Double Chocolate Cookies

Source: Buzzfeed

     Back in October I had a BAD case of Bronchitis. I was home sick for a week, and needed something to do to keep myself "resting" on the couch. I perused Neflix for an addicting new show, and lo and behold, found a winner. It's called "The Great British Baking Show." I think now it's just called the Great British Bake Off, but on Netflix the first season had a different name.



     Anyway, I plowed through the series in two days. It was so interesting! The challenges were unique and complicated, the mix of personalities between the competitors was engaging to watch, and the judging was fair. I especially like how they are able to practice two of their recipes beforehand, but the third one is a complete surprise with vague directions. Plus, you know, cute little background video of baby goats, bad (BAD) puns by the hosts, and all the drama of "Will it cook in time? Is it going to be too dry? Those look horrible, I bet he/she gets sent home" makes it worthwhile to watch.

     In case you weren't convinced you need to go watch this show now, I'll mention that one of the judges is named Mary Berry. I kid you not, that is her name! I even looked her up to see if she'd changed her name to match her baking profession, but didn't find anything conclusive. I'll keep looking. She is a cute little grandma you want to keep in your pocket, but then you're afraid she'll tell you that your cooking is too dry or not evenly baked. And you don't want to disappoint Mary Berry because it's like disappointing your own cute little grandma.



     Of course, I made my husband watch the show. And other people. I have totally watched the full season like 3 or 4 times you guys. Hubs found it entertaining. He hated the puns but still enjoyed the show, which is a sign of a good show if he can put up with the bad puns. He was clever for Christmas and got me "Mary Berry's Baking Bible- over 250 classic recipes." It's adorable, and so British. He said that when he looked it up online, it got bad reviews because Americans were annoyed that the measurements were all metric. But when it comes to baking, let me tell you, it is amazing how consistent your results are when you measure on a scale instead of using measuring cups! You will need a small kitchen scale to make these cookies. Don't fear the scale!

     The only downside to these cookies was that I completely forgot to use self-rising flour. I pulled it out and put it on the counter, and then used regular flour for some reason that I can't even explain. I was angry at myself for it, but then the cookies tasted AMAZING and came out so well that I couldn't be mad anymore.  Don't tell Mary Berry.

     These cookies taste like chocolate fudge, but they have a chewy cookie consistency. Add in the extra chips ("buttons" as Mary Berry puts it!) and they are a scrumptious treat. We ate the whole batch in 2 minutes. Maybe a bit longer. But only because we left them at home while we were away a work. In all seriousness, they are, quite simply, delicious.


Mary Berry's Double Chocolate Cookies

from "Mary Berry's Baking Bible," page 201

Taken from Mary Berry: "Dead easy to make, these are wonderful cookies. Expect an irregular shape. They are very soft when they come out of the oven but will harden up considerably on cooling. This recipe makes about 36 cookies."

Ingredients:

200 g (7 oz) plain chocolate
50 g (2 oz) butter
397 g (14 oz) can of condensed milk
225 g (8 oz) self-rising flour
65 g (2.5 oz) milk or white chocolate buttons (I used milk chocolate chunks)

Method:

1. Lightly grease 3 baking trays (I used parchment paper). Break up the chocolate and gently melt it along with the butter in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally (I used a double boiler). Stir in the condensed milk and then take off the heat and cool.

2. Mix in the flour and the chocolate buttons and chill the mixture until firm enough to handle. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit).

3. Place large teaspoonfuls of the mixture spaced well apart on the prepared baking tray. Bake in the pre-heated oven for about 15 minutes. The cookies should still look soft and will glisten. Don't overcook them as they soon become very hard. Carefully remove the cookies with a cookie spatula and cool on a wire rack.

Indian Inspiration

The "India" challenge on my baking list was one I was really looking forward to completing. I think that Indian recipes are often so much simpler than what I often cook or bake. I love the aromatic spices of Indian culture and the flavors they produce! Another great attribute of Indian recipes is that they are often nearly-vegan to start with, so if you are adapting a recipe to fit certain food specifications (allergies, dietary needs), it's simple enough to find a recipe that will easily fit your needs.

These cookies I made, for example. They are called Nan Khatai cookies and I used the recipe found on Blend With Spices. The directions were clear and simple. The ingredients were few and readily available- the only catch was the Cardamom. I don't use cardamom often, so when I went to the store and saw that the tiny 3 ounce container was $15 I went on a mini rant to my husband in the middle of the baking aisle. He just looked at me like "uhh....." which is understandable. It's probably the same look I gave these two college girls once when they stopped me in the same baking aisle and asked me if they could just melt butterscotch chips and use it as salted caramel. Uhhhh....

My little jar of Cardamom

What I ended up doing was going to the local Co-op grocery store, where you can buy many herbs, spices, and baking needs (cocoa powder, etc.) by the ounce. They have containers or you can bring your own. They also have these little plastic bags you can use and twist tie closed, which is what I used, and which makes you feel super sketchy when you go into the store to by an ounce of cardamom which looks like some other substance, and then you leave the store just carrying around your little bag of "ground spices." Sketchtastic. Worth it, though, to only pay 92 cents for cardamom, instead of $15.

Step 1: Mix dry ingredients. Step 2: Add wet ingredients

Step 3: Drop onto cookie sheet

Anyways, these cookies have a basic recipe with few ingredients. No refrigerating the dough, no extra steps needed- just mix, bake, and done. They tasted delicious! I might use less cardamom next time, because I found the taste to be a bit overpowering. However, the almonds on top help to smooth out the taste of the cardamom, so don't skip on the nuts if you make these!


I thought I'd blog the process of these cookies, you know, step by step style. I realized as I was uploading pictures that I took really boring and non-descriptive photos of the process. I also realized I need to edit the lighting in the photos because my kitchen has this one horrible fluorescent tube light and everything in the kitchen- cabinets, appliances, counters- are an off white color, so there is little natural looking light. When I take photos without flash, they come out a little dull. I could definitely have edited these photos and skipped this whole paragraph explaining myself, but I'd rather get the post up! I'm sure I'll regret that later...Enjoy for now!

And, voila! Cookies.