going around the Internet for years. Here’s the recipe for Neiman-Marcus’ famous chocolate chip cookies. Whether the story is true or not (according to Snopes it isn’t true), this cookie recipe sounds delicious and makes about 2 dozen cookies.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1-3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1-1/2 teaspoons instant espresso coffee powder
• 1-1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Cream the butter with the sugars using an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy (approximately 30 seconds).
2. Beat in the egg and the vanilla extract for another 30 seconds.
3. In a mixing bowl, sift together the dry ingredients and beat into the butter mixture at low speed for about 15 seconds. Stir in the espresso coffee powder and chocolate chips.
4. Using a 1 ounce scoop or a 2 tablespoon measure, drop cookie dough onto a greased cookie sheet about 3 inches apart. Gently press down on the dough with the back of a spoon to spread out into a 2 inch circle. Bake for about 20 minutes or until nicely browned around the edges. Bake a little longer for a crispier cookie.

Yield: 2 dozen cookies