Pistachio Cocoa Nibs Cookies

How big a chocolate fan are you?

If you love chocolate as much as I do, then I'm sure you would have thought about how pure chocolate tastes like. When I mean pure, I mean straight from the source. You know, the cocoa beans from the glorious cocoa fruit.

The last time I saw a real cocoa fruit was eons ago. I was at a zoo or a park and they had actual cocoa fruits. The guide opened one up and boy oh boy, you can really smell the euphoric scent. Well it's pure euphoria to me of course, because I love chocolate.

So imagine my excitement when I got a box of unopened Scharffen Berger cocoa nibs from my boss. She thought I would probably put it to good use in my baked goods. So that's what I did! At the risk of sounding totally nuts, I'd say that it's the first time I've ever seen and used pure cocoa nibs and that box was like pure gold to me.

Okay, yes I like to exaggerate, so sue me :D

But seriously, I've only ever tasted cocoa nibs in chocolate bars. It was really cool to actually have actual cocoa nibs to play with. So I got down to googling recipes that used cocoa nibs. There were a few, and most of them involved nuts, and cookies. That was perfect because I love nuts. I mean, how can a nutty person like me not love nuts? But that's another story.

In the end, I decided to use this Pistachio Cocoa Nibs Cookies recipe from Tartelette.

I was rather delighted to be finally baking again after so long. I'm sure you've noticed how my recent posts never have any new recipes or baking endeavours. No, it's not that I've lost my baking 'touch'. haha, god no, I will always love baking. I've just been too busy. And I need a new oven! It's tiring to keep going to my aunt's place when I want to bake. I'm going to save up and try to get a decent oven soon. As much as I treasure my Dad's trusty Moulinex oven, I know I can make do with a bigger better one.

And so, back to my cookies! Yes yes, baked using my aunt's excellent Brandt oven. They turned out great - loved the taste but I think it was a bit too crumbly. Too much butter perhaps?

Nonetheless, they're great when eaten with coffee or tea in the morning

It is really intriguing how the taste from the cocoa nibs actually matches the nutty undertones of the pistachios. At first bite, I only noticed the crunchiness but as I ate more, I realised that the light bitter notes of the cocoa nibs actually balances out perfectly.

That said, all this reminds me of how baking is really a science and how fun it can be when you play around with new ingredients and learn how it works. And that Eureka moment that comes along when you marry two or three or four ingredients together and it actually works! That's pure bliss. Yes, these are words spoken from a person who truly loves to bake and has an equal passion for consuming baked goods.

MMmmm...

Now these rock. Time to find other delicious cocoa nibs recipes. I still have some left. Or if you have a great recipe, do email or leave a comment!

By the way, Happy Lunar New Year to you all!

______________________________________

Pistachio Cocoa Nibs Cookies

1 cup raw skinned pistachios, finely chopped
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/3 cup cocoa nibs
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tb. Cognac

Combine the butter and sugar, in bowl of electric mixer and beat on high speed until smooth and creamy (1 minute). Add the vanilla and Cognac. Beat in the pistachios and cocoa nibs. Add all the flour at once. Beat on low speed until flour is incorporated.
Form dough into 12-inch log about 2 inches thick. Wrap in parchment and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. At this point you can freeze the log for up to 3 months.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Use a sharp knife to cut the cold dough log into 1/4 inch thick slices. Place cookies at least 1 1/2 inches apart on parchment-lined cookie sheets.
Bake in the middle of the oven for 12 to 14 minutes, or until the cookies are light golden brown at the edges. Let cookies firm up on the pans for about 1 minute before transferring them to a rack to cool completely. Try to save some for the day after, they taste even better 24 hours later. The cookies can be stored in airtight container for at least 1 month.

Makes about 2 dozens

Cocoa & Butterscotch

Surprise surprise!!!

Today I officially launch what Dot and I have been working on for the past month -

Cocoa & Butterscotch - our quirky idea of an online bakery.

Well it's going to be more than a bakery. We will cater to events as well (think weddings, birthdays etc) but more on that later.

Right now, I'm here to announce our first ever bake sale!


*Click to enlarge or visit our site.

We're pretty excited about this new venture. But due to our current work/school situation, we might not be able to cater to every single request so please do understand.

Do feel free to email us for quotations or if you have any questions. Dot is a freelance graphic designer, and I, a freelance writer and together, we hope to be able to lend our services to those looking to customise an event and give it personality.

Now here's a quick question - you've seen the two girls in our logo.

Which one's me and which one's Dot? Oh, they really are named Cocoa and Butterscotch by the way.

Again, refer to our site for more information and details, or check out our even more detailed poster here.

Oh, and thanks so much to ALL of you who dropped me emails, sms-es and comments! I will reply them all asap.

You're all so sweet :) Love ya'll!

________________________________

*NOTE* - The bake sale ends 20 June 2007, so any orders placed after that will not be entertained! (this is due to overwhelming response, so bear with me... )

Cocoa Cinn Popcorn

When it comes to popcorn, there are 5 separate camps:

Those who like their popcorn salty, and those who like them sweet. Then there are those who prefer microwaved popcorn and then some like popping their own corn in a pot over the stove. And not forgetting those who simply buy them at the cinema snack counter.

I never used to be a popcorn person. When it came to movies, it was always chips or chocolate. Popcorn wasn't a common occurence in my life. Even now, it makes an entrance only once in a while. But lately, I've been having imaginative thoughts about popcorn. You know, popcorn is so versatile, there's caramel popcorn, chocolate popcorn, cheese, etc. Heck I won't be surprised if there's a black pepper popcorn flavour! Hey that's an idea. I might just try it out later. :p

Anyway, this post is about one easy peasy way of making some yummy popcorn that tastes oh so good! Was at Borders the other day, flipping through recipe books as usual and I came across this simple popcorn flavour recipe. It's so simple you can do it in your sleep. So listen carefully! Erm, read carefully I mean.. haha

Sooo.. all you need is caster sugar, ground cinnamon and cocoa powder! Mix together 3 tbsp caster sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, 2 tsp cocoa powder. That's your flavour.

How do you end up with cocoa cinn popcorn then? Simple. Get a pot, measure about 3 tsp of oil (olive, canola, sunflower works fine), place one or two kernels of corn and turn the heat to low. You don't want to get the oil too hot too quickly. So you wait by the stove (don't worry it won't take long. haha get a stool if you're tired) and wait till you hear the kernels pop! This is a signal that the oil is ready. Now, throw in 75g of corn (those hard dried kernels... NTUC sells them cheap! $1 for about 400g only!) and let the poppin' begin!

Pop!

Pop!

Pop! Pop! Pop!

Wait till the popping stops. Now, throw in your cocoa cinn flavour mixture, and start mixing in. Be quick because the sugar will caramelise really quick and you want your popped corn to be evenly coated with the cocoa cinn flavour.

Once you've mixed it in, set aside to cool and store in an air-tight container.

Ta-dah! It's easy ain't it? I love popping corn in a pot. Am simply not a big fan of microwaved popcorn. Anyway for microwave popcorn, they turn out toooo salty and tooo buttery! You know what's really good? Naked popcorn. Yes you read it correctly. I can take popcorn plain. Hey, it's yum! I love the crunch. :)

I've made this cocoa cinn popcorn twice already and was happy with the results. Just ask my sis and bro. They cleared it up so quick that I found an empty bottle on my desk when I came home :p Well that just gives me reason to make more.

Popcorn is really fun! I'm thinking of parmesan cheese with sea salt! Hmmm.. how about lemon pepper or even paprika! Yes, I do love salty popcorn too. Actually I kinda prefer it salty. But as usual, I'm not innately fussy so if you give me whichever, I'll still taste it.

Gosh, I'm really crazy about Cedele Depot's cakes right now. Been eating alot of it lately! But I haven't been patient enough to snap photos before shoving my fork into it. You know what, in my next post, I'll describe the cakes without pictures - that will seriously put my writing to a test! Hope you people don't doze off. haha....