Chocolate Crackle Cookies

Martha has yet to steer me wrong, at least when it comes to food. These are incredibly good, with a delicate texture and a rich flavor that means one cookie is really all you need. On the other hand, they're small, so who's counting?

Do use really good baking chocolate for these; you won't regret it. These are always among the last cookies I bake for the holidays, since the confectioners sugar coating means you can't freeze them afterward.

Ingredients

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups packed light-brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup whole milk

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup confectioners' sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 
2. Melt chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring. Set aside, and let cool. 
3. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.
4. Mix butter and brown sugar on medium speed until pale and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. 
5. Mix in eggs and vanilla, and then the melted chocolate. 
6. Reduce speed to low; mix in flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with the milk. 
7. Divide dough into 4 equal pieces. Wrap each in plastic; refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours.
8. Divide each piece into 16 (1-inch) balls. Roll in granulated sugar to coat, then in confectioners' sugar to coat. Space 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
9. Bake until surfaces crack, about 14 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks. Cookies can be stored between layers of parchment in airtight containers up to 3 days.

Mrs. Fields Sugar Cookies

Are mail-order book clubs still a thing? I belonged to several back in the 90s. You would get five books for $5, and have to buy a book every so often after that. Also they would send you catalogs forever. For a kid living in small towns and cities where there was no decent bookstore, this didn't seem like a bad deal, and even after I moved to Boston, those initial offers successfully tempted me.

One of the books I got this way was the Mrs. Fields Cookies Book: 100 Recipes from the Kitchen of Mrs. Fields. Come to think of it, are Mrs. Fields cookies still a thing? I have used this book so much that the pages are falling out, and I know this particular recipe by heart. I often double it, and every year during the holidays end up making six batches of these easy cookies. These days that means decorating them with the kids.

Note that this calls for salted butter, unlike most baking recipes. 

Ingredients
2 c AP flour
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 c granulated sugar
3/4 salted butter
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Mix the dry ingredients and set aside. 
2. Cream the butter and the sugar together. 
3. Add the egg and vanilla and mix thoroughly. 
4. At low speed, add the dry ingredients and mix just until combined. 
5. Gather the dough, flatten into a disk, and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least one hour until firm (you can keep it like this for a couple of days, but it may need to sit out for a bit to soften before rolling). 
6. Preheat the oven to 325 F.
7. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to about 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into shapes and transfer to a baking sheet. 
8. Bake for 13-15 minutes (don't let them brown - I start checking at 11 min). Let them cool on the sheet for a couple of minutes (otherwise they'll break when moved), then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. 

I use a simple icing of milk and confectioners sugar to decorate these, but you can get all fancy if you like. 

Perfect All-American Chocolate Butter Cake + Ultimate Chocolate Frosting

This has been my go-to birthday cake for years.

Rose Levy Berenbaum, The Cake Bible

2 9” cake pans

Ingredients

1/2 c + 3 Tbsp unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa (I order this from Penzeys, as it seems to difficult to track down at most grocery stores)

1 c boiling water

3 large eggs, room temp

2 1/4 tsp vanilla

2 1/4 c + 2 Tbsp sifted cake flour

1 1/2 c sugar

1 Tbsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

1 c unsalted butter, softened

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare 2 9-inch cake pans: greased, bottoms lined with parchment or wax paper, then greased again and floured.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together cocoa and boiling water until smooth. Cool to room temp.
3. In another bowl, lightly combine the eggs, 1/4 of the cooled cocoa mixture, and vanilla.
4. In a large mixing bowl, combine the remaining dry ingredients and mix on low speed for 30 seconds to blend.
5. Add the butter and the remaining cocoa mixture. Mix on low speed until dry ingredients are moistened.
6. Increase to medium speed (high if hand mixer) and beat for 1 1/2 minutes. Scrape down the sides.
7. Gradually add the egg mixture in 3 batches, beating for 20 seconds after each addition. Scrape down the sides.
8. Scrape batter into prepared pans and smooth. Bake 25-35 minutes or until a tester inserted near the center comes out clean and the cake springs back when touched lightly in the center. Should start to shrink from the sides only after removing from the oven. 
9. Let the cakes cool in the pans on a rack for 10 minutes. Loosen the sides and invert onto greased metal racks. To prevent splitting, reinvert and cool completely.

Ultimate Chocolate Frosting

Martha Stewart

Ingredients

3 ½ c confectioners’ sugar

12 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup cocoa powder

½ c milk, room temperature

1. In a small bowl, sift together the confectioners’ sugar and cocoa powder.
2. Add butter and vanilla. Stir until smooth and free of lumps.

Makes about 3 cups.

Outrageous Brownies

These are my go-to for bake sales, open houses, any party with more than six people, and glum days when only an actual pound of butter will make me feel better.

Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

12” x 18” sheet pan

Ingredients

1 lb unsalted butter

1 lb plus 12 oz semisweet chocolate chips

6 oz unsweetened chocolate

6 extra-large eggs

3 Tbsp instant coffee granules (I have left this out when I didn't have any; it adds a great flavor boost, but without it your brownies will be merely very good, rather than outrageous)

2 Tbsp pure vanilla extract

2 1/4 c sugar

1 1/4 c all-purpose flour (divided)

1 Tbsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

3 c chopped walnuts (optional – if you leave them out, you may want to add more chocolate chips instead. I like to mix in some white chocolate chips; mint also works if you have them.)

1.  Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter and flour a 12x18x1-inch baking sheet.
2. Melt together the butter, 1 pound of chocolate chips, and the unsweetened chocolate in a medium bowl over simmer water. Allow to cool slightly.
3. In a large bowl, stir together (do not beat) the eggs, coffee granules, vanilla, and sugar.
4. Stir the warm chocolate into the eggs mixture and allow to cool to room temperature.
5. In a medium bowl, sift together 1 cup of flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to the cooled chocolate.
6. Toss the walnuts and remaining chocolate chips with the remaining 1/4 c flour, then add them to the batter. Pour into the baking sheet.
7. Bake 20 minutes, then rap the baking sheet against the oven shelf to force out any air bubbles. Bake another 15 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool thoroughly, refrigerate, and cut.

These are definitely better after a night in the fridge to set up, but they don’t need to be refrigerated beyond that (they do freeze nicely). Ina, bless her, suggests cutting these into "20 large squares.” I cut them into much smaller pieces!