Flourless Chocolate-Walnut Cookies

Ingredients:
Parchment paper
2 1/2 cups walnut halves
3 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 egg whites
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Position 2 racks in the upper and lower thirds of oven. Heat oven to 350°. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Place walnuts on a work surface and finely chop. Transfer to a separate large baking sheet and toast until fragrant, about 9 minutes. Let cool. Mix sugar, cocoa and salt in a bowl. Stir in walnuts. Add egg whites and vanilla; beat with a fork or electric mixer on medium until batter is just moistened. (Do not overbeat batter or it will stiffen.) Drop batter by the teaspoonful onto baking sheets in evenly spaced mounds. Bake cookies until tops are lightly cracked and glossy, about 15 minutes. Repeat with remaining batter. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Eclair's for Easter!

I wanted to make something out of the ordinary for Easter this year and thought that Eclair's would be a fancy treat. This was the first time i've made this French dessert and although tasty, I think the French bakeries i've been to taste a little better.

Ingredients for dough:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup water
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
chocolate chips
heavy cream

Directions:
1.Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Grease a cookie sheet.

2.In a medium saucepan, combine 1/2 cup butter and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil, stirring until butter melts completely. Reduce heat to low, and add flour and salt. Stir vigorously until mixture leaves the sides of the pan and begins to form a stiff ball. Remove from heat. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well to incorporate completely after each addition. With a spoon or a pastry bag fitted with a No. 10, or larger, tip, spoon or pipe dough onto cookie sheet in 1 1/2 x 4 inch strips.

3.Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven, then reduce heat to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) and bake 20 minutes more, until hollow sounding when lightly tapped on the bottom. Cool completely on a wire rack.

4.For the filling, see pastry cream recipe below. Cut tops off of cooled pastry shells with a sharp knife. Fill shells with pudding mixture and replace tops.

5.For the chocolate ganach icing, boil 2 cups of heavy cream. Pour cream into a bowl and add chocolate chips.  Let chocolate chips soak in hot cream for 2 minutes and then using a whisk, stir vigorously until chocolate thickens. Drizzle over filled eclairs. Refrigerate until serving.

Ingredients for pastry cream:
2 cups milk
1/4 cup white sugar
2 egg yolks
1 egg
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/3 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
1.In a heavy saucepan, stir together the milk and 1/4 cup of sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat.

2.In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and egg. Stir together the remaining sugar and cornstarch; then stir them into the egg until smooth. When the milk comes to a boil, drizzle it into the bowl in a thin stream while mixing so that you do not cook the eggs. Return the mixture to the saucepan, and slowly bring to a boil, stirring constantly so the eggs don' t curdle or scorch on the bottom.

3.When the mixture comes to a boil and thickens, remove from the heat. Stir in the butter and vanilla, mixing until the butter is completely blended in. Pour into a heat-proof container and place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until chilled before using.

$250 Cookie Recipe

I got an e-mail chain for this recipe a few years ago and didn't believe how good they actually would be until my co-worker made them.  They really are as good as they sound!

The story goes as follows...
A woman had lunch at The Hedges at Neiman Marcus in New York City in November. For dessert, she had a cookie. She thought it the most wonderful cookie she had ever tasted and asked if the recipe was available. It was, but for a two-fifty charge. She said fine, got the recipe and told them to charge her account. When she got her bill in December, there was a charge for $250.00. She called and told them there was a mistake, the charge should be $2.50. She was then told that there was no mistake - the charge was correct. She vowed to get back at them. All she asks is that everyone who gets a copy, send it to everyone they know.

You will need to quarter this recipe (see parens) as it will make 112 cookies and you'll be baking all day.
Ingredients:
2 c. butter (1/2 c)

2 c. sugar (1/2 c)
2 c. brown sugar (1/2 c)
4 eggs (1 egg)
2 tsp. vanilla (1/2 tsp)
4 c. flour (1 c)
5 c. blended oatmeal (1 1/4 c)
2 tsp. baking powder (1/2 tsp)
2 tsp. baking soda (1/2 tsp)
1 tsp. salt (1/2tsp)
24 oz. chocolate chips (6 oz)
1 (8 oz.) grated Hershey bar (1/4 oz)
3 c. chopped nuts (3/4 c)

Blended oatmeal: Measure and blend in blender or food processor to a fine powder.
Cream butter and both sugars. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix together with flour, oatmeal, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add chips, candy and nuts. Roll into balls and place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 6 minutes at 375 degrees. Makes 112 cookies. Recipe can be halved or quartered and the size made smaller. Possible to get four dozen of a 1 1/2 inch cookie from quartered recipe.