Ingredients

• 1 c. vegetable oil plus oil for the pan
• 1 c. sugar
• 2/3 c. brown sugar
• 1 c. light honey, such as clover
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tbsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 c. flat cola or brewed coffee, room temperature
• 1/3 c. slivered or sliced almonds
• 1/2 c. coarsely chopped semisweet chocolate or chips
• confectioners’ sugar or cocoa powder, for dusting

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Oil the bottom and tube of a 9- or 10-inch angel-food-cake or tube pan. Cut out a circle of parchment or baking paper and line the bottom.

In a medium-size bowl, blend the oil with the sugars, honey and vanilla. Blend in the eggs and mix well. In a separate bowl, mix together the cocoa powder, flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and slowly stir in the wet ingredients, slowly adding the cola (or coffee). Blend well to make a smooth batter.

Spoon the batter into the pan and sprinkle the top with slivered almonds.

Bake the cake for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 325 degrees and bake for an hour, or until the cake springs back when touched. (Make sure the center of the cake, near the tube, springs back as well as the outer edge, or the center will remain undercooked.) Remove the cake from the oven.

Sprinkle on the chopped chocolate. Refrigerate the cake to set the chocolate. Once the chocolate is set, invert and remove the cake from the pan. To serve, dust the top with cocoa and/or confectioners’ sugar.

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 c. flour
• 1/3 c. cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 stick plus 3 tbsp. butter, at room temperature
• 2/3 c. packed brown sugar
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 5 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped into small bits

Preparation

1. Sift the flour, cocoa and baking soda together in small bowl; set aside. Beat the butter until smooth in bowl of an electric mixer at medium speed. Add the sugars, vanilla and salt; beat 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low; add the flour mixture, mixing until incorporated but still crumbly, and being careful not to overwork the dough. Stir in the chocolate pieces.

2. Turn the dough out onto a smooth work surface; squeeze it so that it sticks together in large clumps. (If you need to, it’s okay to lightly flour the work surface.) Gather the dough into a ball; divide in half. Shape each ball into a log 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap logs in plastic wrap; chill at least 1 hour.

3. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Gently slice logs into 1/2-inch rounds using a serrated knife (some will crumble; simply press broken bits back onto cookie). Place 1 inch apart on the baking sheets.

4. Bake, one sheet at a time, 14 minutes; cookies will not look done or be firm. Cool on pan 5 minutes; transfer to cooling rack. Cool to room temperature.

Ingredients

• 3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup butter cut into tablespoons
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon each: baking powder, salt
• 4 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter, but not natural peanut butter
• 1/2 to 2/3 cups chopped peanuts

Preparation

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Melt 1 1/2 cups of the chocolate chips and the butter in a large saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly; let cool. Combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt in small bowl; set aside.

2. Beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl with a mixer on medium speed until combined; gradually add the dry ingredients, beating well. Add the reserved chocolate mixture; beat well. Spread the dough onto a greased 15-by-10 inch rimmed baking sheet; bake until firm, about 12-15 minutes. Cool until barely warm, about 20 minutes.

3. Spread the peanut butter over the chocolate layer; sprinkle with the peanuts. Melt the remaining 1 1/2 cups of the chocolate chips; spread while warm over the nut layer. Let cool completely; cut into squares.

Note: Sue Manos says she microwaves the peanut butter for 5-10 seconds to soften it for spreading.

Chicago Tribune

Ingredients

• 1 Cup all purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 5 TB. butter
• 6 TB. cocoa powder
• 1 Cup sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 extra large eggs
• 1 Cup finely chopped nuts (optional)
• 1/2 Cup powdered sugar (for rolling cookies in)

Preparation

In a medium bowl, sift flour, baking powder and salt, set aside. In a small heavy saucepan, melt butter over low heat, add cocoa powder, blend well with a fork or a small whisk until smooth. Remove pan from heat, stir in sugar until combined (it will be dark brown at this point). Transfer to a large mixing bowl, add vanilla extract, then eggs one at a time, stirring well with a wooden spoon or hand mixer after each addition. Add flour mixture and nuts if desired (skip the nuts if baking for children, as most don’t seem to enjoy them), mix well. Cover the dough with plastic wrap, refrigerate until chilled (at least 2 hours). The dough never gets really stiff, but it won’t roll into nice balls if it’s warm. Preheat oven to 400°. Grab a handful of dough, enough for a cookie sheet, leaving the rest in the fridge. Roll each hunk of dough into a 3/4" ball, then roll in powdered sugar. It is easier to roll the dough into balls if you coat your hands with powdered sugar (kids love doing this). Place the sugar coated balls onto a greased cookie sheet, 2" apart. Bake cookies for 8 minutes at 400°, let cool a minute, then remove from pan. Store in an airtight container to maintain the soft and chewy texture of these cookies. If you’d like a crisper cookie, cook a minute longer (be careful not to burn the bottoms).

Penzey’s Spices

Ingredients

Crust:

• 1 2/3 c. all purpose flour
• 1 c. powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 6 tbsp. (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, diced, room temperature
• 2 lg. egg yolks
• 1 lg. egg

Filling:

• 10 oz. bittersweet (70%) chocolate, finely chopped
• 2 c. heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 c. honey
• 1/4 c. pine nuts, toasted
• whipping cream

Preparation

Blend flour, powdered sugar, and salt in processor 5 seconds. Add butter, yolks, and egg. Blend until moist clumps form. Knead dough into ball and flatten into disk. Wrap and chill at least 30 minutes and up to 1 day.

Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 14-inch round. Transfer to 10-inch diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Cut off all but 1/2-inch overhang. Fold overhang in, pressing to form double-thick sides that extend 1/4-inch above rim. Chill crust 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375F. Bake crust 5 minutes. Using back of fork, press up sides of crust if slipping. Bake until golden, pressing up sides and piercing with fork if crust bubbles, about 25 minutes longer. Cool crust completely.

Place chocolate in medium bowl. Bring cream to simmer in saucepan. Pour cream over chocolate; whisk until smooth. Whisk in honey. Pour filling into crust. Chill until set, at least 2 hours and up to 1 day.

Sprinkle tar with pine nuts. Serve with whipped cream.

Ingredients

• 7 ounces best-quality semisweet chocolate
• 1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
• 1/2 cup dark-brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar

Preparation

Line two baking sheets with parchment. Chop chocolate into 1/4-inch chunks; set aside. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and cocoa.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and grated ginger until whitened, about 4 minutes. Add brown sugar; beat until combined. Add molasses; beat until combined.

In a small bowl, dissolve baking soda in 1 1/2 teaspoons boiling water. Beat half of flour mixture into butter mixture. Beat in baking-soda mixture, then remaining half of flour mixture. Mix in chocolate; turn out onto a piece of plastic wrap. Pat dough out to about 1 inch thick; seal with wrap; refrigerate until firm, 2 hours or more.

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Roll dough into 1 1/2- inch balls; place 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Refrigerate 20 minutes. Roll in granulated sugar. Bake until the surfaces crack slightly, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Martha Stewart

Ingredients

• 200 g dark chocolate (7 oz)
• 6 eggs
• pinch salt

Preparation

Melt chocolate and let cool. Separate the eggs. Add salt to the whites and beat them into firm peaks. Slowly pour the chocolate over the yolks and beat energetically.

Translated from French by Jenny

Ingredients

• 18 oz. chocolate chips
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• pinch salt
• 1/2 cup nuts, optional

Preparation

Melt chocolate (I do it in the microwave). Add remaining ingredients and stir until smooth. Spread in 8x8x2" pan and cool.

Ingredients

• 1 1/3 ounces unsweetened chocolate (37 grams)
• 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoon unsalted butter (20 grams)
• 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons flour (21 grams)
• 2 teaspoons cocoa powder (4 grams)
• 1/8 teaspoon baking powder (.7 grams)
• 1/8 teaspoon salt (.75 grams)
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar (65 grams)
• 1/3 pound bittersweet chocolate (150 grams)

Preparation

In a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, melt the unsweetened chocolate and butter. Remove from the heat and cool slightly.

Meanwhile, stir together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Combine the egg, vanilla and sugar in a bowl and mix with a fork. For puffier cookies, beat egg mixture with an electric mixer on high for 1 ½ minutes (until fluffy).

Add the melted chocolate to the egg mixture and mix just until combined. Stir in the dry ingredients and mix just until combined, then stir in the bittersweet chocolate. Chill batter for one hour.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Divide the dough into 6 portions and shape the portions into balls. They should be about 1 ¼ inches each. Place the balls on cookie sheet and space about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes (I baked mine about 13) and rotate the pan halfway. Take them out before you think they’re done, or they’ll get overcooked.

Cool on cookie sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes 6

L.A. Times, via Cookie Madness