Chocolate cookies for Santa

For chocolate lovers the Christmas season is all about trying to see how many different ways you can make something from one of the world’s most celebrated foods.

If you haven’t yet purchased something special for the chocolate lover on your list, the Guittard Chocolate Cookbook is 100% devoted to recipes for fine desserts featuring their own premium brand of chocolate. However, if you are unable to order some of this fanciness online before St. Nick’s visit to the communities, never fear: regular baking chocolate can be substituted as can higher grade chocolate ordered online. If you are substituting however, just make sure to measure out what you need on a kitchen scale so that your measurements are dead on.

As for the book, it features page after page of chocolate recipes for mind-blowing concoctions and confections. Beautifully photographed and presented simply, Amy Guittard’s chocolate cookbook is perfect for an under-the-tree gift for chocolate lovers or an ideal self-gift if you have a chocolate lover in the family you want to please.

Here is a sampling of Guittard’s goodness:

Molten Chocolate Cookies

When you need to slow down, sip a latte, and read a book, this is the cookie you’ll want on a pretty plate beside you. They’re big (only eight cookies per baking sheet!) and very rich, with a crisp exterior and gooey centre – everything you want from a chocolate indulgence. I’ll whip up a batch and keep some dough in the freezer for those moments that require something special (or when a serious chocolate craving hits). Be careful not to overcook these or you won’t get the fudgy middle. If you leave the dough in the refrigerator overnight, put it on the counter and let it sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before baking.

2¼ cups [340 g] Guittard Semisweet Chocolate Baking Wafers

3 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup [120 g] all-purpose flour

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

2 large eggs

½ cup [100 g] sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 375°F [190°C]. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Melt the chocolate wafers and butter together using a hot water bath or the microwave oven. Stir until completely melted and smooth. Remove the bowl from the water if you used a hot water bath and set aside to cool.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, with a hand mixer, beat together the eggs, sugar, and vanilla until pale yellow and slightly thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the cooled melted chocolate mixture. Gradually stir in the flour mixture until just incorporated. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refriger­ate for at least 15 minutes, or up to overnight.

Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies

What makes the peanut butter-chocolate com­bination so irresistible? Perhaps it’s the blend of sweet and salty. Or maybe it’s the play on textures – melted chocolate with softly whipped peanut butter. This thumbprint cookie celebrates everything that’s good about the classic PB-DC combination. One bite takes me back to Satur­day mornings with the Muppets (yup, my brother and I were allowed to eat cookies for breakfast; lucky ducks, I know). Peanut butter and dark chocolate: always a win, any time of day.

Cookies

1¼ cups [150 g] all-purpose flour

¾ tsp baking soda

½ tsp baking powder¼ tsp salt

½ cup [110 g] unsalted butter, at room temperature

½ cup [100 g] granulated sugar

½ cup [100 g] firmly packed dark brown sugar

½ cup [125 g] crunchy peanut butter

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

Filling

2 oz [50 g] Guittard Bittersweet Chocolate Baking Bar, broken into small pieces

2 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature

¾ tsp light corn syrup

To make the cookies: Preheat the oven to 350°F [180°C]. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, with a hand mixer, beat together the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Stir in the peanut butter, egg, and vanilla. Gradually stir in the flour mixture until combined.

Roll pieces of dough into 1‑in [2.5‑cm] balls and place on the prepared baking sheets about 1 in [2.5 cm] apart.

Bake for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven. Using a small spoon, make a small indentation in the middle of each cookie. Return the cookies to the oven for another 6 to 7 minutes, or until set. (After removing from the oven, you may need to use the spoon again to make the indentations clear.) Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely, 1 to 2 hours.

To make the filling: Melt the chocolate, butter, and corn syrup together using a hot water bath or the microwave oven. Stir until completely melted and smooth. Remove the bowl from the water if you used a hot water bath and set aside to cool slightly, 3 to 5 minutes.

When the cookies are completely cool, use a spoon to fill each indentation with the choco­late filling. Set aside and let the chocolate filling cool and harden, 1 to 2 hours. (If your kitchen is warm, refrigerate the cookies so the filling can harden.) Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Makes 24 1‑in [2.5‑cm] cookies.

Salted Chocolate Shortbread

My friend Ben harvests sea salt on the Oregon coast. He traipses knee-deep out into the chilly Pacific Ocean to gather buckets of water and then he carries the saltwater home, where time and heat will work their slow magic. The result? Beautifully intricate flakes of sea salt. As with anything you cook or bake, using good ingredi­ents is crucial, even if that ingredient has just a small role in the final product. Everything from the cacao beans we purchase down to the fleur de sel sprinkled on top of these cookies are top quality, which is what makes this recipe so good. The Cocoa Rouge adds richness to this short­bread, and the buttery yet crunchy texture can satisfy a craving at any time of day.

1¼ cups [150 g] all-purpose flour

1⁄3 cup [35 g] Guittard Cocoa Rouge (Dutch-processed unsweetened cocoa powder)

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

¾ cup [170 g] unsalted butter, at room temperature

¼ cup [50 g] granulated sugar

½ cup [100 g] firmly packed dark brown sugar

¾ tsp vanilla extract

Fleur de sel for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 350°F [180°C]. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, using a hand mixer, beat together the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla until light and smooth, about 3 minutes. Gradually stir in the flour mixture until combined. Roll the dough into 1½‑in [4‑cm] balls and set them on the prepared baking sheets, leaving 1 in [2.5 cm] between the balls. Use the bottom of a flat cup to slightly flatten each ball, and then sprinkle the balls with fleur de sel.

Bake for 13 to 15 minutes, or until the tops are cracked. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.

Makes 28 2‑in [5‑cm] cookies.