Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts (31 page)

Chocolate-Nut Icebox Cookies

75 TO 100
C
OOKIES

These are thin, crisp, dark chocolate, speckled with coconut and nuts. They are easy to make and they keep well in a cookie jar. Or pack them in a container to give as a gift.

1½ cups sifted all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

¼ pound (1 stick) sweet butter

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed

1 egg (graded large or extra-large)

½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch process)

4 ounces (generous 1 cup) pecans or walnuts, cut into medium-size pieces

3½ ounces (1 to 1⅓ cups) shredded coconut

Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt and set aside.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer cream the butter. Add the vanilla and brown sugar and beat to mix well. Add the egg and beat until smooth. On low speed gradually add the cocoa, and then the sifted dry ingredients, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula and beating until well mixed.

Stir in the nuts and the coconut.

Lightly flour a large board or smooth work surface. Turn the mixture onto the floured surface. Lightly flour your hands. Form the dough into a compact ball and then shape it into a long roll about 14 inches long and about 1¾ inches in diameter. Smooth the sides.

Tear off a piece of wax paper or plastic wrap about 18 inches long and place it near the roll of dough. Roll the dough over onto the center of the paper. Wrap securely. Slide a cookie sheet under the roll of dough and transfer to the freezer for at least several hours or until frozen solid. The cookies slice best when the dough is frozen solid, and it may stay in the freezer for months.

When ready to bake, adjust two racks to divide the oven into thirds (or if you are baking only one sheet, adjust a rack to the center) and preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line cookie sheets with aluminum foil.

Unwrap the dough and place it on a cutting board. With a finely serrated knife, or any thin and sharp knife, slice the cookies a generous ⅛ inch thick. Place them 1 inch apart on the aluminum foil.

(If you don’t bake all the cookies at one time, rewrap and refreeze the remainder of the dough.)

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, reversing the sheets top to bottom and front to back as necessary during baking to insure even baking. The cookies should be baked until they are semi-firm to the touch, but they must be watched carefully—chocolate burns easily. If they have not been sliced exactly the same thickness (which would be quite a feat), the thinner ones will bake more quickly and should be removed individually as they are done.

With a wide metal spatula transfer the cookies to racks to cool.

Store airtight.

Mexican Chocolate Icebox Cookies

40
C
OOKIES

Extra-dark, extra-chocolaty, extra-crisp, plain, and bittersweet. These are from a friend who lives in Guatemala and says that this is the only recipe she bakes. She always has some unbaked in the freezer and some baked ones in a jar in the kitchen, and she makes them for a restaurant and for friends, and everyone loves them.

The original Spanish name for these means “raggedy edges.” My friend said that during baking they ran slightly and the edges became raggedy. However, in my kitchen they hardly ever do that (only occasionally); they usually bake with quite neat edges. I don’t know why.

1½ cups sifted all-purpose flour

¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch process)

¼ teaspoon salt

Generous pinch of finely ground black pepper

Generous pinch of cayenne

¾ teaspoon cinnamon

6 ounces (1½ sticks) sweet butter

1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup granulated sugar

1 egg (graded large or extra-large)

Sift together the flour, cocoa, salt, pepper, cayenne, and cinnamon and set aside.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer cream the butter. Add the vanilla and sugar and beat to mix thoroughly. Beat in the egg, then on low speed gradually add the sifted dry ingredients, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula and beating only until mixed. Toward the end of the mixing, if the dough starts to crawl up on the beaters, remove the bowl from the mixer and finish the mixing with a wooden or rubber spatula.

Lightly flour a large board. Turn the dough out onto the board. Lightly flour your hands and, with your hands, shape the dough into a cylinder about 10 inches long and about 2 inches in diameter.

Wrap the cylinder of dough in wax paper and place it in the freezer until firm. Or it may be kept frozen.

Before baking, adjust two racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Unwrap the dough and place it on a board. With a sharp, heavy knife cut it into slices ¼ inch thick.

Place the slices 1½ to 2 inches apart (they will spread a little) on unbuttered cookie sheets.

Bake 10 or 11 minutes, reversing the sheets top to bottom and front to back once during baking to insure even browning. The cookies are done when they feel almost firm to the touch. Watch them carefully to be sure they do not burn. If you bake only one sheet at a time, bake it on the upper rack; the cookies will bake in a little less time than when there are two sheets in the oven.

Let them cool for a few seconds on the sheets until firm enough to be moved. Then, with a wide metal spatula, transfer the cookies to racks to cool.

Store airtight.

Chocolate Almond Sp-icebox Cookies

48
C
OOKIES

Crisp, dark, bittersweet chocolate spice cookies with slivers of almonds going every which way. Don’t be startled by the list of spices—these are not sharp; they have a Christmasy taste but are superior cookies any time of the year. They may be prepared way ahead of time and frozen until you slice and bake them. A glass jar or a little box of these makes a lovely gift.

1¼ cups sifted all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon dry powdered instant espresso or any other powdered (not granular) instant coffee

⅛ teaspoon salt

⅛ teaspoon ginger

⅛ teaspoon black pepper

⅛ teaspoon cloves

⅛ teaspoon allspice

⅛ teaspoon nutmeg

⅛ teaspoon dry mustard

3 ounces (3 squares) unsweetened chocolate

¼ pound (1 stick) sweet butter

⅔ cup granulated sugar

1 egg (graded large or extra-large)

2½ ounces (¾ cup) thinly sliced almonds, blanched or unblanched

Sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, dry instant espresso, salt, ginger, pepper, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, and dry mustard and set aside.

Place the chocolate in the top of a small double boiler over hot water on low heat, cover until melted, then remove the top of the double boiler and set aside, uncovered, to cool slightly.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer cream the butter. Add the sugar and beat to mix well. Beat in the egg and then the melted chocolate. On low speed add the sifted dry ingredients and beat, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula, only until incorporated. Remove from the mixer and stir in the almonds.

Tear off a piece of wax paper about 14 inches long. Place large spoonfuls of the dough down the length of the paper, forming a strip 12 inches long. Fold the sides of the paper together over the top and, pressing against the paper, form the dough into a smooth cylinder about 2½ inches wide, 1 inch high, and 12 inches long.

Wrap the dough in the paper. Slide a cookie sheet under it and transfer it to the freezer for at least several hours until it is firm, or much longer if you wish. (If it is going to stay frozen for more than a few hours or so, when it is firm wrap the package in aluminum foil for extra protection.)

When you are ready to bake adjust two racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line cookie sheets with aluminum foil. (Or, if you prefer, these may be baked on unlined, unbuttered sheets.)

Unwrap the dough. With a sharp knife cut it into even slices ¼ inch thick. Place them 1 inch apart (these do not spread) on the cookie sheets.

Bake for 10 to 11 minutes, reversing the sheets top to bottom and front to back once to insure even baking. These should be baked long enough to be crisp when cool (they become crisp as they cool) but watch them carefully so they don’t burn. When the cookies are done they will feel a little resistant to the touch.

With a wide metal spatula transfer to a rack to cool.

Rolled Cookies

CHOCOLATE SCOTCH SHORTBREAD COOKIES

STAMPED SHORTBREAD

CHOCOLATE WAFERS

OLD-FASHIONED CHOCOLATE SUGAR COOKIES

CHECKERBOARDS

When you use a cookie cutter always start cutting at the outside of rolled-out dough instead of in the middle. Or use a long, sharp knife and cut the dough into squares or triangles.

Chocolate Scotch Shortbread Cookies

35 TO 40
C
OOKIES

Traditionally, shortbread is not chocolate. Untraditionally this is very chocolate. These are thick, dry, crisp cookies that are buttery and plain. They keep well, mail well, and are lovely to package as a gift.

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

½ cup strained unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch process)

1 cup confectioners sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

½ pound (2 sticks) sweet butter (see Note)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Adjust two racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat to 300 degrees.

This may be prepared in a food processor (it’s a breeze) or in an electric mixer. (I have also made it without either by first mixing all the ingredients together on a board with my bare hands.)

To use a processor: Fit it with a steel blade and place the dry ingredients in the bowl. Cut the cold butter into ½-inch slices over the dry ingredients. Add the vanilla. Cover and process until the ingredients hold together.

To use an electric mixer: Cream the butter in the large mixer bowl. Add the vanilla, sugar, and salt and beat to mix. On low speed add the flour and cocoa, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula and beating only until the mixture holds together.

If the dough is not perfectly smooth, place it on a board or smooth work surface and knead it briefly with the heel of your hand.