Is it already February? As we hunker down here, sparkly snow settling around our little house, I’m clinging to the silver thread of hope that is spring. I sent out our seed order last week, I notice the light lingering ever-so-slightly later in the day, and I remember from the past two springs we’ve lived in this house that the red-wing blackbirds return in late March. Hard to believe, but we’re getting there.

Though I have yet to blog about them (and they do deserve their very own post)*, one of the additions to our little “homestead” this past year has been a small flock of backyard chickens. We raised them from chicks, and it’s amazing to me to see how hardy they are even in the bitter cold of upstate NY winters. They’ve kept laying eggs for us through the winter, which means that our consumption of egg-themed meals and desserts has racheted up considerably!

Cinnamon, our Golden Buff hen, earlier this fall

I made this bread pudding recently, mainly to use up some of the burgeoning egg collection in our fridge — and also as a vehicle for some delicious challah bread I picked up from a local bakery. It’s deeply chocolatey, with cocoa and chocolate flavoring the custard mixture as well as bits of chocolate mixed in with the bread cubes.

Tossing in some frozen raspberries provides a nice tart-sweet bite to counter the richness of the pudding…and of course, it would make a lovely dessert for Valentine’s Day!

*For local readers, you can read more about my backyard chicken adventures in the Fall issue of Edible Finger Lakes magazine.
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Chocolate Raspberry Bread Pudding

from The Inquiring Chef

Ingredients

4 cups 1-inch cubes egg bread (such as challah), with crust
¾ cups raspberries (frozen and thawed are fine)
1¼ cups bittersweet chocolate chips, divided (I used 60% Ghiardelli chips)
1 cup heavy whipping cream, divided
1 cup lowfat milk (I used 1%)
5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
4 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
½ cup sugar

Directions

Grease either six individual (1- to 1 1/4 cup) ramekins or an 8×8 baking dish. Layer the bread cubes, raspberries and 3/4 cup chocolate chips. (Start with about a third of the bread cubes, toss in half of the raspberries and half of the chocolate, add another layer of bread cubes, and so on. Save a few raspberries to sprinkle on top.)

In a heavy medium saucepan, whisk together the cream, milk and cocoa. Add the remaining 1/2 cup chocolate chips and stir over low heat until melted and smooth. Gradually whisk in the remaining 1/2 cup cream and 1/2 cup milk and remove from the heat.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg yolk and sugar. Gradually whisk in the hot chocolate-cream mixture. Pour this custard mixture over the bread mixture, and let rest in the refrigerator for 1 hour. The bread will absorb some of the custard.Preheat oven to 325°F. Bake pudding until set in centers, about 35-40 minutes.
Makes 6 servings.

I read somewhere recently that kids fall into two categories when riding in the car: those who reliably sleep, and those who reliably snack (sadly, in lieu of sleep). My daughter has made it clear that she falls into the latter category, even on long car rides when you would think (hope) sleep would come so easily.

What is it about car rides that brings on the urge to snack? Maybe it’s the fact that we’re captive in our seats. As entertaining as I try to make games of I Spy and sing-alongs, the refrain we hear more times than animals on Old MacDonald’s Farm is “Mommy, what do you have in your bag for me to snack on?”

It’s amazing to me how every year, all it takes is one snap of cool weather to shift me into autumn mode, and with that shift comes the urge to include apples, caramel, pumpkin, maple, or all of the above into so much of what we eat — snacks included. I love the idea of caramel apples but not how awkward they are to eat, and especially for my little eater’s mouth, I’ve been on the lookout for something with similar flavors that’s easier to manage. Enter this granola: with dried apples, crunchy almonds, and toasty oats all coated in a buttery caramel, it’s like a mashup of caramel apples and apple crisp! Completely addictive, definitely portable, and our newest entry into the car snack rotation. And breakfast, crumbled over yogurt. And to top vanilla ice cream, with some extra caramel sauce. And, if I’m being honest, handfuls-while-I-pass-the-jar, anytime.

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Caramel Apple Granola

from Pastry Affair

A candy thermometer is really helpful when making caramel, especially if (like me) you tend to underestimate how “done” the caramel is. I found the best results occurred when I slowly poured the caramel over the oat mixture while quickly and thoroughly stirring — this helps to avoid clumping. Finally, you may want to stir it a little bit when it comes out of the oven to minimize how much it sticks to the baking sheet.

Makes about 4 cups.

Ingredients

2 cups old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
Pinch of salt
1 cup dried apples, cut into small pieces and lightly packed
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons butter

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix together the oats, almonds, dried apples, spices and salt in a large mixing bowl; set aside.

In a saucepan, stir together the water and sugar. Bring to a boil and cook over medium heat (preferably using a candy thermometer to monitor temperature) until the syrup turns a golden amber color (this happened for me around 325 degrees F.) Be careful not to let the caramel get too dark, which will make it bitter. Remove from the heat and add the butter, swirling to melt.

Slowly pour the caramel over the oat mixture, stirring quickly and thoroughly the entire time to minimize clumping and allow everything to get coated. Spread granola on a baking pan and bake until golden brown and toasted, about 15-18 minutes. Watch towards the end of the cooking time to ensure the granola doesn’t start to burn from the caramel. Remove from the oven, give a quick stir, and let cool.

Once every few months or so, I get a craving to make appetizers for dinner. Sometimes, I have to confess, this is just an excuse manufactured so that we can eat things like guacamole, bread & cheese, and stuffed mushrooms all at the same time and call it a meal. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that.)

We’ve been eating loads of sweet, tender corn on the cob lately, stuffing our faces with it while it’s peaking in season. I was browsing around for a different recipe entirely (something to use up my baseball bat zucchinis) when I came across this hot, cheesy corn dip and immediately forgot all plans to make anything else BUT this hot. cheesy. corn. dip. YUM.

Our dinner plans shifted immediately to appetizers, with this hot. cheesy. corn. dip. as its centerpiece. It’s so delicious and addictive; sweet with tender corn, flecked with red pepper and oozy with a mix of cheddar and jack cheese.

I left out the jalapeno and cayenne for the spice-averse 2-year old at our table, but next time I’m going to include it — I think the kick would be a perfect complement to the sweet corn and creamy cheese.

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Hot, Cheesy Corn Dip with Tortilla Chips

originally from Emeril Lagasse

As I noted above, I’ve made this without the spices for toddler mouths and it was quite delicious, but I think the extra kick from the jalapeno and cayenne would be even better. I’ve also used sour cream in place of the mayonnaise, and it works well.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 1/2 cups corn kernels (from about 4-5 ears fresh corn)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup finely chopped yellow onions
1/2 cup finely chopped red bell peppers
1/4 cup chopped scallions (green and white parts)
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/2 to 1 cup mayonnaise [note: I used 1/2 cup sour cream and it was tasty]
4 ounces monterey jack or cheddar, shredded
4 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
Tortilla chips, for dipping

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat; add the corn, salt and pepper and cook until the corn kernels are a nice golden brown, about 5 minutes (or a little longer). Transfer the cooked corn to a large bowl, and melt the additional tablespoon of butter in the same skillet. Add the onions and peppers to the skillet and cook until softened. Add the scallions, jalapeno and garlic and cook an additional minute or two. Transfer mixture to bowl with corn.

Add mayonnaise (or sour cream), half the shredded cheddar, half the shredded monterey jack, and the cayenne to the bowl and stir to thoroughly combine. Transfer mixture to an ovenproof 8×8 pan. Top with the remaining shredded cheese.

Bake until golden brown and bubbling, about 10-12 minutes (you can turn on the broiler at the end to get a nice browning if needed.) Serve with tortilla chips.

If I had to describe our summer so far, I’d call it The Summer of the Popsicle. We’ve been spending so much time outside, especially on the weekends, that we seem to be in constant need of edible, portable, cooling snacks. Each weekend afternoon, B, Little A and I have been taking a break from our gardening, yard-work, and sand play (I’ll let you guess who’s doing what) to sit together, catch a breath, and slurp our pops.

A week or two ago, our fruit CSA share gave us a lovely bunch of apricots, and we were still enjoying plucking raspberries in our garden — little A most of all. I decided it was time to make these coconut popsicles with roasted apricots and raspberries, and wow have we enjoyed them!

Roasting brings out the sweetness in the apricots, and as we may be moving out of apricot season at this point, you could easily substitute peaches (which was actually what the original recipe called for). Sweetened with just a touch of local honey, they’re easy, refreshing, and — I think — kind of beautiful!

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Roasted Apricot, Raspberry & Coconut Popsicles

adapted from here

As in the original recipe, you could swap the apricots out for two large peaches. I liked the coconut flavor in combination with the fruit, but I think they’d also be deliciously different using plain whole-milk yogurt.

Makes 6 (large) pops

Ingredients
3-4 medium apricots, sliced
1 can coconut milk (full fat)
3 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
6 oz., or about 1 cup, raspberries

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place apricot slices on a baking sheet lined with parchment; roast for about 20 minutes or until starting to brown and soften. Let cool slightly, then remove the peels.

2. Meanwhile, heat coconut milk with honey or maple syrup just to dissolve. Set aside to cool slightly.

3. Pour 1 tablespoon of the coconut milk mixture into the bottom of each of six popsicle molds. Fill the molds about 3/4 of the way to the top with fruit, alternating layers of apricots and raspberries. Fill to the top with the remaining coconut milk mixture, and run a knife around the edges to check for any air bubbles. Freeze for at least 4 hours before unmolding to serve.

I’ve been thinking quite a bit about eggs lately — we seem to eat more and more as the temperatures slowly warm up. They lend themselves so well so light spring meals with herbs and fresh, delicate greens, and my sometimes-picky-eater toddler actually loves them, too.

she also loves shopping at the farmer’s market with me!

We’ve been visiting the market together every weekend morning and piling our baskets with all things green – baby lettuces, kale, herbs, scallions, spinach, and leeks. The herbs, leeks, and eggs have all met their destiny several times over the past month or two in this delicious soufflé, which was  on the Easter menu in the April issue of Martha Stewart magazine. The minute I clamped eyes on the recipe, I knew I’d be making it STAT. Sauteed leeks, fresh spring herbs, gruyere, and fresh eggs? Yes, please!

Making this soufflé has reminded me that they’re not as difficult as their reputation suggests. I’ve actually made the soufflé base ahead of time, then whipped up the egg whites right before I’m ready to bake it. We’ve enjoyed it as a light dinner several times, and the leftovers are so delicious for lunch.

I’ve served the soufflé alongside a salad with baby lettuces and a light vinaigrette, Ina’s maple roasted bacon, and the oven browns (oven-roasted hash browns), also from the same MS issue. In these days when I sometimes feel like I’m tailoring my menus towards our finicky little one, it was a much-needed culinary victory to see her enjoying the meal just as much as we were. And…it would make a fabulous brunch or lunch for Mother’s Day!

Happy Mother’s Day to my mom and to all the moms out there!

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Cheese, Leek & Herb Souffle Casserole

from Martha Stewart April 2012

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon plus 1 stick unsalted butter, plus more for dish
• 1 pound large leeks (white and pale-green parts only), quartered lengthwise, cut into thin slices (4 cups), and rinsed well
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• ½ cup plus 2 ounces Parmesan cheese, finely grated
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 cups whole milk
• 6 large eggs, separated
• 5 1/2 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated (1 1/2 cups)
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh dill
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives

Directions

1. Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until it melts, then add the leeks. Cook, stirring frequently, until softened and bright green, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper; let cool. (Leeks can be made 1 day ahead and refrigerated.)
2. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Cut strips of parchment 4 inches wide and long enough to form a collar around inside of dish. Butter 1 side of parchment, and press unbuttered side against inside of dish. (Ends should overlap, and parchment should extend 2 inches above top of dish.) Place 1/2 cup Parmesan in dish, and coat sides well. Pour out and discard excess cheese.
3. Melt 1 stick butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat, then add flour and cook, whisking constantly, until thoroughly combined and hot, about a minute or two. Remove the pan from the heat and gradually whisk in the milk, bit by bit, until the batter is very smooth. Add 1 teaspoon salt and season with pepper. Return pan to medium heat and cook, whisking frequently, until souffle base is smooth, shiny, and thick — anywhere from about 7-12 minutes. [I’ve made it ahead to this point and refrigerated it a day in advance; just warm the base up again before proceeding.]
4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Transfer souffle base to a bowl, and beat in egg yolks, 1 at a time, with a mixer on medium speed, increasing speed to high for 10 seconds after each addition to thoroughly incorporate. After last yolk is added, beat 20 seconds on high speed, then scrape down side of bowl. Add Gruyere, the remaining Parmesan, the leeks, and herbs, and beat until well combined.
5. Beat egg whites with 1/2 teaspoon salt until stiff peaks form. Fold whites into souffle base, one third at a time, folding gently but thoroughly (a few streaks of whites are fine). Spoon souffle mixture into dish, and bake until puffed and golden, 35 to 40 minutes.

So, our options for a while have rotated between oatmeal, cereal with fruit, granola/yogurt, and sometimes scrambled eggs. Boring, I know. I longed to add pancakes to the rotation — they are one of my very favorite breakfasts — and so I made it my mission to find a pancake recipe that would be easy enough to make on weekday mornings before work. (Preferably something multigrain; white flour pancakes just don’t do it for me like they used to…)

And this has been my mission for the past year or so. I tried and loved Deb’s recipe, but still preferred something I could make ahead. I lingered for a few months on Heidi’s pancakes from Super Natural Everyday — a worthy contender, and I love her inclusion of barley flour — but I wasn’t always crazy about how the pancakes came out when I made the batter the night before. I tried a few more that weren’t even worth mentioning here, and was getting discouraged.

Then, my dear husband gave me King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking for my birthday, and let me tell you — I hit the pancake JACKPOT. One of the first recipes in the book is for this Homemade Whole Grain Pancake Mix, and it has been the answer to my pancake prayers! Designed to make ahead, a mix of whole wheat and oats, not too sweet, and ready to eat in about 15 minutes. Brilliant.

Over the months, I’ve fine-tuned it to what we usually have in our pantry and fridge (i.e. yogurt instead of buttermilk, quick-cooking oats instead of pulsing whole rolled oats — which, I know, doesn’t take long but I’m often in maximum efficiency mode these days.) I mix up a big batch — 10 cups worth — of the mix and store it in the freezer. When we’re ready for pancakes, I take out a cup of mix and stir it together with an egg, milk and yogurt (Miss A usually  helps  me with that part.) While the pancakes cook, I make my coffee. It’s now a routine.

We love these pancakes with a little butter and some good maple syrup (Miss A and B’s preference) or strawberry freezer jam that I made last summer (my favorite.) I sometimes add chopped up fruit to the batter, or a handful of grated vegetables to make savory pancakes for lunch or dinner. I even gave the mix as gifts to friends and family for Christmas — yes, I am proselytizing this recipe!

These pancakes have become a Friday morning routine in our house, and I hope you, dear readers, will love them as much as we do!

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Homemade Whole-Grain Pancake Mix

Adapted from King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking

For the Mix:

Ingredients

4 cups white whole-wheat flour
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
3 1/2 cups old-fashioned or rolled oats
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons baking powder
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 cup vegetable oil

Directions

Grind the oats in a food processor until they’re chopped fine but not a powder [Amy’s note: I have actually skipped this step a few times and just used rolled oats, not ground. The resulting pancakes are a little more textured, but still very good.]

Combine the flours, oats, and all other dry ingredients in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on slow speed, then drizzle in the oil while the mixer is running. Mix until thoroughly incorporated (you should be able to squeeze a bit between  your fingers and it should just barely hold together.)

Store in an airtight container for 2 weeks at room temperature, or indefinitely in the freezer (I keep it in a big ziptop bag.)

For the Pancakes:

Ingredients

1 cup homemade mix
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 egg

Directions

Stir the pancake mix together with the milk, yogurt and egg. [Amy’s note: King Arthur Flour recommends you let the mix sit for 20 minutes so that grains can soak up all the liquid before cooking the pancakes; I usually only do 10 minutes and they’re great.] Spoon the batter in 1/4-cupfuls onto your greased griddle or pan; when the edges look dry and bubbles begin to appear on the surface, flip the pancakes and cook another 2 minutes or so. Serve warm.

Makes 10 cups of mix, enough for 50 to 80 pancakes

I don’t know about you, but when mid-winter hits, I’m in dire need of some intense color therapy and crunchy textures in my food. I recently wrote about one of our favorite ways to get color and crunch this time of year on the Edible Voices blog: beet and carrot slaw. It’s quick to prepare and makes great use of all those piles of roots lurking in your fridge.  Head on over to check out the post and get the full recipe.

]]> https://eggsonsunday.wordpress.com/2012/02/26/beet-and-carrot-slaw/feed/ 5 3476 eggsonsunday beetcarrotslaw_2 https://eggsonsunday.wordpress.com/2012/02/12/orange-scented-chocolate-truffles/ https://eggsonsunday.wordpress.com/2012/02/12/orange-scented-chocolate-truffles/#comments Sun, 12 Feb 2012 19:08:00 +0000 http://eggsonsunday.wordpress.com/?p=3464

I have never been one to shy away from the festivities of Valentine’s Day. Oh, I know, it’s nice to show those you love affection year-round…of course. But I’m always up for a celebration, and if it involves chocolate and pops of red and pink against the bleak midwinter grays, you can count me in.

This year I was looking for something simple but elegant that I could make for a few special people, as well as for B and I to enjoy with our bottle of Hellbender port (a favorite dessert wine we discovered on a wine tasting at Red Newt Cellars last summer) that we’ve been saving for V-day. Truffles immediately came to mind — they’re quick to make (basically just ganache that you chill and roll into balls), look pretty in a box or on a plate, and can be flavored any way you please.

The first homemade chocolate truffles I ever tasted were at a friend’s house in middle school. Her mom had a handwritten recipe for “truffes au chocolat” that produced tiny, cocoa-covered nubs of dark chocolately ganache, lightly flavored with orange. They seemed so sophisticated to me – the taste as well as the fact that the recipe was in French! They are also exactly what I’m in the mood for as of late: a few tiny bites of intense flavor, as opposed to a large honking hunk of sugar. Elegant. Memorable.

You can whip these up in plenty of time to give to your loved ones on Tuesday. Box them up or put them on a pretty platter, serve with some port (or coffee or tea), and swoon. Happy Heart’s Day!

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Orange-Scented Chocolate Truffles

Ingredients
8 oz quality bittersweet chocolate (I used Callebaut 70% bittersweet)
4 oz heavy cream
1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed orange juice
cocoa powder, for rolling

Directions

Chop the chocolate and place in a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream with the zest and orange juice until it just comes to a boil, then pour over the chopped chocolate. Let the mixture sit for about 10 minutes, then stir until smooth and glossy. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, until firm but still pliable.

Scoop ganache into teaspoon-sized balls; roll between your hands to make spheres. Don’t worry if they’re not perfect – that’s part of their charm. Chill balls for about 15 minutes before rolling in cocoa powder.

Makes about 2 dozen.

We usually aim for a mix of tried-and-true hits along with a few new recipes: this year, the hitlist included gingerbread caramels, mocha toffee bars, peanut brittle with fleur de sel, hot cocoa blocks.…and this unbelievably delicious mix of subtly sweet, spicy and smoky nuts (they’re from Ina – so I  knew before I even made them that they’d be a hit!) These – THESE – were the hit of the day.

These nuts are a perfect foil to the sizeable sugar highs that seem to flip flop us around during December; it’s nice to have a more savory element mixed in with all the sweet treats I usually give as gifts. Spiced with chipotle powder, rosemary, orange juice, and maple syrup, the balance of flavors is pitch-perfect: slighly sweet, salty, with an herbal note from the rosemary and just enough subtle heat underneath all the flavors to warm up your mouth. We added some orange zest to the mixture which was lovely, so much so that I had to make another batch a few days later because we can’t stop snacking on them! They would be fabulous paired with drinks, and (of course) packaged up for gift-giving!

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Chipotle & Rosemary Roasted Nuts

adapted from Barefoot Contessa’s How Easy is That? by Ina Garten

I usually find Ina’s recipes to be just ever-so-slightly on the salty side for me, so I scaled down the salt to 1 1/2 teaspoons from the original 2. I also used slightly less chipotle powder than she calls for because the people I was giving these to aren’t big spice fans, but you can alter that according to your taste. If you don’t have chipotle powder, smoked paprika might make a nice substitution.

Ingredients

3 cups whole roasted unsalted cashews (14 ounces)
2 cups whole walnut halves (7 ounces)
2 cups whole pecan halves (7 ounces)
1/2 cup whole almonds (3 ounces)
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
zest of half an orange
2 teaspoons ground chipotle powder [I used slightly less than this]
4 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary leaves, divided
Kosher salt

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, stir together the nuts, 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, maple syrup, brown sugar, orange juice and zest, and chipotle powder. Toss to coat the nuts evenly. Add 2 tablespoons of rosemary and 2 teaspoons of kosher salt, and toss again.

Spread the nuts in a single layer on the baking sheet. Roast for 25 minutes, stirring about halfway through, until glazed and golden brown. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with another teaspoon or so of salt and the remaining 2 tablespoons of minced rosemary.

Stir well and set aside to cool (on the sheet is fine) at room temperature, stirring occasionally to prevent them from sticking too much as they cool. Serve warm or at room temperature; store in an airtight container if not serving immediately.

Makes 8-10 servings.

We are in full-on baking blitz mode here in the Eggs on Sunday household. December usually finds me whirring around the kitchen surrounded by puffs of flour and drips of chocolate, but this year, I have a little 2-year-old elf to help me, which makes it even more fun! (Though the clean-up factor is dramatically increased.)

I’ve been trying to involve her when I bake this holiday season, which usually means that the recipes I choose are fairly easy and have some type of hands-on step in which she can participate. These chocolate mint crackles, from the December issue of Martha Stewart magazine, fit the bill: mix them up in a single bowl (no need for even an electric mixer), roll them into balls, and roll the balls in powdered sugar.

The last part — rolling in powdered sugar — was a big hit with Miss A. Most of the balls of dough made it to the cookie sheet in fairly round form, though I think she couldn’t resist squishing a few down…

They flatten and crackle as they bake, and emerge from the oven looking like a cookie covered in snow-capped craggy mountains. I’ve made these cookies (also called snowcaps, appropriately) before without the peppermint, but that little addition was lovely; they taste like a York peppermint patty in cookie form.

Chewy, chocolatey and minty — they’d made a great addition to any holiday cookie platter!

[For my readers in the Finger Lakes: looking for more holiday cookie ideas with a locavore twist? Pick up the new winter issue of Edible Finger Lakes magazine, out in stores now, to read my article on holiday cookies using locally-sourced ingredients!]

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Chocolate Mint Crackles

adapted from Martha Stewart magazine, December 2011

You’ll need to chill the dough before it’s ready to roll into balls, so plan ahead accordingly.

Ingredients
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar (plus more as needed)

Directions

1. Melt chocolate in a double-boiler (or heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, or in the microwave in 30-second burst on 50% power). Stir until smooth.

2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and cocoa in a medium bowl.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs, and melted butter. Gradually add the melted chocolate and peppermint extract and whisk until smooth. Stir in flour mixture, cover the bowl, and refrigerate until firm — at least 3 hours.

4. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Roll tablespoon-sized scoops of dough into balls with your hands, then roll the balls in the powdered sugar until coated. Transfer to parchment lined baking sheets, spacing each ball about 2 inches apart.

5. Bake until slightly firm in the center, about 15 minutes. Let cool slightly on the pan, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes about 2 dozen cookies.