about bliss

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

twd: chocolate chunkers


dharmagirl with a bowlful of chocolate chunkers

Friday afternoon grey skies threatened rain and temperatures plummeted, marking a clear transition to FALL. I'm still dreaming of summer, and these early fall days bring a certain amount of sadness. To combat my blues, I headed to the Weather Center Cafe for a steaming bowl of soup and a creamy cafe au lait. I read through a stack of rough drafts and started drafting another blog entry.

Then, I went to the Woodlake Market, one of my favorite grocery stores in the region. It's a favorite because of their chocolate selection--Scharffen Berger bars, Vosges mini bars--their wine selection--and their wide array of Alterra coffee. I was in search of a decent unsweetened and white chocolate for this week's recipe, from Claudia of Fool for Food, Chocolate Chunkers. I had hoped for Scharffen Berger unsweetened chocolate, but settled for Ghiradelli.

I mixed up the dough on Saturday, starting with chopping all that chocolate--6 oz. of bittersweet (Lindt excellence); 1 oz. unsweetened (the aforementioned Ghiradelli); 3 oz. milk chocolate (Scharffenberger); and 3 oz. white (Ghiradelli). I toasted walnuts, and splashed a cup of craisins with a little Maker's Mark to push the cookies a bit over the top. The dough came together easily and tasted like a loaded brownie. I let it chill for an hour or so, and then set out baking.

Once again, I established a rhythm of filling the cookie trays, reading student essays while they baked, and then starting the cycle over again as I emptied the cookie tray and filled it again.

On Sunday I shared the cookies with my friend B and her sister M who's visiting from California. We sipped coffee and tea, munched on these delicious, lovely textured, and completely chocolate cookies while talking politics and forgetting about the never-ending rain outside.

This TWD adventure has been a joy, connecting me to other baking bloggers, but also connecting me to my friends and colleagues through the fruits of my labor. And, I'm enjoying trying new recipes that I would probably admire but never actually bake. So far I've enjoyed all the cookies I've baked, but this week's cookies are a real winner. Next time I'll use pecans and dried cherries, and hunt down all Scharffen Berger chocolate.

9 comments:

  1. My keyboard is a hard to type on due the drool; wow those cookies look good.

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  2. Anonymous3:09 PM

    WOW - that's a platter of cookies!

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  3. I love your plate of cookies..nice work! I thought these cookies tasted wonderful. I can't wait to make them again.

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  4. That bowl full of chunkers certainly is tempting. I've got to try some real quality chocolate, if only I could find some!

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  5. Lovely platter of cookies! Having made mine with pecans and cherries, I can vouch that it's a great combination. I bet you also can get some of those Door County dried cherries -- very wonderful!

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  6. Love your adventure at the market picking out the ingredients. Cherries would be amazing, but your craisins with bourbon sound pretty killer.
    Nancy

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  7. The cookies look wonderful, but the part of your post I like best is the description of how you shared them with friends over good conversation. What a perfect way to spend a rainy day.

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  8. I think Saturdays are the best days to bake. Love the platter of cookies they look delicious!

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