Post by JJ Judkins on Nov 2, 2012 14:23:59 GMT -6
Batty Bittersweet Chocolate Mousse w/Chocolate Cookie Wings (Halloween)
From: "Wolfgang Puck"
Notes from Wolfgang: Go batty with this Halloween dessert! Even though it seems the holiday has been marketed everywhere since just after Labor Day, Halloween sometimes still has the power to sneak up on you. So it's very possible that, like me, you haven't done much more than stick a cardboard-cutout black cat or witch on the door & buy a few big bags of those so-called "fun size" little candy bars.
We mean well. We intended to do something fun for the holiday. But other things came up and, well, here we are!
So, please allow me to share with you a classic chef's trick for coming up with perfect last-minute treats: Start with your tried-and-true recipes, ones on which you know you can rely & add a little trick or two.
That's the spirit behind my recipe for "Batty Bittersweet Chocolate Mousse with Chocolate Cookie Wings." It takes a pair of very basic, sure-to-be-delicious recipes, introduces a few little creative presentation twists, and -- almost no more quickly than you can say, "Boo!" -- results in a perfect Halloween dessert. Make it for you & the kids to enjoy before or after you go out trick-or-treating; for a grown-up Halloween dinner; or, with the quantities doubled or tripled, for a casual October 31 gathering for adults & children alike.
The main components of the preparation are two very basic recipes indeed: a simple cookie dough turned dark brown with the addition of a little cocoa powder & a simple chocolate mousse made from just two ingredients, melted bittersweet chocolate & whipped heavy cream. Both of those elements, needless to say, rely on using good ingredients to give them an intense chocolate flavor. So look for the best-quality cocoa powder & bittersweet chocolate you can find. Use a cocoa powder brand that's labeled as having been "Dutch processed," a treatment that neutralizes its natural acidity so it won't react with the baking powder in the dough; you'll find many gourmet brands that are good, but the widely available Hershey's unsweetened cocoa powder for baking is also good & reliable. As for the chocolate, you'll find many good choices today, from European imports like Valrhona or Lindt to domestic quality options like Scharffen Berger to a wide variety of small boutique products.
As for the touches of creativity, those come in forming the mousse & round cookies into the plump little bodies of our bats, which you'll coat with a shiny chocolate glaze. Each body gets two cookie wings, shaped from a template you can draw freehand on cardboard & cut out.
It's as simple as that. And when anyone marvels at your creativity, feel free to reply modestly, "Oh, it's just a little something I scared up!"
Serves 6
Ingredients:
Chocolate Cookie Dough (see separate recipe below)
Ingredients Chocolate Mousse:
6 ozs bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 cups heavy cream
Ingredients Chocolate Glaze:
8 ozs bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
Directions:
1. (The instructions on preparing the dough is below.) To bake the dough, position a rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Dust a work surface with flour. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. Put the dough on the work surface & dust with flour. With a rolling pin, roll the dough back & forth 3 times. Then, move it around to prevent sticking. Then, dust with a little more flour. Continue rolling, moving & flouring until evenly 1/2 inch thick.
3. Using a 3 inch cookie cutter, cut out 6 circles. Using a cardboard template you've drawn & cut out with scissors, as well as the tip of a small, sharp knife, cut out 12 bat-wing shapes. As necessary, gather up the scraps & re-roll.
4. Place the bat wings on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from the oven & cool to room temperature.
5. For the mousse, put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl.
6. In a small saucepan, bring 1 cup of cream to a boil. Pour this over the chocolate. Leave for 1 minute to melt. Then, whisk until smooth. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
7. Meanwhile, whip the remaining cream until it forms soft peaks when the beaters are lifted out.
8. Fold into the cooled chocolate mixture. Spoon this mousse into 6 individual dome-shaped molds or small bowls, each 3 inches to 3 1/2 inches in diameter. With a metal spatula, smooth the mousse even with the rims & top each with one round cookie. Freeze for at least 4 hours.
9. For the glaze, put the chocolate & butter in a heat-proof mixing bowl.
10. In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring the sugar & water to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Pour over the chocolate & stir until melted & smooth.
11. Unmold the mousses onto a wire rack, dipping the molds briefly into hot water to loosen. Place the rack on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Spoon the glaze over each mousse & stick two cookie wings on opposite sides. Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to two days.
CHOCOLATE COOKIE DOUGH
Make about 2 dozen cookies
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 ozs unsalted butter, cut into 1 inch pieces, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large cage-free egg
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
Directions:
1. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder & salt. Set aside.
2. Put the butter in a large mixing bowl & with a rubber spatula, stir until smooth & softened. Add the sugar & continue stirring until the mixture resembles light yellow mashed potatoes; about 2 minutes longer. Transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer.
3. With the mixer on medium speed, add the egg & beat until well-blended. Add the vanilla. Add the sifted flour mixture & continue beating until smooth; 2 to 3 minutes longer.
4. On low speed, beat in the cocoa powder until evenly blended.
5. Gather the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap & refrigerate for at least 1 hour or as overnight.
From: "Wolfgang Puck"
Notes from Wolfgang: Go batty with this Halloween dessert! Even though it seems the holiday has been marketed everywhere since just after Labor Day, Halloween sometimes still has the power to sneak up on you. So it's very possible that, like me, you haven't done much more than stick a cardboard-cutout black cat or witch on the door & buy a few big bags of those so-called "fun size" little candy bars.
We mean well. We intended to do something fun for the holiday. But other things came up and, well, here we are!
So, please allow me to share with you a classic chef's trick for coming up with perfect last-minute treats: Start with your tried-and-true recipes, ones on which you know you can rely & add a little trick or two.
That's the spirit behind my recipe for "Batty Bittersweet Chocolate Mousse with Chocolate Cookie Wings." It takes a pair of very basic, sure-to-be-delicious recipes, introduces a few little creative presentation twists, and -- almost no more quickly than you can say, "Boo!" -- results in a perfect Halloween dessert. Make it for you & the kids to enjoy before or after you go out trick-or-treating; for a grown-up Halloween dinner; or, with the quantities doubled or tripled, for a casual October 31 gathering for adults & children alike.
The main components of the preparation are two very basic recipes indeed: a simple cookie dough turned dark brown with the addition of a little cocoa powder & a simple chocolate mousse made from just two ingredients, melted bittersweet chocolate & whipped heavy cream. Both of those elements, needless to say, rely on using good ingredients to give them an intense chocolate flavor. So look for the best-quality cocoa powder & bittersweet chocolate you can find. Use a cocoa powder brand that's labeled as having been "Dutch processed," a treatment that neutralizes its natural acidity so it won't react with the baking powder in the dough; you'll find many gourmet brands that are good, but the widely available Hershey's unsweetened cocoa powder for baking is also good & reliable. As for the chocolate, you'll find many good choices today, from European imports like Valrhona or Lindt to domestic quality options like Scharffen Berger to a wide variety of small boutique products.
As for the touches of creativity, those come in forming the mousse & round cookies into the plump little bodies of our bats, which you'll coat with a shiny chocolate glaze. Each body gets two cookie wings, shaped from a template you can draw freehand on cardboard & cut out.
It's as simple as that. And when anyone marvels at your creativity, feel free to reply modestly, "Oh, it's just a little something I scared up!"
Serves 6
Ingredients:
Chocolate Cookie Dough (see separate recipe below)
Ingredients Chocolate Mousse:
6 ozs bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 cups heavy cream
Ingredients Chocolate Glaze:
8 ozs bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
Directions:
1. (The instructions on preparing the dough is below.) To bake the dough, position a rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Dust a work surface with flour. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. Put the dough on the work surface & dust with flour. With a rolling pin, roll the dough back & forth 3 times. Then, move it around to prevent sticking. Then, dust with a little more flour. Continue rolling, moving & flouring until evenly 1/2 inch thick.
3. Using a 3 inch cookie cutter, cut out 6 circles. Using a cardboard template you've drawn & cut out with scissors, as well as the tip of a small, sharp knife, cut out 12 bat-wing shapes. As necessary, gather up the scraps & re-roll.
4. Place the bat wings on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from the oven & cool to room temperature.
5. For the mousse, put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl.
6. In a small saucepan, bring 1 cup of cream to a boil. Pour this over the chocolate. Leave for 1 minute to melt. Then, whisk until smooth. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
7. Meanwhile, whip the remaining cream until it forms soft peaks when the beaters are lifted out.
8. Fold into the cooled chocolate mixture. Spoon this mousse into 6 individual dome-shaped molds or small bowls, each 3 inches to 3 1/2 inches in diameter. With a metal spatula, smooth the mousse even with the rims & top each with one round cookie. Freeze for at least 4 hours.
9. For the glaze, put the chocolate & butter in a heat-proof mixing bowl.
10. In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring the sugar & water to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Pour over the chocolate & stir until melted & smooth.
11. Unmold the mousses onto a wire rack, dipping the molds briefly into hot water to loosen. Place the rack on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Spoon the glaze over each mousse & stick two cookie wings on opposite sides. Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to two days.
CHOCOLATE COOKIE DOUGH
Make about 2 dozen cookies
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 ozs unsalted butter, cut into 1 inch pieces, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large cage-free egg
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
Directions:
1. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder & salt. Set aside.
2. Put the butter in a large mixing bowl & with a rubber spatula, stir until smooth & softened. Add the sugar & continue stirring until the mixture resembles light yellow mashed potatoes; about 2 minutes longer. Transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer.
3. With the mixer on medium speed, add the egg & beat until well-blended. Add the vanilla. Add the sifted flour mixture & continue beating until smooth; 2 to 3 minutes longer.
4. On low speed, beat in the cocoa powder until evenly blended.
5. Gather the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap & refrigerate for at least 1 hour or as overnight.