It’s February, that mid-point in winter when it seems spring will never come. There’s record-breaking cold in much of the country, with snow everywhere in sight. Not to mention the never-ending news cycle that is, to put it mildly, overwhelming.
This is all to say, who couldn’t use a bit of sweetness? Who isn’t craving a touch (or a whole lot) of chocolate? As we approach Valentine’s Day, that love-loving, card-loving, chocolate-loving holiday, I have three new recipes to offer. None of these are over-the-top complicated chocolate recipes, but the kind of treat you might seriously consider baking for someone you love.
To start: a cookie, chock full of chocolate chips and toasted coconut. If a Mounds bar were melted into a cookie, it might taste something like this treat. The dough can be made a day or a few hours ahead of time for the best cookies, but you can really put these together in an hour or so if you’re running short on time.
Next up: chocolate pudding pie. A very rich chocolate pudding is poured into a pre-made graham cracker crust (feel free to make your own crust using chocolate wafers or graham crackers) and chilled in the refrigerator for several hours. The pie is silky and reminiscent of childhood chocolate pudding. It’s topped with a maple syrup whipped cream.
Finally: a chocolate cake. I started craving this cake just as we were finishing the last slice. This is a chocolate-chocolate sour cream Bundt cake that is so light and fluffy, while simultaneously rich with chocolate in two forms — cocoa powder and chocolate chips or disks (a flat round chocolate piece that is considered ideal for melting and baking due to its high cocoa butter content).
Preheat the oven. Get baking. Draw a Valentine’s card while the cookies, pie and cake are in the oven. Celebrate love.
Chocolate chip and coconut cookies with sea salt
A super simple chocolate cookie with the unexpected crunch of toasted coconut flakes. Makes about 10 cookies.
INGREDIENTS
- ½ cup unsweetened coconut flakes
- 1 ½ cups flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 stick butter, very soft at room temperature
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- ¼ cup white sugar
- 1 egg
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup semisweet, milk or dark chocolate wafers, disks or chips
- Coarse sea salt
Pro tip: Chocolate disks or discs can be found in fancy food shops and in the chocolate section of many grocery stores. They melt beautifully and have a high cocoa butter content.
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the coconut flakes in a small ovenproof skillet and cook for about 5 to 7 minutes, or until they just begin to turn golden brown and smell “coconutty.” Alternatively, you can cook the coconut in the skillet over low heat until it begins to turn golden brown. Remove and cool.
- In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- In another bowl, using a handheld mixer or a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugars together until soft and light. Add the egg and vanilla. Gradually add the flour mixture and beat until it is just incorporated. Fold in the chocolate and coconut by hand using a soft spatula. Cover the bowl and cool in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place a sheet of parchment paper on a baking sheet. Take 2 tablespoons of cookie dough and place on the prepared baking sheet; repeat, leaving 2 inches between each cookie. Bake on the middle shelf for 13 to 15 minutes, or until brown along the edges. Remove from the oven, sprinkle the top of each cookie with some sea salt, pressing very lightly to help it adhere; cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack. Repeat with the remaining dough.
Chocolate-maple pudding pie
This pie is all comfort and nostalgia. A chocolatey pudding becomes the base for this silky, creamy pie. You can start with a store-bought graham cracker crust (that’s what I did) or make your own crust by grinding up 6 ounces of graham crackers or chocolate cookies with 4 tablespoons melted butter and 1 tablespoon sugar, lining a pie dish, and baking it for 6 to 8 minutes until the crust smells buttery (or chocolatey).
The pie needs to chill for at least 2 hours or overnight, so plan your time accordingly. Serves 6.
INGREDIENTS
The crust:
- One store-bought graham cracker crust in a 9 or 10-inch pie plate (or see above directions for making your own pie shell)
The filling:
- 2 cups milk
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 3 egg yolks
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- Pinch salt
- 6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips or 1 good-quality semisweet chocolate bar, chopped, about 1 cup
The maple cream:
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup or sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ounce milk, dark or semisweet chocolate bar, for optional chocolate shavings as a garnish
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Place the store-bought pie plate in the oven for 5 minutes to firm up and bring out the flavors. Remove and let cool.
- Meanwhile, heat the milk with ¼ cup of the sugar in a medium saucepan until just bubbling and warm.
- In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the remaining sugar and the ¼ cup of maple syrup. Whisk in the cornstarch and salt. When the milk is warm, pour it over the yolks and whisk vigorously, about 2 minutes until thickened and smooth. Add chocolate and whisk until smooth.
- Strain the pudding mixture into the cooled pie crust and smooth the top with a soft spatula. Place a piece of plastic wrap or plastic alternative on top and chill for at least 2 hours or overnight to thicken and solidify.
- Make the maple cream: Whip the cream in a large bowl until peaks form. Add the maple syrup and vanilla and whisk for another 10 seconds.
- If making the chocolate topping, use a microplane or the smallest knob of a cheese grater to shave the chocolate bar.
- Serve the maple cream on top of or alongside the pie just before serving and sprinkle with the shaved chocolate, if using.
Chocolate-chocolate sour cream bundt cake with chocolate-orange glaze
This Bundt cake is light and ethereal, while also being full of chocolate in two forms: cocoa powder and chocolate chips or disks. The cake is best served within six hours of baking, but it will keep for a few days. The longer it sits covered and refrigerated, the denser the cake becomes. The chocolate glaze is brightened with grated orange zest. Serves 6 to 8.
INGREDIENTS
The cake:
- Butter and flour for greasing the Bundt pan
- 2 sticks unsalted butter
- 1 cup cold water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa
- 1 cup semisweet, milk, or dark chocolate chips, wafers or disks
- 2 cups flour
- 1 ¾ cups sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
The chocolate-orange glaze:
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon grated orange zest
- ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips (80 grams)
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Grease a 10-cup Bundt pan with room-temperature butter and add a light coating of flour. Be sure to turn the pan upside down and knock out any excess flour. Set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, melt the butter, water, salt, cocoa, and chocolate chips or disks and heat over medium-low heat until the butter and chocolate are thoroughly melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat.
- Meanwhile, in a bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and baking soda. Once the butter/cocoa mixture has cooled slightly, slowly add it to the flour mixture and whisk until the batter is smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, whisking until fully incorporated. Add the sour cream and vanilla and whisk again until smooth.
- Add the batter to the prepared Bundt pan and place it on the middle shelf of the preheated oven. Bake for about 45 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Remove the cake and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Place a cooling rack or a large plate over the cake, and very carefully flip the cake over out of the pan and onto the rack or plate. Let the cake cool completely before spooning on the glaze.
- To make the glaze: in a small saucepan, heat the cream and the orange zest over medium-low heat until the cream is bubbling gently. Remove from the heat, add the chocolate and whisk until smooth. Pour the icing on top of the cake, letting it drip down the sides.
Chef picks: The best sweets to buy your sweetie
- Made in Westbrook, Maine, Ragged Coast uses cream, butter, herbs, fruit, vegetables and edible flowers from local Maine farms. Their chocolates are little works of art and taste as good as they look. The passion and artistry found in these chocolates are really inspiring. The pistachio brittle and chocolate caramel truffles are swoon-worthy.
- From a 225-year-old farm in Sudbury, Mass., Goodnow Farms Chocolates are made with freshly pressed, single-origin cocoa butter sourced in Latin America. Their chocolate is full of nuance and flavor, and they now offer alternative sugars like chocolate made with maple sugar, date sugar, and Maize Cob Extract (sugar made from upcycled corn cobs).
- Made in Kittery, Maine, these chocolates are exquisite to look at, but even better to eat. I’ve been buying and ordering from them for years, and they never fail.
- Small bar chocolates crafted from bean to bar in Exeter, N.H. Ethically produced.
- Named for the Wildwood Trail in Portland, Ore., these chocolates are made by hand, and their bars are beautiful with dried fruit, nuts, herbs and citrus.
- Made in San Francisco, Calif., these chocolates are made by hand and use no preservatives or artificial flavors. Their Dubai Done Better (“Original Pistachio Bar”) has a real following. Check out the chocolate-covered lemon Peels.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
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