From One Chocolate Lover To Another, My Favorite Chocolate Dessert Recipes
I freely admit to my love of chocolate, but I’m very picky about how I like that chocolate, especially in recipes. Not everyone agrees with me! I must have walnuts in my brownies and I like cake-like rather than fudgy, for example, but I do think you will appreciate many of these tested recipes which I have made many times over the years.
The one thing all these desserts have in common is the addition of rich chocolate flavor as the main ingredient. Do not only read, gaze and dream- bake and eat!
chocolate batter on mixer beaters
The Velvety Richness of Real Chocolate
Rich dark chocolate cake and fudge icing, easy brownies full of cocoa flavor and walnuts, Auntie Mary cookies with melting chocolate filling, and a cream cheesecake with sweet chocolate flavor… delve in and indulge.
My kids loved to lick the spoon, …and the bowl … but the best part is the final result: cake with the buttercream frosting, or the delicate “Auntie Mary’s” with a hot cup of Christmas tea, or just baked brownies cut in generous squares.
Now you can enjoy these recipes with your family.
brownie dessert
Moist, Extra Rich Cake with Fudge Buttercream frosting
best-chocolate-cake
Chocolate Velvet Cake
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Melt chocolate chips with ¼ cup water in saucepan over low heat until smooth.
- Sift flour, soda, and salt together.
- Combine sugar, butter, and vanilla, beat well. Add eggs one at a time, beating well.
- Blend in melted chocolate to egg mixture
- Stir in flour mixture alternating with 1 cup water.
- Pour into two greased and floured 9" cake pans.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes @ 375° . Cool.
- Melt chocolate and butter in double boiler.
- Add milk, vanilla, and salt; mix until well blended.
- Beat in confectioner's sugar gradually.
- Frost and fill Chocolate Velvet Cake.
Auntie Mary Cookies
title=”Good for any special event, a rich cream cheese cookie with velvety chocolate filling.”
Folded inside rich cream cheese pastry is a melty chocolate filling. – The melted chocolate in the center makes this a very special treat. One of my family’s favorites.
Auntie Mary Cookies
Ingredients
Method
- Mix on medium speed, butter, cream cheese, and sugars until well creamed and fluffy.
- Add egg and vanilla, beat. Stir in flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Divide dough into quarters and wrap. Chill overnight or minimum of 2 hours.
- Make filling: in saucepan cook sweetened condensed milk with chocolate until melted together. Remove from heat, stir in nuts and cool.
- Heat oven to 350° F and grease cookie sheets.
- On floured surface, roll each quarter of dough to 10'' by 6'' rectangle.
- Spread 1/4 amount of filling down the center of rectangle. Fold in thirds over the filling and place seam side down on cookie sheet
- Bake 20 minutes until light brown. Cool on racks.
- Sprinkle with confectioners sugar once completely cool, and cut into slices.
Chocolate Cheesecake Swirl
– a very easy and quick recipe
Chocolate Cheesecake Swirl
Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Add sugar to cheese in a bowl, beating well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla.
- Measure 2 cups of the cheese mixture and fold in melted chocolate. Pour remaining cheese mixture into well-buttered 10 inch pie pan or 9-inch square pan.
- Add spoonfuls of the chocolate-cheese mixture and zig-zag a spatula through batter to marble.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes. Cool; then chill. Cut in 9 inch wedges.
- *** for just chocolate flavor add 1 more pkg. Baker's German sweet chocolate and mix all together in batter.
I Love Chocolate
…just like millions of you do!
And I want my chocolate desserts to taste a certain way.
The Best Chocolate Flavor Should Be…
Full of chocolate flavor and highlighting the best ingredients in a way that fulfills my desire for the way the baked goodies ought to taste. Moist or cakey, fudgy and rich – it doesn’t matter as long as it is the best incarnation of its kind in a chocolate dessert.
rich chocolate brownie
My Favorite Brownies – the best brownie recipe
I don’t usually frost my brownies, but there is an icing recipe included, for those of you who do.
Chocolate Walnut Brownies
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Melt butter and chocolate in double boiler. Cool slightly.
- Beat eggs until foamy and add sugar gradually. Add butter and chocolate mixture, blend. Add the flour. Add nuts. Stir together and pour into greased 9x9x2 " pan.
- Bake at 325° for 40-50 minutes.
Notes
Optional chocolate icing:
2 c. sugar1/2 c. white corn syrup
3/4 c. heavy cream
1 square chocolate
1 tsp. vanilla
3 T. butter
Melt first three ingredients to the softball stage, add the resulting syrup to butter, add vanilla and beat well.
The Good News about Chocolate
The good news is that it is healthy for you. Of course that news is tempered by how much and what kind of fat you mix with it or the amounts of sugar you ingest, but indulging in this favorite flavor can be good for your health.
Tips:
- Dark is better
- High Cacao percentage is healthier
- High levels of flavonals
mocha walnut cookies
Mocha Walnut Drops
Mocha Walnut Drops
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 350°
- Melt half the package of chocolate chips over hot but not boiling water in double boiler. Stir until smooth, then cool.
- Dissolve coffee in boiling water in small bowl, set aside.
- In small bowl combine flour, baking soda, salt and set aside.
- In large bowl combine butter, sugar, brown sugar, and coffee. Beat until creamy.
- Add egg and melted morsels; mix well.
- Gradually add the flour mixture, stir in remaining 1 ½ cup chips and the walnuts.
- Drop by rounded Tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheets.
- Bake 8-12 minutes, allow to stand 2-3 minutes before removing from cookie sheets. Cool completely before storing.
Health Benefits of Cacao
- The Health Benefits of Chocolate: Cool Stuff You Didn’t Know
Chocolate – the most delicious hack of them all. Learn the benefits of going dark and how it can improve performance in cool lesser-known ways.
Chocolate Dessert Tips
Don’t ever burn chocolate… not even a hint of it. That is why melting chocolate calls for a double boiler. Basically that is cooking the pan of the chocolate over a pan of hot water, just to melt the chocolate.
Any chocolate chips can work, but better quality chocolate means better tasting final product.
melted chocolate1
Double Boiler – To Melt the Chocolate Perfectly, A Double Boiler
The number one thing to remember when cooking or baking with chocolate is to never, I mean never, let it burn. Even allowing it to melt at too high a temperature can prove harmful to the flavor.
If you care enough to buy high quality chocolate, then it is more than worthwhile to have a double boiler in your kitchen. The bottom pot hold water which is heated directly from the burner, while the upper pot holds the delicate ingredient which is desired to bring to melting temperature. This help the squares to turn to silky liquid form without danger of burning.
My Grandmother’s Favorite
Farberware Classic Stainless Series 2-Quart Covered Double Boiler
This is a good quality, while not too expensive double boiler pot. It is serviceable for all your chocolate melting needs I think. I’ve used Farberware pots, my mother and my grandmother used them. They last, and they look good. More importantly they cook and clean well.
Directions for Melting Chocolate in a Double Boiler
checkerboard cookies
Checkerboard Cookies
Makes 60 checkerboards.
Bake some yummy cookies to have during your next board game bonanza. These are usually just vanilla and chocolate but one inventive foodie has made them into something that looks and tastes special.
Checkerboard Cookies
Ingredients
Method
- :: Make the strawberry dough by placing the butter, sugars, salt, strawberry powder, and sumac in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cream the butter and sugar until it is light and fluffy, about three minutes on medium. Add the vanilla extract and split the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out the seeds into the batter. Add the egg and beat to incorporate.
- :: Add the flour in three portions, beating to incorporate between additions, scraping down the sides with a large spatula. Once the flour is blended in, divide the dough in half and pat the dough down into a 6 x 6 x 1/2 inch square. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm (about 20 to 30 minutes). Repeat with the second half of the dough.
- :: Make the chocolate dough by placing the butter, sugars, and salt in the same bowl (don't bother cleaning it) of the standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cream the butter and sugar until it is light and fluffy, about three minutes on medium. Add the vanilla extract and split the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out the seeds into the batter. Add the egg and beat to incorporate.
- :: Place the flour, cocoa powders, and instant coffee in a small bowl stir vigorously with a balloon whisk until well blended. Add these dry ingredients in three portions, beating to incorporate between additions, scraping down the sides with a large spatula. Once the flour is blended in, divide the dough in half and pat the dough down into a 6 x 6 x 1/2 inch square. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate (about 20 to 30 minutes). Repeat with the second half of the dough.
- :: Take the doughs out of the refrigerator. Brush the top of one of the strawberry dough 6 x 6 squares with water completely. Place one of the chocolate dough squares on top of it, and press down firmly to adhere the dough. Brush the top of this chocolate dough with water and place the remaining strawberry dough square on top of that, pressing down firmly. Finally brush the top of this strawberry square with water and place the remaining chocolate dough on top of that, pressing down firmly. You should have a 2 inch thick stack of 6 x 6 square dough, alternating in layers. Wrap with plastic wrap and place back in the refrigerator for 20 to 30 minutes until firm.
- :: Once the dough has firmed up, trim the edges of the square to make a completely square piece of dough. Set the trimming aside for marbled zebra cookies (instructions to follow). Cut a 1/2 inch strip from the square. Place one strip flat, and then brush it top of it with water. Cut another 1/2 inch strip from the square and rotate the strip 180 degrees so it alternates with the bottom strip. Place on the strip brushed with water and press firmly down. Wrap with plastic wrap. Repeat with the remaining cookie dough. Chill until firm (another 20 to 30 minutes).
- :: To make marbled zebra cookies, brush the top of one trimming with water and place another trimming on top, alternating dough strips. Repeat until all the trimmings are placed on each other. Flatten and twist the trimmings together, turning clockwise with one hand, while counterclockwise with the other. Roll out the dough to a 12 inch length, and fold over once. Form the dough into a thick 1 1/2 inch roll pressing firmly down to make sure the different doughs stick together. Wrap with plastic wrap and chill until firm (another 20 to 30 minutes).
- :: While the dough is chilling, preheat the oven to 350˚F. Line two baking sheets with silpats or parchment paper. Once the dough has firmed up, slice the dough into 1/2" thick cookies and place on the baking sheet, about an inch apart. Bake in the oven for 11 to 13 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies start to brown ever so slightly. Cool on the sheet for ten minutes before moving them to a wire cooling rack.
The Best Brownies Should Always…
– be the way I like them 🙂
brownies in a baking pan
Cakelike or Gooey?
I say cakelike brownies are the best way to enjoy them, and add walnuts while you are at it; my kids say fudgelike and no nuts! What is your opinion?
What is your opinion on the texture of the best brownies?
