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Last month I took a deep dive into all things ¡bread! I woke up at 4am a few times to hang out with my baker friends at A Baked Joint and one in NYC, I spread a lot of things on toast, and I even took a stab at making my own sourdough at home.
A couple lessons I learned:
Bread baking is a serious craft that deserves way more appreciation that it’s currently getting. To put this in perspective, for that one sourdough loaf to get in your hands, it meant: that several days (if not years ago) someone made a natural fermenter (aka starter) — then someone woke up at 3am to mix it with carefully calculated flour/water/salt — to then skillfully fold it several more times throughout the day — to then divide and pre-shape it and rest again — to then skillfully shape it appropriately to the pretty loaf you know it as — to then let it go in a fridge over night — to then COME BACK THE NEXT DAY to bake it off for you. To boot, if all of those things weren’t done at the right temperature or will experienced hands, your bread would suck.
It was one thing to watch the bakers do this process, but to do this myself in my own home actually gave me extreme anxiety. I literally woke up in the middle of the night thinking of all the ways I could possibly eff it up and all my hard work would be ruined. Luckily my bread came out pretty decent (except for the first loaf which stuck to the bottom of the pot which made me feel like part of my soul was then stuck in the pot).
I realized that while home baking is fun and interesting, you should 100% JUST GO BUY THE $8 LOAF FROM YOUR LOCAL BAKERY! IT IS WORTH THE DAMN MONEY! SEE NOTE ONE FOR ALL THE REASONS WHY YOU MUST SUPPORT THEIR CRAFT AND IT WILL TASTE BETTER!
All in all, I have a deep deep deep respect for bread baking. It was a very humbling experience to learn the craft from behind-the-scenes. It felt so good to be a student again, and I’m excited to learn more as I continue this journey to open my bakery.
But for now, it also feels good to get back to my true sugary roots. Which is why we absolutely need to talk about cookies today.
C is for Cookie and that is REALLY ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE LETTER C!
There’s a reason Cookie Monster really was all about dat cookie life. Cookies are:
goddamn delicious
easy to hold and eat at the same time
can play with so many different varieties
taste just as good (if not better) raw
minimum guilty treat effect “it’s just oneeee little cookie”
I usually like to keep a bunch of frozen cookie balls in my freezers at all times so that I can just whip ‘em out and bake ‘em off whenever the mood strikes (which is often). Meaning I can have just one warm fresh baked cookie at my disposal at all times. Are you drooling yet? I am (and while gnawing on some raw cookie dough as I type this.)
Hopefully you’ve checked out my Chocolate Chip Tahini Cookies and Everything But Cookies by now : )
And now it’s time to introduce a cookie I love that will really get your chocolately senses tingling. *drumroll*
The Smokey Double Chocolate Cookie.
Oaxaca does many things well, but they really smash chocolate, coffee, and Mezcal out of the park. So I thought, why not combine the three? I got to work on incorporating those flavors into a cookie.
I took my mom’s chocolate cookie recipe but made some adjustments to include these signature tastes.
I used a Oaxcan chocolate to really achieve that dark chocolate depth. But if you don’t have this, than 66% dark chocolate chips will also work.
I slashed a teeny bit of Mezcal in there to add a subtle smokiness - don’t worry if you don’t technically like Mezcal or are feeding these to a small child (the alcohol burns off in the oven). Also, if you *really* don’t like Mezcal (or have it readily available in your house) NBD - just sub for vanilla extract (it obviously just won’t be smokey anymore - but a delish cookie nonetheless!)
There’s also a teeny bit of espresso, which is great in any chocolatey recipe because it will really intensify the chocolate flavor. There’s really so little of it that you won’t really taste it or be up all night with the jitters.
The cookies taste a little cakey but with a nice chew. It feels like a lil’ drop of indulgence in your mouth. Highly rec with a glass of milk or a coffee (if you know what’s good for you).
Smokey Double Chocolate Cookies
Ingredients
2 cups flour
1 cup cocoa / cacao
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoons cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
8 oz (2 sticks) butter softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
3 teaspoons mezcal (or sub for 2 teaspoons vanilla extract)
1 tablespoons espresso powder
3/4 cup chocolate chunks (pref 66% dark chocolate)
Let’s do it!
Whisk the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl.
In another larger bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer for about 1 ½ mins, until creamy, but not very fluffy.
Dissolve the espresso powder in the Mezcal. Add to the wet mixture.
Add the eggs.
Mix the dry mixture to the wet mixture until incorporated
Stir in the chocolate chunks. This will be a pretty tough and pasty dough, so hold in there!
Form in logs and refrigerate overnight (or at least 6 hrs). If you’re new here, you may be saying to yourself “excuse me!?” But trust me, this will ensure that they hold their form while baking. You deserve better than flat ass cookies. When you’re feeling impatient and hangry, repeat this mantra to yourself.
Roll into balls and then roll around in white sugar. (Note: if you don’t want to bake them all off, go ahead and roll out all your balls in sugar and then put in the freezer to bake off when you please).
Place on a parchment lined paper, and bake at 325 F for 10-15 mins. Be sure to rotate your pans halfway through to ensure an even bake.
Yum.
Remember, you can roll ‘em off and store in the freezer so you can easily bake off fresh when the mood strikes.
Happy baking.
Love ya mucho.
Tessa