Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts (34 page)

1 ounce (1 square) unsweetened chocolate

1 ounce semisweet chocolate

1 ounce (¼ stick) sweet butter

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 eggs graded large

Pinch of salt

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

7 ounces (2⅔ cups, loosely packed) shredded coconut

Adjust two racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with aluminum foil.

Place the almonds in a small, shallow pan and bake, shaking the pan occasionally to stir the almonds, for 20 to 25 minutes until they are golden brown. Set aside to cool.

Coarsely chop both chocolates and place them in a 6- to 8-cup saucepan. Cut up the butter and add it to the saucepan. Stir frequently over low heat until chocolate and butter are melted and smooth.

Remove from the heat and let stand for about 2 minutes. Stir in the sugar and then the eggs one at a time, stirring until smooth after each addition. Stir in the salt, vanilla, and coconut.

Form 24 cookies (12 on each sheet) using a rounded teaspoonful of the dough for each cookie, mound them high (do not flatten the tops), and place them about 1 inch apart (these do not spread) on the aluminum foil.

Push a toasted almond, pointed end down, into each cookie, and press the almond to insert it at least halfway or more (or it may fall out after baking).

Bake two sheets at a time for 25 minutes, reversing the sheets top to bottom and front to back once to insure even baking. The cookies will still feel soft—that is right; as they cool they will become crisp on the outside and should be soft in the centers.

With a wide metal spatula transfer to racks to cool.

NOTE
:
For a sweeter cookie eliminate the unsweetened chocolate and use 2 ounces instead of 1 of semisweet.

Black and White Coconut Macaroons

Follow the above recipe, eliminating the whole almonds. Place the cookies on the aluminum foil,
and then prepare the white coconut mixture—or prepare it ahead of time if you wish and let it stand.

WHITE COCONUT MIXTURE

3 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

¼ teaspoon almond extract

¼ cup granulated sugar

3½ ounces (generous 1 cup, loosely packed) shredded coconut

2 ounces (generous ½ cup) pecans, finely chopped

Mix the cheese with the almond extract and the sugar, then stir in the coconut and pecans.

With the back of a small spoon (a ¼- or ½teaspoon measuring spoon works well) shape a deep and wide impression in the center of each mound of chocolate macaroon.

Place a rounded teaspoonful of the white mixture in the impression, mounding it high—it will not run; it will stay where you put it.

Bake and cool as in above recipe.

Other Cookies

FLORENTINES

A DATE WITH CHOCOLATE

WHOOPIES

CHOCOLATE OATMEAL COOKIES

CHOCOLATE SPRITZ COOKIES

Florentines

24
C
OOKIE
S
ANDWICHES

These candy-like cookies are a classic European delicacy, elegant and swanky. They are the thinnest and crispest of all lace cookies. This version has two cookies sandwiched together with chocolate in the middle.

The dough is mixed in a saucepan; you will need a candy thermometer. Baking these takes quite a while because they must be baked with only a few on each cookie sheet or they run together. The finished cookies must be refrigerated (or they may be frozen).

¼ pound (1 stick) sweet butter

⅔ cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons milk

2 tablespoons honey

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

4 ounces (generous 1 cup) almonds, blanched or unblanched, and thinly sliced

4 ounces (¾ cup) candied orange peel, diced

¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons sifted all-purpose flour

Adjust two racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with aluminum foil. (The foil must be smooth and unwrinkled. It is best if you use cookie sheets that are flat on three sides and have only one raised rim. If not, just be very careful that you do not wrinkle the foil.)

You will need a saucepan with about a 6-cup capacity; it should be narrow rather than wide for the thermometer to register correctly. Place the butter, sugar, milk, and honey in the saucepan over moderate heat. Stir occasionally until the mixture comes to a boil. Place a candy thermometer in the saucepan and cook without stirring until the thermometer registers 232 degrees (the “thread” stage).

Immediately remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in vanilla, almonds, orange peel, and flour.

Now place the saucepan over the lowest possible heat and stir occasionally to keep the mixture from hardening.

Use a level or slightly rounded teaspoonful of the mixture (do not use more) for each cookie, placing the mounds 3 to 4 inches apart on the foil-lined sheets. (These spread into large wafers; you will be able to make only 5 or 6 cookies on a 12 × 15-inch cookie sheet.)

Bake two sheets at a time for 10 to 12 minutes, reversing the sheets top to bottom and front to back as necessary to insure even browning. Bake until the cookies are browned all over; do not underbake. (A few of the nuts might remain lighter, but the cookies must be well done.) If you bake one sheet at a time bake it on the higher rack.

Now the cookies must stand on the foil until they are
completely cool
. If you are using cookie sheets with three flat sides you can slide the foil with the cookies off the sheet (be careful to keep it smooth so the cookies will cool and harden perfectly flat). Then you can slide the cookie sheet under another piece of foil that has unbaked cookies on it, and continue baking. (If you reuse the foil it must be wiped dry and spread out completely smooth, or the cookies will run into any creases in the foil and will lose their round shape.)

When the cookies are completely cool, gently peel the foil away from the backs of the cookies. Do not let them stand around or they will lose their wonderful crispness. Sandwich them immediately and refrigerate.

CHOCOLATE FILLING

3 to 4 ounces semisweet chocolate (see Note)

Break up or coarsely chop the chocolate (morsels may be used as is) and place it in the top of a small double boiler over hot water on low heat. Cover until partially melted. Then uncover and stir until completely melted and smooth. Remove the top of the double boiler.

With a small, narrow metal spatula spread a thin layer of the chocolate on the bottom of a cookie, leaving an uncovered border about ½ inch wide. Cover the cookie with another one, placing it so that both flat sides meet in the middle. Gently press the two cookies together. You will see some of the chocolate oozing out of the lacy holes in the cookies. That is as it should be, but there should not be much. And the chocolate should not spread out all the way to the rims of the cookies—so don’t use too much.

As you sandwich the cookies place them on a tray in the freezer or refrigerator only until the chocolate is set. Then package airtight in a strong box with plastic wrap or wax paper between the layers. (I wrap them individually in cellophane and then package them in a box.) Refrigerate or freeze. (If you freeze Florentines the box with the cookies should be transferred to the refrigerator for a few hours before the cookies are unwrapped and served.)

Serve Florentines cold or at room temperature. But don’t unwrap them until just before they are served; humidity will make them lose their crispness.

NOTE
:
Any semisweet chocolate may be used. I have used many different ones and they all worked well—the cookies were always delicious. But Florentines deserve the best chocolate you can get.

A Date with Chocolate

36
L
ARGE
C
OOKIES

Old-fashioned and homey chocolate drop cookies, each one with a pecan-stuffed date inside and a thin, clear glaze over the top.

36 large pitted dates

36 large pecan halves

3 ounces (3 squares) unsweetened chocolate

¼ pound (1 stick) sweet butter

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

⅛ teaspoon salt

1 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs (graded large)

¾ cup sifted all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon prepared coffee

With a small, sharp knife cut through one long side of each date. Open them enough to insert a pecan half in each, and then press each one firmly closed around the nut (it is all right if they don’t close completely). Set the prepared dates aside.

Adjust two racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line cookie sheets with aluminum foil.

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

In the large bowl of an electric mixer cream the butter. Add the vanilla, salt, and sugar and beat to mix. Add the melted chocolate and beat to mix. Then add the eggs one at a time, beating until incorporated after each addition. On low speed add the flour and beat, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula
and beating only until incorporated. Add the liquid coffee and beat again only until incorporated.

Transfer to a medium-size shallow bowl for easier handling.

Place a few of the stuffed dates on top of the dough. Using 2 teaspoons to work with, push one of the dates down into the dough, turn it around to coat it completely, then pick up the date with a rather generous coating of the dough and place it on the aluminum foil. Continue with the remaining dates, placing them 2 inches apart.

Bake two sheets at a time, reversing the sheets top to bottom and front to back once to insure even baking. Bake for 20 minutes until the cookies feel semi-firm to the touch.

While the cookies are baking, prepare the glaze.

GLAZE

1 cup strained confectioners sugar

Boiling water

Place the sugar in a small bowl. Add the water slowly—just a few drops at a time (it won’t take much)—and stir with a rubber spatula until smooth and the consistency of a heavy cream sauce.

The glaze must be covered airtight with plastic wrap or aluminum foil except when you are working with it.

As soon as the cookies are done, use a pastry brush to quickly spread a bit of the glaze over each cookie—do not spread it all the way to the edges of the cookies. The heat of the cookies will melt the glaze into an almost transparent film which will dry quickly.

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