Authors: Sara Perry

Deep Dark Chocolate (4 page)

other dry ingredients

Store dry ingredients in a cool (60° to 72°F), dry place and keep them in your pantry no longer than 6 months. Remember that, over time, spices lose their strength and flavor, and the leavening agents in baking powder become less effective. When you make a purchase, check to see if there is a “sell by” date, and keep track of these dates when you get home; add the current date to the label with a permanent marker.

eggs

Use grade AA large eggs for the recipes in this book, and use the freshest eggs possible. (Check the “sell by” date on the side of the carton.) Once you bring the eggs home, refrigerate them in their carton, not in your refrigerator’s egg tray. To bring them to room temperature, take them out of the refrigerator 1 hour before using them, or place them in hot tap water for about 5 minutes.

When a recipe calls for separated eggs, separate the yolks from the whites when the eggs are cold, then let them reach room temperature. Egg whites whip best and gain the most volume when they are whisked at room temperature or slightly warmer. Be sure that your utensils are squeaky clean and without a hint of grease, which will hinder the volume of whipped eggs.

dairy

Either whole (3.5 percent fat) or low-fat (2 percent fat) milk was used to prepare the recipes calling for milk in this book. Fat-free or skim milk, with less than 1 percent fat, will alter the texture of baked goods. When a recipe calls for cream, I use heavy (whipping) cream (36 to 40 percent fat), not whipping cream (30 to 36 percent fat).

Preheat The Oven, And Use An Oven Thermometer.

It takes 15 minutes to preheat an oven’s interior to a desired and uniform temperature. Regardless of the quality of the oven, it loses its initial factory temperature calibrations over time. Since temperature is critical to the outcome of any baked good, invest in an inexpensive oven thermometer to check for accuracy. To test the recipes in this book, I used the Taylor Classic Oven Guide Thermometer (about $15).

Choose The Proper Measuring Tools, Baking Sheets, Pots, And Pans.

measuring cups and spoons

There are two different types of measuring containers: dry and liquid. Dry measuring cups come in nested sets and are usually made of metal or plastic. They measure in terms of cups or portions of cups. I like to use stainless-steel cups with straight rims because they are sturdy and easy to level with a straight-edged implement.

Liquid measuring cups have spouts and graduated markers. Usually they measure in terms of cups and ounces. Liquid graduated beakers are also available. When measuring a liquid, set the cup or beaker on a level surface and let the liquid rest before reading the gauge. I own 1-cup, 2-cup, 4-cup, and 8-cup Pyrex glass measuring cups, and often use the larger ones as mixing bowls. I also use three (
¹/4-, 1-, and 2-cup) nifty angled measuring cups made by OXO that allow you to read measurements from above. For accuracy, use the smallest cup size that holds the amount of liquid you need.

Measuring spoons are used to measure small quantities of liquid and dry ingredients. They come in nesting sets, usually connected by a ring. The best are stainless steel with straight rims. While round spoons are most common, they also come in elongated shapes for easier entry into the narrow openings of spice jars.

Last but not least: It’s a good idea to verify that your measuring cups and spoons are properly calibrated by checking their capacity against a second set of measuring tools. Make sure that the
¹/
₂-cup mark and the 1-teaspoon measure actually yield
¹/
₂cup and 1 teaspoon.

baking sheets, cake pans, and tart pans

The best baking or cookie sheets are shiny and heavy-gauge, without raised sides or with two slightly turned-up sides. Thin sheets warp easily, and dark ones can cause cookies to over-brown. It’s a good idea to have two or three baking sheets at hand so that when you’re baking cookies, while one sheet is in the oven and another sheet is cooling, you can assemble the next set of cookies on the others. A jelly-roll or sheet pan resembles a cookie sheet but has four raised sides to
contain batter. It’s used for making pinwheel cakes, roulades, and certain bar cookies, and it’s also great for corraling nuts while they’re toasting in the oven.

Cake pans come in a variety of sizes, but most recipes call for either 8-inch or 9-inch round pans. Light-colored aluminum pans are preferable, since they conduct heat evenly and quickly. A springform pan is round, high, and straight-sided, with a spring-loaded hinge to release the sides of the pan from the base. This allows delicate baked goods such as cheesecakes to be easily removed. It’s important to make sure the seal is tight and snug so the springform pan doesn’t leak. Square and rectangular cake or baking pans are handy for brownies and other bar cookies. Choose light-colored metal or aluminum pans with 2-inch-high sides.

When it comes to tart pans, I use 9-and 11-inch shallow, tinned-steel tart pans with removable bottoms, fluted edges, and a shiny surface. By pushing up on the bottom plate with gentle pressure, you can loosen the cooked pastry away from the edges for one-piece removal. I also have a set of mini (4-inch) nonstick tart molds. Finally, when it comes to pies that go from the freezer to the oven, you’ll need to use specialty ceramic pie pans such as those from Le Creuset or heavy aluminum pans (Pyrex pans won’t do the trick).

The recipes in this book have been tested with the size and type of pot or pan they call for. If you need to make a substitution, be sure the pot or pan you use is a similar volume to the one specified, and be aware that you may need to adjust the baking time. You can check a pan’s volume by measuring the amount of water needed to fill it.

two special tools I can’t live without

HANDS:
Those two handy items are always with you, and with five fingers apiece, they can tell you with your eyes shut if the dough is too sticky or as soft as a baby’s bottom. They are the ultimate kitchen tool and better than any gadget. Hands are sensitive and marvelous at forming cookies, kneading dough, and letting you know with a touch when something is too hot, too cold, or just right. Use them whenever you can.

PARCHMENT PAPER:
The best friend of the tidy (or messy) baker. Treated with silicone, this paper is nonstick and grease-resistant. It prevents baked goods from attaching to baking sheets and cake pans, and it makes a handy sling for removing bar cookies from the pan. A sheet of parchment paper under a mixing bowl keeps counters clean and provides a resting place for batter-coated spoons and spatulas. The paper can also act as a funnel and a landing spot for sifted ingredients. Like waxed paper, it is available in rolls in the baking section of most supermarkets. It also comes in bulk, precut sheets at retail baking-supply stores. One box containing a thousand 16
³/8-inch-by-24-inch sheets costs about $38 and lasts for years.

Have Baking Sheets, Pots, And Pans AtRoom Temperature.

After that first batch of cookies, your baking sheet will no longer be at room temperature. If you place dough on it, the hot sheet will melt the dough, causing the cookies to run and to bake improperly. To avoid this, have extra baking sheets on hand, or run room-temperature water over the underside of the baking sheet to cool it between batches.
It’s Best To Bake Cookies One Sheet At A Time, In The Center Of The Oven So The Oven’s Hot Air Can Circulate Freely Around It.
This Doesn’t Happen When The Baking Sheets Are Stacked On Shelves, One Above The Other, Or When You Use A Jelly-Roll Pan Instead Of A Baking Sheet. If You’re Rushed And Need To Bake Two Sheets At Once, Rotate Them From Front To Back And Top To Bottom Halfway Through The Baking Sequence.

Trust Your Eyes And Instincts, Jot Down Notes For The Next Time, And Don’t Watch The Clock.

In this book’s recipes, certain steps give visual cues as well as approximate times, such as “Bake until the muffins have risen, are lightly browned, and a tester inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs, about 25 minutes.”

It is important to understand that mixing and baking times are always approximate because they depend on many factors, from an
individual cook’s skills to an oven’s accuracy. Use suggested times as guidelines, and place your faith mainly in the other signs of doneness and what you see and smell. While this is true for baking of any kind, it’s especially true when you’re using chocolate because the dough or batter is dark and it’s often difficult to “see” when it’s done. Use indicators, such as a crisp crust or a top that has “lost its sheen.” Try to develop your own vocabulary of visual cues, and when you find a discrepancy, be sure to jot it down in the recipe’s margin for the next time. My cookbooks are my collective kitchen diary, with notes, comments, and even dates written in the margins.

Chocolate Cookies
and
Deep, Dark Brownies

CHOCOLATE COOKIES WITH ALL THE CHIPS

BITTERSWEET CHOCOLATE–CARAMEL CRACKER COOKIES: A DELECTABLE ASSORTMENT

piedras blancas

TRIPLE CHOCOLATE– SPANISH PEANUT COOKIES

BLACK MAGIC CHOCOLATE ESPRESSO COOKIES

baby loves

HE-LOVES-ME-NOT VALENTINE HEARTS

GOOD OL’ FUDGY BROWNIES

scharffen berger brownies with red-wine raisins and toasted walnuts

Chocolate Cookies with All the Chips

makes
about 3 dozen cookies

THIS MULTI-CHOCOLATE-CHIP TREAT IS SO CHOCK-FULL
of chips that the chocolaty dough becomes simply a vehicle (and a mighty good one, too). I think you’ll find that the combination of chips really makes this cookie stand out; but if you don’t have a variety of chips on hand, you can use just one kind or a variety of sizes from mini to giant. Be sure to try the variation. The addition of toasted almonds and red-wine raisins is sublime.