vaughn vreeland Archives

Mexican Hot Chocolate, Wait for It…Cookie!

By threejamigos | December 29, 2024 | Comments 0 Comment

Another winner from Vaughn Vreeland and NYTCooking’s Cookie Week. He captures all the flavors of Mexican Hot Chocolate in a fabulous cookie, cinnamon sweetness, cayenne spiciness, and cocoa to bring out the chocolate. To top it off, the marshmallows are melty and gooey, just like on a cup of cocoa. The cookies are rolled in cinnamon sugar just before baking, providing a nice crunch finish.

Do watch his video on NYTCooking channel on Youtube, Cookie Week 2023. It’s instructive and entertaining. I’m still chuckling.

The Cookie

Chocolate- Cocoa, Dutch-processed preferred) . (I use KA’s Triple cocoa which contains both Dutch-processed and natural cocoa. I threw in a couple of mini-chocolate chips with the marshmallows, but I could not detect a difference.

Cayenne- Fair warning, 1/2 teaspoon is pretty darn spicy. I reduced it to 1/4 teaspoon and you could taste the spice. Lots of comments on NYT that the cookies were too spicy.

Marshmallows- Buy mini ones, remove about 100-120 from the bag to freeze. You do not need to freeze the entire bag.

Scoop-de-doop- I used a #40 scoop which is shy of 2 tablespoons and will yield about 24 cookies.

Full Circle—When the cookies come out of the oven, they might look a little wonky shape-wise. Use a glass or cookie cutter to reshape them into pretty little circles.

It is a fairly stiff dough, and here is a marginally acceptable picture of it, lol. It is not very appetizing but informational.

I used a #40 scoop, approximately one and a half tablespoons. Scoop all your dough and chill for a minimum of 2 hours to up to 24 hours.

Take each ball of dough and press it into a circular disc. Place 4-5 frozen marshmallows in the center of dough and gather it around the mallows to form a ball. Pinch the dough together to surround the mallows, it’s ok if a bit of the mallows is exposed. Roll in cinnamon sugar and place on parchment-lined baking sheet.

These are delicious and really, are pretty easy to make, and I think visually a nice looking cookie. Enjoy!

Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookie

Another delightful cookie, Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookie from Vaughn Vreeland and NYTcooking

Course cookies, Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword chocolate cookies, cookie week, holiday cookies, Mexican Hot Chocolate, NYTcooking

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 12

Servings 24 cookies

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients

1½ cups all-purpose flour 192 grams
½ cup cocoa powder 51 grams preferably Dutch-processed
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt such as Diamond Crystal
½ teaspoon ground cayenne
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Creamed Mixture

½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick) 113 grams at room temperature
1½ cups light brown sugar 305 grams
1 large egg at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Filling

1 bag Mini marshmallows (will not need entire pkg) frozen solid

Cookie Coating

¼ cup granulated sugar 50 grams
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Instructions

In a medium bowl, whisk flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, cayenne and ground cinnamon. Set aside.
Freeze marshmallows, don't freeze the whole bag. You'll need about 100 marshmallows.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, or a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat butter and brown sugar on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg and vanilla. Beat until creamy, 2 more minutes. Add flour mixture. Beat on low until no dry spots remain, about 1 minute.
With a 2-tablespoon (1-ounce) cookie scoop or tablespoon measure, scoop dough into mounds on a baking sheet. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to overnight.* (#30 scoop ~ 2.1 T, #40 scoop ~ 1.6 T)
When ready to bake, heat oven to 350 degrees and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Add granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon to a small bowl.
Remove half of the dough from the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for 5 minutes if the dough is very stiff. Take a mound of dough and flatten slightly in the palm of your hand. Pile 4-5 frozen mini marshmallows on top of the flattened dough, then bring the outer edges over the marshmallows to envelop them. Roll into a ball and then roll in the cinnamon sugar to coat. Place on the baking sheet, 3 inches apart.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, rotating halfway through, until cookies puff slightly and bits of molten marshmallow peek through the surface. Cool on the sheet for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining dough and marshmallows. Cookies will keep for about 3 days in an airtight container at room temperature.

Notes

Balls of dough (not coated in cinnamon sugar) can be frozen for up to 3 months in an airtight container. To bake, thaw for 5 minutes at room temperature, roll in cinnamon sugar and bake for 13 to 15 minutes.

Chewy Brownie Cookies CTT-Cookie Testing Time

By threejamigos | December 2, 2024 | Comments 0 Comment

The weather has taken a definite turn so I am pivoting from stress cooking to cookie baking. It’s windy, cold, and wet, it’s time to crank up the oven and test a few cookie recipes. Which new cookie will reign supreme and star in this year’s holiday cookie box? I usually don’t start this early, generally opting to wait for NYTcooking to publish their holiday cookie spread, but a couple of recipes caught my eye, a Chewy Brownie Cookie and a Soy Sauce Chocolate Chip Cookie. I thought to myself, I might as well start now.

Let the Cookie Games Begin

The first one that caught my eye is from New York Times Cooking, Vaughan Vreeland’s Chewy Brownie Cookies. Before I sing the praises of this cookie, have you all watched any of Vaughan’s videos? They’re not only instructive but entertaining and downright hilarious. Check out his wedding cake video, a classic.

The Cookie Lowdown

The cookie batter comes together quickly and is baked right after it is made to achieve the shiny tops. It’s best to have everything ready before you start combining and mixing the ingredients. Mise en place pays here.

Measure and pour flour into a small bowl. Set aside.

Chocolate: Use your favorite chocolate. I like Guittard’s Semi-sweet chocolate. For serious chocolate folks, bittersweet would give a more intense, less sweet cookie.

Cocoa Powder: I don’t think it matters what cocoa powder dutch-processed or natural will work. King Arthur’s Triple Cocoa Powder combines Dutch-process, natural, and black cocoa and can be used in recipes that call for either. My default.

Espresso Powder:

For the first batch, I used King Arthur’s espresso powder and you could taste the coffee. I used Medaglia d’Oro for a second batch and could not taste any coffee. Although the intent is for the espresso powder to enhance the chocolate flavor, I liked the flavor the King Arthur espresso powder added to the cookie.

Once the butter is melted, remove the pan from the heat and add the chocolate, espresso, and cocoa powder into the saucepan. Let it sit a couple of minutes to melt the chocolate then stir until smooth.

Eggs: Bring the eggs to room temperature to maximize the air bubbles. There aren’t any leavening agents so it’s the eggs that provide lift. Whisk the eggs and sugars together, increase the mixer speed to medium-high, and beat for 3-5 minutes until light and ribbony. Whisk in the vanilla, then reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly add the chocolate mixture. Be sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. Beat until well blended. Add flour and mix until only a few streaks of flour are showing. Finish folding the flour into the batter by hand to avoid over beating.

Working quickly, plop batter onto a parchment-lined baking sheet using a #40 scoop. Leave 2 inches between each cookie. Bake at 350 degrees. At the 8-minute mark take the sheet out and rap on the counter to create the crackle pattern on the cookies. Sprinkle flaky salt, like Maldon, on each cookie and return the sheet to the oven for an additional 2- 3 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

With crisp edges, a gooey center, and chocolate flavor throughout, this Chewy Chocolate Brownie Cookie is a winner and so deserves a spot on the holiday cookie list. 🎄🎄🎄

Chewy Brownie Cookies

Chewy Brownie CookiesBy Vaughn Vreeland, NYTCooking

Course cookies

Cuisine American

Keyword chewy, chocolate brownies, chocolate cookies, NYTcooking

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 12

Ingredients

Chocolate MIxture

¾ cup finely chopped semisweet or bittersweet chocolate (113 grams)
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder (42 grams)
1 teaspoon espresso powder
½ cup unsalted butter (113 grams)

Whisked Mixture

2 large eggs at room temperature
¾ cup granulated sugar (150 grams)
½ cup packed dark brown sugar (107 grams)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Dry Ingredients:

¾ cup all-purpose flour (90 grams)
Flaky sea salt for finishing

Instructions

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
Melt butter in a skillet or saucepan over medium-low heat until bubbly but not browned, about 3 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat and add chopped chocolate, cocoa powder and espresso over the chocolate mixture. Without stirring, let the mixture sit so the residual heat can melt the chocolate thoroughly while you whip the eggs and sugar. Stir and set aside.
Put the eggs, both sugars and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. (If using a hand mixer, a large bowl will do.) Whisk on medium-high speed until the mixture is pillowy and the sugars have begun to dissolve, 3 to 5 minutes.
Stir the chocolate mixture until glossy and smooth. (If any solid pieces of chocolate remain, you can microwave the mixture in 10-second bursts until everything is melted.)
With the mixer on low speed, add the vanilla extract and then the chocolate mixture. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure the chocolate is evenly distributed, then add the flour and mix on low speed until only a few streaks of flour remain. To avoid overmixing, use a spatula to finish folding in the flour. The dough should be glossy and resemble a very thick brownie batter.
Using a 2-tablespoon/1-ounce scoop, scoop a heaping amount of the dough into mounds directly onto the parchment-lined baking sheets, with each portion at least 2 inches apart, yielding about 18 cookies. Work quickly to ensure the cookies stay shiny once baked.
Bake for 8 minutes until the cookies have started to spread and take on a shiny outer surface, then remove the pans from the oven and whack them on the countertop a couple times to create a cragged top. (This also helps create a fudgier consistency.) Top with flaky sea salt and return to the oven to finish baking, for another 2 minutes until shiny and slightly puffed. Cool for a couple minutes directly on the baking sheets before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.