Small But Mighty: Vegan Truffles by The Smallest Bite

In general, I love desserts that incorporate great quality and massive quantity. But in my more refined moments, even I can admit that sometimes, small bites can be exquisite.

Such is the case with truffles by The Smallest Bite, a Rhode Island-based chocolate company run by Season James (perhaps identical cousin to Autumn Martin, who does chocolate in Seattle?) who recently sent me a parcel of pint-sized sweets for me to sample. 

The Smallest Bite specializes in organic, vegan truffles which are made with all natural, free trade ingredients. All of this may sound very granola, but the taste is anything but: these are deep, dark, and incredibly rich. They create said truffles in a collection of flavors which include the original (a bittersweet chocolate), a toasted coconut and pistachio variety, and the one we tried--the blackberry pretzel.

Now, I didn't sample the other flavors, but I am nonetheless pretty sure that blackberry pretzel must be the best. The blackberry provides a tart, subtle undertone, and the pretzel provides a delicious saltiness: both taste profiles are made even better by the extreme chocolatiness of the truffle.

The only catch with my parcel from The Smallest Bite seemed to be the packaging: my parcel arrived with the truffles overturned and the little candy cups overturned; in spite of this dissaray, however, the goods themselves were not damaged, and I was assured that this had not been a problem with shipments.

Want some for yourself? Order online at thesmallestbite.com.

Sweet Obsession: Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies Inspired by David Lebovitz

Being a good baker is one thing, but being a baker worthy of stalking is completely another.

I'm talking, of course, about David Lebovitz, who introduces the recipe for Peanut Butter Cookies in his new book, Ready for Dessert: My Best Recipes, in this way:

Shortly after my first book came out, my phone rang one night a little after 10:30 p.m. A reader had tracked me down to let me know, with urgency, that she loved these cookies, but that they took 10 minutes to bake in her oven instead of the 9 minutes indicated in the recipe.

When in doubt, err on the side of underbaking so your peanut butter cookies remain moist. Take them out when they are still a bit soft, as they'll continue to firm up a bit after cooling. This time, I've given a bit more latitude to the timing so as to avoid any late-night baking-related emergency phone calls.

Though he never quite says it, the message is pretty clear: this baking rock star has serious stalkers--er, groupies.

But were these cookies really stalker-worthy? I had to see for myself.

I've only made one change from the recipe as printed in the book: instead of using regular creamy peanut butter, I've used Peanut Butter and Company's Dark Chocolate Dreams, figuring that if anything, chocolate will make the recipe even better.

The result? A cookie that is very much the dictionary definition of what a peanut butter cookie should be: moist at the center, lightly crumbly just around the edges, with every bite rich in peanut buttery (accent on the butter) goodness.

These cookies will disappear quickly. Worthy of the worship? Well, let's just say you're gonna need the sugar-and-protein burst of energy to stand outside of Mr. Lebovitz's Parisian pad, clutching boombox a la Lloyd Dobler. Just remember whose idea it was to add the chocolate, sweeties.

Peanut Butter Cookies Worth Stalking

Adapted from Ready for Dessert: My Best Recipes

Makes about 30 cookies

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter, or to take my variation, 1 cup Dark Chocolate Dreams peanut butter
• 1 large egg, at room temperature

Procedure

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
2. In a stand mixer, beat together the butter, sugars, and peanut butter on medium speed just until smooth. Beat in the egg. Add the flour mixture and mix just until the dough comes together. It will be a thick, solid mass of dough.
3. Cover and refrigerate the dough for at least two hours, but up to overnight.
4. Remove the dough from the fridge and let it come to room temperature.
5. Preheat oven to 350.
6. Break off pieces of dough and roll them into 1-inch balls (the recipe calls for rolling them in granulated sugar, but I didn't do that. They were fine without this step, in my opinion, especially considering the added sweetness from the chocolate peanut butter).
7.  Place on prepared (parchment-lined) baking sheets. Leave 3 inches between cookies. Lightly flatten and make a crosshatch pattern on each cookie using the tines of a fork (a spork doesn't work--no follow up questions).
8. Bake, rotating the sheets midway through baking, until the cookies are dull and lightly browned around the edges but still lightly glossy/undercooked-looking in the middle (as they cool on the sheet they'll finish up). The bake time will be between 9-10 minutes.
9. Let the cookies cool for a few minutes on the sheet (they will crumble if you try to remove them right away) and then transfer to a wire rack using a spatula. These cookies will keep for up to 3 days in an airtight container, if they last that long.

Want more? You can buy the most excellent book here , or for more recipes and "An American in Paris" type lore, visit David's website and follow him on Twitter!

Baked Bliss: Chocolate Mudslide Cookies from The Newlywed Kitchen

I'm not a newlywed, but I sure do like to eat like one.

That is, ever since I discovered the Chocolate Mudslide Cookie recipe in the newly released book The Newlywed Kitchen: Delicious Meals for Couples Cooking Together by CakeSpy buddy Lorna Yee, Ali Basye, and photographed by Kathryn Barnard.

Now, I hear rumors that the savory recipes are good, and I can attest that the stories which accompany the recipes are sweet and engaging.

But what made me fall in love, so to speak, was the aforementioned Chocolate Mudslide Cookie. Comprised basically of chocolate on chocolate, with a little flour and butter thrown in, these cookies seemed not only easy to make, but sort of like a one-way ticket to pleasuretown.

Happily, the recipe lived up to all expectations, yielding a soft, rich, cookie which is absolutely redolent with chocolate and which is very nearly perfect. But I've found one way to make it even better: save a tiny bit of that warm chocolate mixture from step 2 (or better yet, make a little extra) and sandwich two of the cookies together with that. Now that's what I call sweet wedded bliss.

Chocolate Mudslide Cookies

Lightly adapted from The Newlywed Kitchen

Makes about 24 cookies

Ingredients

• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped coarsely
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder (I used Hershey's Special Dark)
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

(Note: Original recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups walnuts, roughly chopped. I have nothing against walnuts but realized that I had none once I'd already started baking, and went without. They tasted fine!)

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. In a microwave safe bowl, melt the chopped chocolate with the sugar and butter. Microwave in 20 second intervals, until about 80 percent of the chocolate is melted. Stir the mixture, and the rest should melt from the heat of the melted chocolate. Let cool to room temperature while you do the following steps.
3. In a small bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder. Stir to combine.
4. In a large bowl, lightly beat the eggs with the vanilla. Slowly pour the microwaved mixture into the eggs in three additions, stirring between each addition. Stir the flour mixture into the chocolate batter until combined, then stir in the walnuts (if you're using them) and chocolate chips.
5. On two baking sheets lined with parchment paper, drop heaping tablespoons of the cookie dough, leaving room for the cookies to spread (about 8 cookies per sheet). Use only the middle or upper rack for these cookies, as they may burn on the lower rack.
6. Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes. They will be slightly soft when they come out of the oven, but will become more firm as they cool. If they last that long.

 P.S. Interested in more of Lorna's recipes? Well, here's a little heads up: save the date for June 6, when we'll be having a Red Velvet Cake tasting at CakeSpy Shop! More details to come!

Baker's Dozen: A Batch of Sweet Chocolate Facts for American Chocolate Week

Guess what? March 14 marks the start of American Chocolate Week. Like you needed a reason to eat chocolate, right? So, inspired by a list sent to me by Ask.com featuring 10 facts about chocolate, I've added to the list so that you've got a baker's dozen of sweet factoids about the dark and dreamy stuff:

Who invented chocolate? While Nestle and Johnny Depp would lobby for Willy Wonka, history awards the honors to the ancient Aztecs and Mayans of Mexico and Central America.

What is the bestselling chocolate bar? Snickers!

How is chocolate made? Chocolate is made from cocoa beans, which are roasted and then ground into a powder. The cocoa powder is then mixed with variations of sugar, milk and cream to make different types of chocolate.

What was CakeSpy's first word? If you believe my mom, the first word I ever uttered, aside from "ma" and "pa" was "chocolate".

Why can’t dogs eat chocolate? The long answer above has something to do with methylxanthines. The short answer involves diarrhea and your new shag carpet.

How can I melt chocolate evenly? Size does matter. Chop the chocolate into uniform pieces to ensure that all the pieces melt at the same speed in a glass bowl over boiling water (double boiler).

Why is fair trade chocolate good for the environment? Fair trade practices can vary in their environment benefits, but it does empower farmers and farm workers to lift themselves out of poverty by developing the business skills necessary to compete in the global marketplace.

How do I make chocolate mousse? Pretty easily actually - all you need is finely chopped bittersweet chocolate, unsalted butter, coffee, heavy cream, eggs and sugar.

Why is dark chocolate good for you? It is packed with flavoniods that keep cholesterol from gathering in blood vessels, reduce the risk of blood clots and slow down the immune responses that lead to clogged arteries. 

Should you eat chocolate after working out? Per Wikipedia, A study from James Madison University, presented at the American College of Sports Medicine annual meeting, showed that post-exercise consumption of lowfat chocolate milk provides equal or possibly superior muscle recovery compared to a high-carbohydrate recovery beverage with the same amount of calories. 

Which came first, the cookie or the chocolate chip? Chocolate chip cookies were invented before the morsels. The cookies were invented in 1933 when Ruth Graves Wakefield of the Toll House Inn in the town of Whitman, Massachusetts added cut-up chunks of a semi-sweet Nestlé chocolate bar to a cookie recipe. The cookies were a huge success, and Wakefield reached an agreement with Nestlé to add her recipe to the chocolate bar's packaging in exchange for a lifetime supply of chocolate. Initially, Nestlé included a small chopping tool with the chocolate bars, but in 1939 they started selling the chocolate in chip (or "morsel") form. 

Who doesn't like chocolate? Jesse Breytenbach, who did a graphic novel on the subject. But we'll forgive her, because she's awfully clever.

Chocolate is deadly: In that famous shower scene in Psycho, it's not blood running down the drain--but chocolate syrup. Guess that was easier to get away with when filming in black and white!

Batter Chatter: Interview with Sarah Leoni of Coco & Co. Fine Chocolates

My mother claims my first word (other than, you know, ma and pa) was "chocolate". While I have no memory of the incident, why would she lie about something like this?

This is all, of course, to say, that I have had a lifelong relationship with chocolate--as a consumer. And while my tastes may not be so refined that I can calculate cacao percentages upon a single bite, I do know what I like. And I definitely like Coco & Co., a Portland-based chocolate company specializing in a variety of truffles, barks, and mendiants (fancy chocolate medallions). Want to learn more? Here's a brief interview with Sarah Leoni, the owner and head chocolate girl, who developed a deep love of chocolate in Lyon, France:

CakeSpy: What did you do before you started this company?
Sarah Leoni: I've done lots of odds and ends jobs, everything from being a barista to working in a Microbiology lab to teaching French and Italian and most recently as manager of a salon and spa. Each one taught me a little about what I wanted to do with my life and how to start a business.

CS: What took you to Lyon , France?
SL: I had always dreamed of living in Europe, so when I was in school I gravitated towards languages. I studied French and Italian and was able to spend a year abroad in both Italy and France. The majority of that year was in Lyon.

CS: You cite Lyon as the place that really sparked your interest in chocolatemaking. Did you study chocolatemaking there?
SL: If you count eating chocolate all the time, then yes, I studied chocolate there. But no, not formally. I was there to study French language and culture.

CS: So then, was it just the culture?
SL: In part, I think the inspiration for me to start a business has been there all my life and my love of chocolate was innate. But being in France definitely guided a deeper appreciation for savoring life's pleasures - for taking the time to really enjoy what we eat and drink and do. Also, the chocolateries and the patisseries in France felt like home for me - I could see myself behind their counters. Going into them wasn't just about buying a sweet, it was a way to daydream about the future.  

CS: How has chocolatemaking affected how you look at other chocolate? Has it deepened your appreciation, made you more critical, etc?
SL: Making my own chocolates has made me more critical and more appreciative. I have less tolerance for chocolate that is mass-produced, over-flavored and too sweet. I can notice subtle nuances in chocolate that I couldn't before, so I'm very happy when I find chocolate that is obviously made with care.

CS: What is your ultimate chocolate dream?
SL: In terms of chocolate, my dream is to participate in the growing, harvesting and hands-on production of the cocoa beans. I want to make my own chocolate from bean to bar. I want to see that the people growing the trees are getting paid a living wage - I want to connect with the birth of chocolate, the rich history, the cultures it comes from and the lives it supports.

Excited? Well, you should be. If you want more, Coco & Co. will be selling chocolate at the following upcoming events in Portland, OR: 

• November 7: Hip Happening, from 11am-5pm at the Sellwood Masonic Lodge, 7126 SE Milwaukie
• November 20: Handmade NW Holiday Market, from 10am-6pm at the World Trade Center Plaza, Downtown Portland
• November 24th: Moreland Holiday Farmer's Market, from 3PM-7PM at the Boys and Girls Club at 7119 SE Milwaukie 
• December 6: Handmade NW Formal Holiday Artisans Fair, from 11am-6pm at The Chelsea Ballroom
• December 13: Crafty Wonderland Super Colossal Holiday Sale, from 11am - 7pm at the Oregon Convention Center, Exhibit Hall D, 777 NE MLK Jr. Blvd.

Online shopping is forthcoming; in the meantime, check out what they have to offer (and marvel at the gorgeous photography, largely by Ryan Nowell, at cocoandcochocolates.com.

The Land of Bread and Chocolate: The Bread and Chocolate Bar by Theo Chocolate (Via Cakespy Seattle)

What is it about bread and chocolate? Mireille Guiliano (author of French Women Don't Get Fat and French Women for All Seasons) cites them as her biggest weaknesses. For Cakespy? More like biggest pleasures. And we've found a great way for carb lovers to combine these desires into one taste experience: The Bread and Chocolate Bar, a 3400 Phinney Chocolate Factory imprint of Theo Chocolate.

We first learned about this bar while taking the tour of Theo Chocolate on a Sunday afternoon. Well, to be more specific, Mr. Cakespy, Danny, learned about the bar; our head spy Jessie, who couldn't take the heat, had to leave the tour after nearly fainting. Not the chocolate company's fault; she hadn't eaten lunch and that much of a chocolate smell wafting in the air would probably make anyone swoon.

However, the Bread and Chocolate bar was just the thing to bring her back to life: a rich dark chocolate bar with little buttery bits of toasted bread and crunchy cocoa nibs. Sound weird? Well, not really. Just think of it like the crunch of a Nestle Crunch bar, but much, much higher quality. Take a bite, and stop doubting altogether.

Total carb heaven.

These bars, as well as several other flavors and chocolate products, are available for purchase at theochocolate.com, as well as at several nicer grocery stores; you'll recognize the
unique packaging.

Are you in Seattle or visiting soon? Public tours are available seven days a week at 1pm and 3pm, with an additional 11am tour on Saturday and Sunday. The tour is $5 per person ages 5 and older. Reservations are recommended. To make a reservation please call (206) 632-5100.

Sweet on You: Pumpkin Truffles by Sweet On Chocolate in Syracuse

Lucky Danny: He said “See ya” and went off to live the dream by going on tour with his band Speaker Speaker. However, he’s redeemed himself (somewhat) by spying out some excellent sweets on the road. While we will be publishing a full update of what he ate on tour upon his return in November, one find was simply too good to wait: Pumpkin Truffles by Sweet On Chocolate in Syracuse, New York.

Sweet On Chocolate has been making handmade chocolates since 1993, and features a wide variety of hand-dipped chocolates, hand-made truffles, and novelties such as dipped potato chips. While they say the latter is one of their bestsellers, at the moment of truth, Danny went for the pumpkin truffle, perhaps owing to the chill in the October air (or perhaps an employee’s suggestion). The choice was a good one: the dark chocolate shell broke open perfectly, and the consistency of the filling was a soft cascade of chocolatey-pumpkiny-carmelly goodness; an ideal mixture of sweet and savory, and deeply satisfying.

Kind of like Halloween candy all grown up.

Cakespy Note: Although it is not advertised, Sweet On Chocolate will ship orders pretty much nationwide via UPS; however, they will not ship during the warmer months or to warmer climates.

Available at Sweet On Chocolate, 208 Walton Street, Syracuse; online at sweetonchocolate.com (splash page only). To inquire about having chocolates shipped, call (315) 478-0811.

This is Your Brain on Chocolate: Recipe Notecards by Greg Clark

Is he a wannabe boyfriend, or a stalker? Is she a cat enthusiast, or a creepy cat lady? Hey, sometimes cute vs. creepy can be a hard call indeed.

In the case of recipe notecards by Greg Clarke, while the struggle is there (strangely surreal pastry and beverage-headed characters wearing their party best), ultimately cute wins. Strange heads or not they're charming, and the sentiment wins us over: each notecard is imprinted with a chocolate-themed recipe like Triple Chocolate Brownies or Overly Indulgent Cupcakes; they'll make your letters or thank you notes that much sweeter.

While still being just a little bit creepy.