by Michael Recchiuti for inspiration which has page after beautiful page of decadent, gourmet chocolate confections. And, what did I pick? I skipped over all those stunning, fancy treats when I saw the Homemade S’mores. The graham crackers are made with a mix of all-purpose flour and whole wheat flour, and I had some graham flour on hand and used that. The dough was rolled and cut into squares, and the squares were dusted with cinnamon sugar to which a pinch of cloves and a little salt were added. I made the marshmallows vegetarian, as I’ve done before, by using xanthan gum rather than gelatin. The first time I tried that, I thought the marshmallows were a little softer than ones made with gelatin. So this time, I added a tiny bit more xanthan gum, and they did set up a little firmer. Another difference I’ve found with marshmallows made with xanthan gum is that they don’t keep quite as well. They seem to get softer each day. You’ll want to use them within a few days whereas marshmallows with gelatin will last well for about a week depending on the humidity. I cut the marshmallows just smaller than the graham cracker squares and broke the chocolate into similar-sized squares. Although they’re just s’mores, they are kind of dressed-up s’mores since they’re assembled in the kitchen. You could stack the chocolate and marshmallow on one cracker, place it under the broiler to toast, and then top with another cracker. But, I pulled out my trusty kitchen torch. I waved the flame over the chocolate to warm it before setting the marshmallow square on it. Then, I toasted the marshmallow and sandwiched it with the second cracker.
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by Michael Recchiuti. I had no ambivalence about chocolate while reading this book. It contains one photo after the next of delectable-looking chocolate items. The second chapter is about truffles, and I was completely inspired by the infused ganaches. Earl grey, jasmine, lavender, and cardamom were some of the flavored ganaches suggested for making truffles. After reading this, I went on a truffle-tasting binge. Every time I passed a chocolate counter, I had to try various truffles and then spend some time daydreaming about making my own. Well, I never got around to switching to a career of truffle-making, but I finally did try the truffle cream filled chocolate cookies from that book.
The cookies themselves are simply chocolate shortbread made with cocoa powder. The recipe made a crumbly dough which needed to rest in the refrigerator for at least a few hours before being rolled. Once rolled into a thin sheet, the dough was cut into one and a half inch rounds. The baked rounds were then filled with a rich chocolate truffle cream made from 65 percent cacao chocolate, heavy cream, powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla. I actually went to the trouble of putting the truffle cream in a piping bag so as to swirl it onto the sandwich cookie bottoms. Ordinarily, I run screaming from piping bags, but these petite cookies just begged for the added attention to detail. The sandwich tops were to have been dusted with cocoa powder, but I used the last of mine to make the cookie dough. Instead, I dusted the tops with espresso powder.
The cookies were sturdy but yielding. Bigger versions of them would be perfect for ice cream sandwiches. They had just the right amount of chocolate flavor, and I had to remind myself that they were meant to be filled and sandwiched and not just eaten out of hand. Thankfully, I restrained myself well enough to have plenty left to fill. Now, the highlight, the truffle cream, was ridiculous. It was silky and richly chocolaty and maintained a lightness even after the finished cookies had sat in the refrigerator overnight. I’m already planning alternate flavor infusions for the ganache for the next time I make this truffle cream to fill cookies. Although, I may have to spend some time perusing the book’s chocolate drinks chapter or the ice cream chapter before I make it back to the cookies for a second time.