Stacey Makes It

I'd been wanting to try out a recipe with chocolate chunks instead of regular chips and thought I'd give this one a shot. Result: rave reviews from the BBQ I went to at my friend's house. Ingredients (weight not volume) 10.1 oz flour 0.5 oz cornstarch 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 12 tbs (1.5 sticks) butter 7 oz light brown sugar 3 oz granulated sugar 1 egg 2 tsp vanilla bean paste (you can use regular vanilla extract if you want) 9 oz dark and white chocolate chunks (I chopped up a 70% bar and used white chocolate disks 6oz:3oz dark:white - you can use whatever mixture you like, or use chocolate chips) 1/3 c dried cranberries Preheat oven to 350F. Soften butter in the microwave. Beat sugar, egg, vanilla, and butter until fluffy.  Add dry ingredients and mix. Drop about 2 tbs of dough at a time on the cookie sheets,  about 2" apart (I used a 1 oz scooper). Bake for 10-12 min, rotating the pan once after 6 minutes until edges are starting to bro...

Recently, I decided to go on a diet, but I was going to let myself have a free day here and there.  This seems to have changed my outlook on what to make for events since I wanted to make things that only I cared about eating, and didn't care as much about my audience.  However, it appears that this recipe was a me-pleaser as well as a crowd-pleaser. Stacey's Super 4x Chocolate Chip Cookie Ingredients 1 1/4c granulated sugar, organic 1c brown sugar, organic 2.5 sticks of butter 1 oz 99% unsweetened chocolate (I used Scharffen-Berger) 2/3c unsweetened cocoa powder, organic (I used Dagoba) 2 eggs, organic 2 tsp vanilla bean paste 1/4c cornstarch 2 1/2c all purpose unbleached flour, organic 1 1/4 tsp baking powder 1 1/4 tsp baking soda 1 1/2 tsp salt 2/3-1c white chocolate chips (Guittard) 2/3-1c milk chocolate chips (Guittard) 2/3-1c semi-sweet chocolate chips (Guittard) Microwave the butter, unsweetened chocolate and cocoa powder in a heat safe bo...

I wanted to make something non-chocolate for the holidays. Yes, I know, there's white chocolate in there, but white chocolate isn't really  chocolate, right?  It has cocoa butter in it, but no chocolate solids, so I figure that's fine for someone not wanting chocolate. Stacey's Nutty Cookie Ingredients 1 c (2 sticks) unsalted butter, organic 1 c brown sugar, organic 1 c white sugar, organic 1/4 c peanut butter, organic 2 tbs sunflower seed butter (found this at Trader Joe's) 1 tbs Vanilla Bean Paste 2 c almond meal/flour 2 c unbleached white flour, organic 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp baking powder cookie sheet(s) Stacey's Nutty Lemon Filling Ingredients 6 oz Guittard white chocolate couverture (you could probably use white chocolate chips or any white chocolate block) 2 oz heavy cream, organic 1 tsp  Vanilla Bean Paste 1 oz freshly squeezed lemon juice 1 tsp citric acid, powdered First I made the filling since it needs to sit ...

I started experimenting with chocolate mixtures in truffles and this is my new favorite.  And of course, since it's Valentine's Day, I had to put some hearts on them.  It's prettier to do once you dip in white chocolate, but really you can dip these truffles in any type of chocolate.  I did. :)  I dipped them in milk, white, and dark.  Dark and milk are my favorites, but I have to say white chocolate is the prettiest. Stacey's 2:1 Dark / Milk Heart Truffle Ingredients: 16 oz 64% Guittard dark chocolate couverture 8 oz 38% Guittard milk chocolate couverture 11.2 oz heavy cream, organic 3 oz glucose 1.5 oz (3 tbs) unsalted butter, organic, softened White 31% / milk 38% Guittard chocolate couverture for dipping The thing I love most about these truffle recipes is that you can make the whole thing only using a microwave. First I measured out all the chocolate in my 4qt pyrex mixing bowl and then put the cream and glucose in a 16 oz pyrex measuring cup. ...

It's that time of year again.  The time of year that people like to eat extra chocolate that isn't Easter or Christmas.  So I thought I'd put together some boxes again to sell to my mom's wonderful friends and my awesome co-workers so that I can keep deducting my ingredients from my taxes. Stacey's 2012 Mid-February (for those who hate Valentine's Day) Chocolate Boxes: Strawberry white chocolate hearts with crispies and milk chocolate bottoms Dark Chocolate Hearts with Candied Almonds Chocolate Bars:  Strawberry White Chocolate with Crispies White Chocolate with Dark Chocolate Drizzle Dark Chocolate with Candied Almonds Kahlua Truffles Two Ways: Dipped in Dark Chocolate with a White/Milk Chocolate Drizzle Rolled in Chocolate Sprinkles and Organic Turbinado Sugar And lastly, my pièce de résistance... The Walnut Meltaway in Milk Chocolate - this is my latest invention of which I am so proud.  I ate one of these and I swear I was transcended t...

Thought I'd do some more matcha green tea flavored white chocolates for the holidays. Stacey's Matcha Green Tea Chocolate Ingredients 16 oz Guittard white chocolate couverture 0.5 oz matcha green tea powder 4-8 oz Guittard 38% milk chocolate couverture I tempered the chocolate and then sprinkled in the green tea powder a little bit at a time, to avoid clumping.  I also made sure to crush any lumps in the powder with a spoon beforehand. I used the leaf and seashell molds.  For the seashell molds (18 count), I added some milk chocolate to the bottom for a nice two-toned effect. I tempered the milk chocolate after filling with the matcha white chocolate and so when I topped off with the milk chocolate, the white was already mostly set. Also, it's best to tap the mold as you fill each cavity to release any bubbles and make sure the chocolate fills the molds evenly.  I usually just use a teaspoon to fill each mold.  Once they'd cooled for several hours at roo...

I took a break in November to try to do Nanowrimo (and failed again, sigh ) but I'm back! I thought I'd try a little caramel variation. I made my regular caramel recipe and then I covered it in a mixture of white chocolate couverture and some matcha green tea powder. I can't remember exactly how much green tea powder, but I think I could have gone a little stronger. I think it was something like this: 2 cups Guittard white chocolate couverture discs 1-2 tsp matcha green tea powder, organic Hawaiian Black Sea Salt Caramels El Rey Semisweet dark chocolate I put a layer of the dark chocolate on the bottom so it would be easier for dipping (like in the original recipe). Then I tempered the white chocolate, gently mixed in the matcha powder, and dipped some rectangles of caramel in it with a dipping fork.  I finished them with a sprinkling of Hawaiian Black Sea Salt.  It was pretty yummy, but I definitely think more matcha next time.

Heading down to the mothership today for Halloween festivities at Yaboo! where I will get to see some of my co-workers kiddies all dressed up.  Thought I'd make a few kid friendly treats for the occasion. Stacey's Zoo Chocopops Ingredients: Guittard white chocolate couverture Guittard milk chocolate couverture Hardware: Zoo mold Lollipop sticks Chopstick First I tempered the milk chocolate.  For some reason I've found that if you go dark to light when applying chocolate, it will remain tempered but if you try and go light to dark (i.e. put white chocolate down first, then put dark chocolate on top of it), the lighter chocolate will become untempered and will have fat bloom.  In any case... I used the chopstick to apply milk chocolate for a giraffe's spots and a lion's mane.  Then I used all milk chocolate for a monkey and an elephant (applying the sticks to these).  Once I poured in the white chocolate to the giraffe and lion, I put the sticks there ...

This was actually an experiment trying to create orange.  I was hoping that if I used freeze-dried powdered strawberries (red) and mangoes (yellow), that I could turn white chocolate orange. Turns out the mangoes are almost the same color as the white chocolate, so I just ended up with pink.  They taste pretty yummy though. Stacey's Strawberry Mango Chocolate Leaf Ingredients: 9 oz Guittard white chocolate couverture ~ 1 oz freeze-dried strawberry / mango mixture (50/50) So first I ground the fruit to a powder in a mortar and pestle like in my strawberry cream crunchies recipe . I used a leaf mold and made sure it was dry and clean (I rinsed it and wiped all the spots with a cloth - this is to make sure all the chocolates come out shiny, without watermarks from dried water droplets). Then I tempered some white chocolate and stirred the powder in. I spooned the chocolate into the mold, jiggling the mold on the counter-top to make sure I released any bubbles.  I l...

AKA my new favoritest cake ever.  I bulked up the recipe for  That Chocolate Cake (added a bit more of all the ingredients except for the eggs - probably 1/8 extra since I was using two 9" square pans instead of two 9" rounds). Cake came out pretty big though, so you probably don't have to bulk it up, and just have thinner layers. Stacey's Chocolate Mint "Favoritest Cake Ever" Ingredients: That Minty Chocolate Cake 2c + 2 tbs sugar, organic 1c unbleached white flour, organic 1c whole wheat flour, organic 2 tbs cornstarch 3/4c + 1 tbs Scharffen-Berger unsweetened cocoa powder 1 1/8 tsp salt 1 3/4 tsp baking powder 1 3/4 tsp baking soda 2 eggs, organic 1/2c + 1 tbs sunflower oil, organic 1c + 2 tbs whole milk 1c + 2tbs boiling water 2 tsp peppermint extract That Amazing Mint Ganache Frosting  10 oz El Rey white chocolate couverture 16 oz heavy cream, organic 1 oz Creme de Menthe liqueur, green Few drops of peppermint oil Chopped white...

I made these a while ago, but I'm just getting around to posting the recipe now.  If you remember my Spring Boxes , they were in there. Stacey's Blueberry Cream Truffle Ingredients  5 oz cream Lemon zest from 1 lemon 2 oz glucose 34 oz white chocolate 4 oz lemon juice 1.2 oz freeze dried blueberries, powdered (1 bag tj's) Guittard 64% dark chocolate toasted chopped almonds These are made just like the Lemon Cream Truffles , but I ground up freeze dried blueberries with my mortar and pestle (like in the Strawberry Cream Crunchies recipe), and added that in with the truffle mixture at the same time as the cream and lemon juice. Once the truffles had set the next day, I used my   1-1/8" scooper   to scoop out truffle balls.   Then I rolled these in the palms of my hands until they were smooth. I prepared little piles of toasted almonds which I sliced. I tempered dark chocolate and then used my spiral dipping utensil  to dip the truffle ball...

I wanted to make something easy, new, and a little different.  I recently bought some freeze dried strawberries from Trader Joe's so I opted for trying a new experiment. Stacey's Strawberry Cream Crunchies Ingredients : 0.5 oz freeze dried strawberries 11.5 oz Chocolates El Rey White Chocolate Discos 2 c crisped rice cereal (I get the kind without high-fructose corn syrup from Trader Joe's or Whole Foods) Mortar and pestle Baking sheet lined with plastic wrap First I started tempering the white chocolate - working temperature is usually 86F, but since I'd be adding the strawberries and the cereal, I started using it at 90F. While tempering the chocolate, I used the mortar and pestle to crush the freeze dried strawberries into a powder. Boyfriend, the scientist, demonstrates the proper way to use a mortar and pestle. All ground up! I added the strawberry powder and the cereal to the melted white chocolate. Then I stirred everything up with my silicone spatu...

After I coated the marshmallows in white chocolate couverture, I had some extra white chocolate leftover and I decided to be brave and try making some white chocolate truffles.  I've tried and failed many times to make these.  Because of the high fat content in white chocolate, it tends to seize up and come out of emulsion fairly easily.  There are many painful memories mulling about in my mind of pounds of premium white chocolate couverture turning into a gloppy, oily mess. I started with a recipe from Chocolates & Confections . However, I didn't have any mint, I fear butter because it's even more fat in the recipe (and we just discussed what fat does), and I was afraid of making the whole batch.  So... without further ado... Stacey's Lemon Cream Truffle Ingredients : 2.5 oz heavy cream, organic Lemon zest from 1/2 a lemon (make sure peels are big, without getting the pith) 1 oz glucose syrup 17 oz white chocolate couverture (El Rey), tempered and at...