chocolate Archives - Page 6 of 8 -

December 22, 2014

Chocolate Swirl Bread

There’s nothing quite like a loaf of warm freshly baked bread out of the oven. It’s cozy, comforting, and satisfying on cold chilly days. Add some deeply flavored dark chocolate to that and it becomes heavenly. This chocolate swirl bread is so much fun to make even more fun to eat. It has some resemblance to a giant cinnamon roll and some resemblance to pull-apart bread. I used a combination of all-purpose and white whole wheat flours, along with a bit of rye flour for some added depth of flavor. It’s filled with layers of chocolate, coconut sugar, and cinnamon. Using a high quality chocolate makes a difference since the chocolate plays such an important role. Use the best that you can find.

I’m off now to spend time with my sister’s family for the week and I am hoping to slow down, refresh, and take in the hope and peace of this season. Merry Christmas, happy holidays, and wishing you all great joy during this wondrous time of year.

Chocolate Swirl Bread

Ingredients

Dough

2¼ teaspoon active dry yeast
1 tablespoon coconut sugar
¾ cup whole milk. warmed to about 110 degrees
1 large egg yolk
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour
¼ cup rye flour
½ teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled

Filling

3.5 ounce dark chocolate bar, finely chopped
3 tablespoons coconut sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

Finishing

egg wash (1 large egg mixed with 1 tablespoon water)
powdered sugar for dusting

Instructions

In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, stir the yeast and sugar into the warm milk. Allow mixture to rest and become foamy and frothy, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the egg yolk and melted butter to the yeast mixture.
In the bowl of a large stand mixer, stir together the flours and salt.
Using the dough hook with the stand mixer running on low, gradually pour in the wet ingredients. Increase the speed to medium and knead until the dough becomes smooth, but still soft and damp. Shape dough into a ball, place in an oiled bowl, and then cover. Allow to rise at room temperature until doubled in size, about 1-1½ hours.
While dough rises, prepare filling. In a small bowl, combine the chocolate, coconut sugar, and cinnamon.
Grease a 10-inch cast iron skillet or a 9-inch cake pan. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a 18 x 12-inch rectangle. Spread butter evenly on dough. Sprinkle filling evenly over the butter, leaving a 1-inch border around the edges. Carefully roll up length-wise and pinch the edges together to seal. Using a sharp knife, cut log in half length-wise. Pinch two ends together and then twist the bread by gently lifting one strand over the other strand until you reach the end of the log. Form a circle and pinch the ends together to connect.
Allow bread to rise again until an indentation remains after touching, about 45 minutes.
About halfway through the second rising, preheat the oven to 375.
When bread is ready to be baked, lightly brush with egg wash. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until light golden brown. Cool for 30 minutes and dust with powdered sugar if desired. This is best served slightly warm out of the oven.

Notes

adapted from Take a Megabite, originally from Joy the Baker

December 15, 2014

Peppermint Cacao Nib Shortbread Cookies

A few weeks ago, I was able to travel for a quick weekend trip to celebrate the wedding of a good friend. While I was gone, my sweet children convinced Ryan to take them to the kitchen store so they could welcome me home with surprise presents. According to Ryan, they went a little nuts shopping and apparently wanted to buy me everything, but they finally settled on some new dish towels and this fluted biscuit cutter set. I admit the biscuit cutter set is probably not something I would have picked out for myself, but now that I have them, I love them. In addition to making beautiful edges on biscuits, they are also such fun cookie cutters.

These Peppermint Cacao Nib Shortbread Cookies are a delightful spin on a traditional shortbread. Crushed peppermint and cacao nibs add a hint of crunch and the peppermint adds a festive complement to the darker flavor of the cacao nibs. These minty chocolatey cookies are a wonderful accompaniment to some after-dinner coffee. They would also make a beautiful addition to any holiday cookie platter as well as make a lovely homemade gift.

Peppermint Cacao Nib Cookies

Ingredients

¼ cup coarsely broken peppermint pieces (I used natural peppermint candy from Hammond's)
¼ cup cacao nibs
8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes
¼ cup + 2 tablespoons white whole wheat flour
½ cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons natural cocoa powder
⅛ teaspoon sea salt
powdered sugar for dusting, optional

Instructions

In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the peppermint candy pieces until fairly uniform. Add the cocao nibs and pulse several times. Add the flours, cocoa powder, and salt and pulse again to combine. Sprinkle butter cubes evenly over mixture and process for 30-45 seconds. Scrape down the sides and continue to process just until dough starts to clump together. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and gently knead together to form a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 15-20 minutes.
Line baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough until it becomes ⅜-inch thick. Cut into desired shapes and transfer to lined baking sheets. Chill cookies in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes.
While cookies are chilling, preheat oven to 300. Bake cookies, rotating the sheet halfway through baking time, for 18-20 minutes, until cookies appear dry on top. Transfer cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely. Lightly dust with powdered sugar, if desired.

Notes

adapted from Sur La Table

December 4, 2014

Chocolate Hazelnut Toaster Pastries

I have faint memories of being a child and envying the kids that packed pop tarts as their on-the-go breakfast for the bus ride. At least in my mind, those looked like the best breakfast treats ever. While my parents were not extreme health enthusiasts during my childhood, they did strive to provide healthy meals and snacks for us and thus pop tarts were not part of the family diet. In my own mission for my children to have a healthy and wholesome way of eating, I try to limit the amount of processed food and sugars that they eat, but I also try to provide a reasonable amount of treats so that they aren’t left feeling deprived. These Chocolate Hazelnut Toaster Pastries are one of our latest treats and are my healthier version of pop tarts. Of course, they are wonderful straight out of the oven, but they conveniently reheat well in the toaster.

Rather than making my own chocolate hazelnut butter this time, I decided to keep things simple and used my favorite store-bought version, Justin’s. It worked beautifully and helped with being able to finish these off fairly quickly. To make this a bit healthier than a traditional pie pastry, I used spelt flour along with ground sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds. The seeds add an element of nuttiness to the crust and the oils from the seeds decrease the usual amount of butter necessary for a crust pastry.

I had planned on adding a drizzle of melted chocolate on top, but in the end I decided a simple sprinkle of coarse salt and turbinado sugar was enough for me. Do not skip this step- it makes a surprisingly big difference! Go ahead and add a drizzle of melted chocolate though if you want to be extra fancy. Enjoy!

Chocolate Hazelnut Toaster Pastries

Serves: about 10 pastries

Ingredients

2 cups spelt flour
¼ cup raw unsalted pumpkin seeds
¼ cup raw unsalted sunflower seeds
¼ cup coconut sugar
½ teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled
2 teaspoons cider vinegar
about ½ cup chocolate hazelnut butter
coarse finishing salt and turbinado sugar for sprinkling on top

Instructions

In the bowl of a food processor, add the pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds. Process until seeds are finely ground. Add the flour, sugar, and salt and pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse again until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
In a small bowl, combine vinegar and 6 tablespoons of ice water. With the food processor running, gradually add the vinegar and water. Process just until mixture begins to clump together. Transfer mixture to a lightly floured surface and finish kneading together by hand. Form dough into a disk and wrap with plastic wrap. Chill about 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to make a rectangle approximately 16- inches x 11-inches. Use a sharp knife to cut the dough into 3-inch x 2½-inch rectangles. You should have 20 rectangles.
Take one rectangle and spread 2 teaspoons chocolate hazelnut butter in the middle, leaving a border around the edges. Top with another rectangle and use a fork to crimp the edges together. Repeat with the remaining 18 rectangles.
Sprinkle tops with a generous pinch coarse salt and turbinado sugar.
Bake for 11-13 minutes, until edges start to turn light golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes on tray and then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Notes

[i]pastry crust adapted from Whole Grains Every Day Every Way[/i]