Chocolate for Monday

While I have been reveling in fall flavors (apples, pumpkin, lots of spices), not everyone around here is quite as happy about it.  In fact, as I was assessing dessert options one night a few weeks ago (ginger crackles or caramel candy corn), Gillian looked at me and said, "Mommy, can't you just make us something chocolate?!"  Something chocolate often means brownies, but I was more in the mood for cookie baking.  So I hit the books to see what I could find.  Actually, I hit the magazines, too.  While I was waiting for all the new holiday baking magazines to arrive on the shelves, I pulled out some of my old ones for inspiration.  That's where I found these.

"These" are Triple Chocolate Cookies from the folks at America's Test Kitchen.  I found the recipe in my 2009 Cook's Illustrated Holiday Baking issue.  Definitely no shortage of chocolate in these!  The three chocolates referred to in the title are unsweetened chocolate and bittersweet chocolate chips, which are melted (along with the butter) and added to the batter, and semisweet chocolate chips that are stirred in at the end.  The mixing method reminds me more of making brownies than most cookie recipes.  First, the eggs and sugar are beaten together for several minutes.  Vanilla and coffee (I used espresso powder) are added for flavoring, then the melted chocolate/butter mixture is mixed in.  Finally, flour, salt and a bit of baking powder are folded in.  Since the batter is very soft, you let it sit at room temperature for half an hour or so to firm up.  I made my cookies a bit smaller than the recipe called for and baked them for about 10 minutes.

The verdict?  Well, Gillian was definitely thrilled with these cookies. =)  Brianna seemed pretty happy, too.  In fact, I think they were a hit with everyone here, so I'm sure I'll be making them again.  While they were fine with just the chocolates, I bet they'd be pretty tasty with some toasted pecans or dried cranberries or cherries mixed in.

While these aren't a traditional holiday cookie, if you're craving chocolate this time of year (or just need it to treat a case of the Mondays), I recommend trying these out.  You can find the recipe online at either Cook's Country or America's Test Kitchen.  For other great recipes from magazines, check out Magazine Mondays over at Cream Puffs in Venice!

It's virtually Thanksgiving!

I have to admit, I have mixed feelings about Thanksgiving.  Sure, it's the ultimate food holiday.  But it's also kind of a pain.  So many dishes to make, and trying to coordinate things so that you can actually manage to cook it all in one kitchen and have it done at the same time.  Then there's the fact that turkey isn't my favorite.  I'd be happy just having all the other dishes--mashed potatoes with gravy, stuffing, vegetables, cranberry sauce...  Yum.  Then there's bread.  Do you really need bread with everything else that's going on?  It does come in handy for mopping up the extra gravy.  And I do like to bake bread and rolls...

That's why I'm bring you these rolls, even though we have some time before Thanksgiving.  My friend Phyl, who talked us all into making pumpkin recipes last month, came up with the idea of having a Thanksgiving round-up this month.  That way we can all try out some recipes well before the holiday gets here, and also get new ideas from each other.  As the host, he's got the turkey taken care of, and a bunch of us are bringing the rest of the dishes.  Now if only we lived close enough together that Phyl could share his actual Thanksgiving turkey with us, so I wouldn't have to make one. =)

These rolls are pretty straightforward to make, especially if you're comfortable working with yeast doughs.  First, you put the milk, sweetener (I used golden syrup since I prefer it over honey), butter and shortening in a large liquid measuring cup.  You microwave the mixture on high for about 90 seconds, until the milk is warm and the fats are beginning to melt.  They'll melt the rest of the way as you stir the mixture to combine everything.  Then you put most of the flour (4 1/2 cups, or about 630 grams), yeast and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and stir them to combine.  You add the liquid to the flour and stir to combine, then mix in the egg.  I usually use my dough whisk to get everything roughly combined, then use my mixer with the dough hook to knead the dough.  You add half a cup (70 grams) of additional flour to the mixer as the dough is kneaded, then add up to half a cup more if necessary to get a dough that clears the sides of the bowl and is tacky but not really sticky.  Once the dough is the right consistency (which takes 5-6 minutes), you hand-knead it for a minute or so to form a smooth ball.  The dough is soft, but really nice to work with.  

The dough goes into a greased bowl (covered with plastic wrap) or rising bucket (with lid) to proof for about an hour, or until it's doubled in size.  Then it's formed into 15 rolls.  I did the math, and found that my dough balls needed to be about 90 grams (around 3 ounces) to get 15 equal pieces of dough.  The balls are formed into tight rounds and placed in a greased 13" by 9" pan.  (I used a Pyrex pan.)  The pan is covered with plastic wrap and the shaped rolls are allowed to rise for another 45-60 minutes. Then they're baked at 375ºF for 25 to 35 minutes, or until the internal temperature is about 190ºF.  The original recipe calls for an egg wash on the dough before baking, but I skipped that.  I did brush the rolls with melted butter when they came out of the oven.

The verdict?  Oh, these definitely deserve a place on the Thanksgiving table!  The texture is soft and rich, and the fluffy crumb makes a nice contrast with the browned exterior.  They're delicious served warm from the oven, with some butter.  You can also make the rolls ahead, let them cool, then wrap them up and store briefly at room temperature or longer in the freezer.  The rolls can then be wrapped in foil and reheated in the oven before serving.  

If you'd like to try these rolls for yourself, there are several places you can find the original recipe.  For subscribers to the Cook's Country website, it's here.  For those with back issues of the magazine, it was published in Dec/Jan 2007.  You can also find this roll recipe in the current newsstand special issue America's Test Kitchen All-Time Best Holiday Recipes.  

Ingredients for Fluffy (Make-Ahead) Dinner Rolls

(adapted from Cook's Country)

350 grams (1 1/2 cups) whole milk

105 grams (1/3 cup) golden syrup or honey

70 grams (5 tablespoons) unsalted butter

50 grams (1/4 cup) shortening (I use Spectrum Organic)

700 - 770 grams (5 - 5 1/2 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour

9 grams (1 tablespoon) instant yeast

13 grams (2 teaspoons) table salt

1 large egg