Cocoa Brownies

Best Cocoa Brownies
From smittenkitchen.com
Makes 16 larger or 25 smaller brownies

10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, cold
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup walnut or pecan pieces (optional)

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F. Spray the bottom and sides of an 8×8-inch square baking pan with non-stick cooking spray.

Combine the butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt in a medium heatproof bowl and set the bowl in a wide skillet or pot of simmering water. Stir from time to time until the butter is melted and the mixture is smooth and hot. Remove the bowl from the skillet and set aside briefly until the mixture is only warm, not hot. It looks fairly gritty at this point, but don’t fret — it smooths out once the eggs and flour are added. [Note, many people who have tried this recipe have found that this step works just fine in the microwave.]

Stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each one. When the batter looks thick, shiny, and well blended, add the flour and stir until you cannot see it any longer, then beat vigorously for 40 strokes with the wooden spoon or a rubber spatula. Stir in the nuts, if using. Spread evenly in the lined pan.

Bake until a toothpick plunged into the center emerges slightly moist with batter, about 25 minutes. Let cool completely on a rack.

Abbracci Cookies

Abbracci Cookies (from seriouseats.com)

- makes 3 dozen cookies -

Ingredients

1 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
½ cup potato starch
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¾ cup (12 tablespoons, or 1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
Freshly grated zest of 2 oranges
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons dutch-processed, unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons milk

Procedure

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, potato starch, baking powder, salt and nutmeg and set aside.

2. With an electric mixer, cream the butter and ½ cup of the sugar together on medium speed for 1 minute, until the butter is creamy and light. Beat in the orange zest, egg yolks and vanilla, scraping down the sides, until the mixture is smooth and fluffy, about another minute.

3. Beat in the flour mixture for 30 seconds, stopping once to scrape down the sides. Gather all the dough together in a mass in one corner of the bowl, and with a spatula, scoop out half of it onto a piece of plastic wrap.

4. Add the cocoa powder, the last tablespoon of sugar, and the milk to the remaining dough in the bowl and beat well, until it is completely uniform in color, about 45 seconds. Scrape the chocolate dough onto another piece of plastic wrap. Wrap both doughs and chill them until firm, about 2 hours.

5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare two baking sheets by greasing and lining them with parchment paper.

6. To form the abbracci, divide each piece of dough in half, rolling each piece on a lightly floured surface into a long snake about 14 inches long. Cut the snakes into ¾-inch pieces and roll each piece into a ball; try to make the balls uniform in size.

7. Working with one ball of each flavor of dough at a time, form a slightly lopsided crescent, leaving one end round and plump and the other somewhat flat. Nestle the two pieces of dough in an embrace, wrapping the flatter ends around plumper ends.

8. Arrange the abbracci about an inch apart on the baking sheets and bake for 12 to 14 minutes, rotating the pans after 10 minutes. The cookies are done when they are firm and dry to the touch, and the vanilla dough is just turning golden at the edges.

9. Cool the cookies on the pans for about five minutes, then gently slide them onto a rack to cool completely. Store them up to a week in an airtight container.

Gougères

Gougères (from 101cookbooks.com)

2/3 cup / 160 ml beer / ale OR water
1/3 cup / 80 ml milk
8 tablespoons butter, thickly sliced
3/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
scant 1/2 cup / 65 g / 2.25 oz all-purpose flour
scant 1/2 cup / 65 g / 2.25 oz whole wheat flour
4 large eggs, room temperature (NOT extra-large)
1 1/4 cup / 3 1/4 oz / 90 g sharp white cheddar, grated on box grater
1 teaspoon crushed fennel seeds

Preheat oven to 425F / 220C, with a rack in top third. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Prep ingredients ahead of time.

Bring the beer, milk, butter, and salt just to a boil in a large (thick-bottomed) saucepan over medium-high heat. Dial back the heat a bit. Add the flours and use a wooden spoon to stir, stir, stir. Really go at it. Keep going for a couple minutes, until the dough comes together smoothly, and gives off a faint toasty scent.

Remove from heat and let cool, stirring occasionally to let heat out, for about five minutes- long enough that the eggs won't cook when you attempt to work them in.

One at a time, add each of the four eggs, stirring vigorously after each addition. Stir in 1 cup of the cheese, and right away scoop gougères onto the prepared baking sheet in heaping tablespoon-sized dollops, leaving at least 1 1/2 inches between each. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and fennel seeds. Place in the oven, bake for FIVE minutes, then dial the heat back to 375, and bake another 20- 25 minutes, or until gougères are deeply golden all over, puffed, and well set. If you notice the gougers in the back browning much more quickly than the ones in the front, spin the sheet 180 degrees about 2/3 through.

Alternately, if you aren't baking the gougères immediately: shape pans of gougère dough, sprinkle with cheese, and freeze for 1/2 hour. Transfer to a freezer bag at this point, until you're ready to bake. Bake straight from the freezer, same as above, with a couple extra minutes.

Makes ~ 2 dozen 3-inch gougères.
Prep time: 10 min - Cook time: 30 min