Chocolate Bats & Cats, Witches & Brooms: Halloween Cookies

I found these wonderful 1960s Halloween Cookie Cutters at the Alameda Flea Market this month. What perfect timing! Love the box and the shapes. I've posted some great chocolate cookie recipes, but here's one I adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe. Just a few changes, and she uses this recipe with her own bat and cat cookie cutters, so it's perfect! These cookies are very crisp. I think using dark cocoa gives them a richer taste.


Chocolate Cats and Bats, Witches and Brooms: Halloween Cookies

Makes 40 to 50

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled) plus more for rolling and cutting out dough
3/4 cup unsweetened DARK cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons sweet butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
Small candies or sprinkles, for decorating (optional)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, and salt; set aside.
2. In large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy; beat in egg. On low speed, mix in flour mixture. Divide dough in half, and form into 2 disks, each about 3/4 inch thick. Wrap disks in plastic; chill until firm, at least 45 minutes and up to 2 days.
3. On a lightly floured sheet of waxed paper, using a floured rolling pin, roll dough 1/4 inch thick. (If dough becomes too soft to work with, refrigerate for a few minutes.)
4. Using 2- to 3-inch Halloween cookie cutters, cut out shapes, dipping cutters in flour as necessary to prevent sticking; place on a baking sheet, spacing them 1 inch apart.
5. Bake until surface is dry to the touch, 10 to 15 minutes (if decorating, press candies into dough halfway through baking-as in eyes on the cats, etc). Cool cookies 1 to 2 minutes on baking sheet; transfer to a rack to cool completely. Serve, or store in an airtight container up to 3 days.

Chocolate Cola: Guest Blogger Don Bruns

My crime fiction and chocolate worlds collide again. This time mystery author Don Bruns Guest blogs a personal 'vintage' story and 'vintage' recipe for Chocolate Cola. Don is the author of the Stuff Series and Caribbean Series, including Don't Sweat the Small Stuff and Bahama Burnout. And, did I mention he's multi-talented. Check out his music, HERE.

CHOCOLATE COLA by Don Bruns


My grandmother used to work at a soda fountain. I never asked her about her first job, but my mother told me this story. There was a Kresge's or some department store in Toledo, Ohio and my grandmother got a job pumping soda at the counter. I think most of the department stores had soda fountains back then. My grandma had a sweet tooth, even when I was growing up, and she baked raisin sugar cookies, chocolate chip cookies and a home made cherry pie that would put a big smile on your face. Her apple pie wasn't so bad either.

Mom said that grandma always felt she should taste every drink she made, so she could accurately describe the concoction to her customers. And her favorite was a cola with chocolate. The elixir was simple. You added two pumps of chocolate to a regular serving of Coke. Or Pepsi. Or whatever cola you were serving. Chocolate and cola. How could you go wrong?

Well, you could go wrong by drinking too much of your favorite beverage. The third day on the job, Marvel Griffith was warned that her job was on the line. She was drinking away most of the profit. But, the recipe remains.

Take one can of cola. Pepsi, Coke, Royal Crown. Diet or the full effect. Put two pumps of Nestles Quick into the drink and stir. It may sound simple, but this drink could change your life.

As far as I know, Marvel kept her job and cut back on her personal drinking habits. For the mature drinker, try some cola and Baileys Irish Cream.

Those of you who are health oriented, the people who cringe at recipes that are laden with calories and fat content, here is an alternative.  Just shut up. A chocolate cola was my grandmother's favorite drink. Respect that!

Brown Derby Black Bottom Pie: Vintage Recipe

Here's another fabulous Vintage Recipe. T This Hollywood favorite from the Famous Hollywood Brown Derby is great for an Oscar Party...or any time. It's delicious. Found this ad in an online copy of Life Magazine, December 7, 1953. Main ingredients: Baker's Chocolate and Knox Gelatine.

Famous Brown Derby Black Bottom Pie! More Stars Love it! You will too! (the tagline)

FAMOUS BROWN DERBY BLACK BOTTOM PIE

Blue Cheese Truffles: Moldy Cheese Day

October 9 is Moldy Cheese Day. Don't you just love the name, Moldy Cheese Day? Perfect for October! For me, Moldy Cheese means Blue Cheese. O.k. I know there are a lot of moldy cheeses out there, but give me a good Stilton or Gorgonzola any day. So in honor of Moldy Cheese Day, I'm making Blue Cheese Truffles. Simple and delicious.

No time or inclination to make your own? There are several Chocolate companies that offer fabulous Blue Cheese Truffles, but my favorites comes from Lillie Belle Farms in Southern Oregon. Smokey Blue Truffles are available online HERE. I've tasted them at the San Francisco International Chocolate Salon, and they're delicious. Organic milk chocolate, Rogue Creamery's smoked blue cheese and toasted almonds. It's an awesome combination.

But if you want to make your own, try this recipe adapted from Harold McGee's Cookbook On Food and Cooking.

BLUE CHEESE TRUFFLES

FILLING
2 ounces Stilton, room temperature
1 tablespoon superfine sugar
2 ounces Scharffen Berger dark chocolate (70% cacao), finely chopped

COATING
6 ounces Scharffen Berger dark chocolate (70% cacao), finely chopped

Make sure the cheese is at room temperature.
In a mixing bowl, combine the cheese and sugar and mix until the sugar has dissolved.

Melt the filling chocolate in the top of a double boiler over simmering water.

Use 2 ounces for blue cheese fillings. Make sure the cheese you use is at room temperature and very soft. If it is too firm, microwave it very briefly to soften.

Combine the melted chocolate, superfine sugar, and cheese and work together with a wooden spoon or flexible spatula until the mixture is homogeneous. (This may be easier if you add a few drops of water or a little butter.) If the mixture is too soft to shape, refrigerate for 15 to 20 minutes.

Roll portions of the mixture into 1/2-inch balls and refrigerate for 15 to 20 minutes.
Melt and temper the coating chocolate. Dip the cheese balls in the tempered chocolate, letting the excess drain off. Allow to set at room temperature. Keep in a cool place and serve on the same day.

Note: Cheese will resume fermentation if left at room temperature, so this is one case where truffles should be refrigerated if kept for more than a day. Place on a sheet or tray and wrap snugly in waxed paper, then plastic wrap, before refrigerating. Allow to warm to room temperature before unwrapping.

Peanut Butter Brownie Cupcakes

I love peanut butter and chocolate. Who doesn't? Here's Paula Deen's Peanut Butter Brownie Cupcake recipe...to die for... It's so simple and delicious.

You can substitute your own brownie recipe for the box mix. Try my Aunt Sylvia's Brownie recipe. The directions remain the same. You'll love these peanut butter brownie cupcakes!!! These also have an orange and black look...perfect for Halloween!

PEANUT BUTTER BROWNIE CUPCAKES

1 (18 1/2-ounce) package chewy fudge brownie mix (recommended: Duncan Hines) or your own brownie recipe.
1 (12-ounce) package peanut butter chips or 24 miniature peanut butter cups (I use Reese's mini-peanut butter cups)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Line 24 regular muffin cups with paper cupcake liners.

Prepare the brownie mix according to package directions for cake-like brownies.
Fill the cups half full with brownie batter.
Place about 1 tablespoon peanut butter chips in the center of the batter, or press 1 peanut butter cup into the batter in each muffin cup until the batter meets the top edge of the peanut butter cup.

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until the cupcakes are set.
When they can be handled safely, remove them from the muffin tins and let cool completely on wire racks.