February 13, 2006
Biscuits Chocolat et Fèves de Cacao
[Chocolate and Cacao Nib Cookies]
Soft and cakey and thrice chocolate-flavored -- from the velvet of melted chocolate, the strength of cocoa powder, and the aromatic crunch of cacao nibs -- these bite-size cookies should fit into either one of these Valentine's Day scenarios:
1. You tend to throw yourself rhapsodically into the whole gift-and-card-and-flower-giving thing: it's fun, it's red, and it gives you the perfect excuse to buy and eat chocolate. In this case, you can bake a batch or two of these cookies, wrap them up in all manner of glossy ribbons and heart-shaped tins, and spread the love.
2. You couldn't care less about Valentine, funny or otherwise, and February 14th is just a normal day for you. In fact, you have obliviously made plans for the evening that do not include your sweetheart, but neither of you has given it a thought. In this case, these cookies can simply be added to the pile of "things you want to eat".
3. You are adamantly opposed to this contagion of smoochy silliness. As an act of civil disobedience, you plan on being particularly unpleasant and grating and difficult for the whole 24 hours. That way, people will better appreciate what a treat you normally are to live with. It's an interesting strategy, but may I suggest you bake some of these cookies the next day to make up for your attitude?
Biscuits Chocolat et Fèves de Cacao
120 g (4 oz) good quality bittersweet chocolate
110 g (1 stick) unsalted butter
3 eggs, lightly beaten
100 g (1/2 C) brown sugar
120 g (1 C) all-purpose flour
120 g (3/4 C) unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fleur de sel (substitute 1/4 teaspoon regular salt)
4 tablespoons (1/4 C) cacao nibs
Makes about 60 bite-size cookies.
Melt together 90 g (3 oz) of the chocolate and all of the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Tranfer into a large mixing-bowl and let cool for ten minutes. In the meantime, combine the flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder in another mixing-bowl, and set aside. Finely chop the reserved chocolate, and set aside.
Whisk the eggs into the cooled melted chocolate. Add in the sugar and mix again. Sift in the flour mixture, and stir with a wooden spoon until well combined. The batter will be thick. Fold in the chopped chocolate, cacao nibs and fleur de sel.
Preheat the oven to 180° C (350° F) and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Scoop out rounded teaspoons of batter, shape them into balls with the tips of your fingers, and line them up on the cookie sheet, leaving a one-inch space between them. Put the cookie sheet in the refrigerator for ten minutes (if the sheet and batter are cold, the cookies are less likely to spread). Put the cookie sheet into the oven to bake for eight to ten minutes, until the tops feel just dry to the touch. Dont overbake, or they wont be as moist inside.
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Comments (39)
Permalink | Posted by clotilde in Chocolate - Recipe Inside!
I will try your recipe tonight, with walnuts instead of cocoa nibs I think...
Posted by Pesql on February 13, 2006 5:29 PMSounds wonderful! I may try them tonight, too. I'll have to hit the store for the cocoa nibs.
Posted by jenny on February 13, 2006 5:48 PMUmm... What are cacao nibs?
Posted by Julia on February 13, 2006 6:18 PMTo quote the Scharfeen Berger website:
"Cacao Nibs are perfectly roasted cocoa beans separated from their husks and broken into small bits. They are the essence of chocolate."
You can order them online from SB as well:
http://www.scharffenberger.com/prodinfo.asp?number=NIBBX
Posted by April N on February 13, 2006 6:54 PMThese look & sound delicious. Have been looking forward to using nibs & now is the time.
Posted by Fran on February 13, 2006 9:22 PMI think there could be a fourth choice:
4;) You want to throw yourself rhapsodically into the whole Valentine thing and therefore- bake two dozen cookies-- but you act like you couldn't care less about valentine's and eat the two dozen yourself, and then you bake some more of these cookies the next day to make up for your attitude and eat them.
Posted by Corey Amaro on February 13, 2006 9:34 PMThis way you are sure to have your double chocolate-chocolate share on Valentine's
What to do - to make these cookies for Valentines day or for the day after? That is the question................
Posted by Lilia Dignan on February 13, 2006 9:54 PMhi clotilde...
one thing i have never quite been able to figure out: what is the difference between fleur de sel and sea salt such as Maldon? i have been told that they are interchangeable, but i notice that your recipe calls for twice as much fleur de sel as sea salt.
these cookies look delicious...
:) thanks,
Posted by rachel on February 13, 2006 11:04 PMrachel
Cocao Nibs aren't readibly available in stores in these parts (Canada) but, I bought some a while ago and even though some find them way too bitter I think they are great for additions to yogurts,etc to add a bit of crunch! Looking forward to trying this recipe out eventually!
Posted by jer on February 13, 2006 11:09 PMHi Clotide
Posted by GastroChick on February 13, 2006 11:09 PMJust read your extensive article in Olive magazine, it's great, very varied and eclectic. I really enjoyed it and will keep it for when I next visit Paris. Thanks
i just broke my kitchenaid stand mixer after 10 years of faithful service. i am so sad. i won't be baking much any time soon until i can figure out a solution. it pains me to see new recipes.
Posted by Three Layer Cake on February 13, 2006 11:28 PMOoooooh my!!!
J'en salive!
À essayer sous peu, c'est certain.
Love Valentine's Day as it's just another excuse to eat chocolate (along with I'm PMS and I'm having my period which makes eating chocolate guiltless two weeks a month ;)).
Tu m'inspires à être une meilleure cuisinière! Merci pour ce blog fantastique!
Posted by Julie Desjardins on February 14, 2006 1:41 AMI think here, in Chile, we doesn't have cocoa nibs...:(, sad. Can I use almond o walnuts or other nut...??
really good blog, thank you...
Verito
Posted by Verito on February 14, 2006 2:05 AMThese will be my Valentine's Day treat for my toddler tomorrow.
Merci, je m'en regale.
Lesley
Posted by Lesley on February 14, 2006 2:44 AMOh goodness, I've never been fond of Valentine's Day -- even when I was dating someone I loved I felt bad for the people who felt left out. But I certainly would never choose to be grumpy all day. What a waste of a day! Instead, I think I'll make myself up a gluten-free version of these and spread them around to everyone I know. Love and cocoa nib cookies for everyone!
Posted by shauna on February 14, 2006 5:06 AMDon't know what they are, but I like them. ;-)
Posted by Christopher on February 14, 2006 12:53 PMMmmmm. These look delicious!!
Posted by Katie on February 14, 2006 2:33 PMWow. Those look fantastic. I've been looking for a recipe that uses those cocoa nibs, too.
Film Stock
Posted by FilmStocker on February 14, 2006 2:37 PMMade these for Valentine's Day last night, minus the nibs. They are delicious, chocolately and dense, moist and fudgey with great texture. And they really are adorable, so tiny, refridgerating them really did stop the spreading. Thank for you for this recipe!
Posted by Melanie on February 14, 2006 3:17 PMAnother source of cacao nibs:
http://www.sweetriot.com/
A great, fun little company and the tins the nibs come in are so cute.
Posted by Monica on February 14, 2006 6:58 PMRachel - What I meant with the difference in measurement is for salt that comes in flakes (such as fleur de sel or Maldon salt) vs. salt that comes in a granulated powder. The former takes up more space than the latter for the same salty power, so you should use a little more. Hope that clears things up a bit!
Three Layer Cake - But these can be made with your own little hands! No need for a mixer...
Melanie - Thank you for reporting back, I'm delighted you liked them!
Monica - These cacao nib do look great. I see that they come covered with chocolate though, whereas my recipe calls for raw cacao nibs. I don't think it would make much difference, but I thought I'd point it out!
Posted by clotilde on February 14, 2006 7:27 PMChocolate cookies with cocoa nibs must be infecting the blogosphere. :)
Posted by mollyz on February 15, 2006 4:08 AMI love the two contrasting recipes.
Thanks for this; I have a bag of cacao nibs I've been trying to decide what to do with!
Posted by Kathryn on February 15, 2006 4:09 AMthis website is fantastic, chocolate is fantastic, and these are fantastic! i like to live on the edge and so did not use parchment and they were fine- didn't even need a spatula to get them up. perhaps the parchment is proposed to facilitate washing-up?
Posted by tarynkay on February 15, 2006 4:28 AMThese look fabulous! Another favourite use for cacoa nibs is to steep them in cream, then strain and use the cream to make ice-cream - it's white but tastes of chocolate - amazing. This is an Alice Medrich recipe - she has lots more recipes for nibs in her book Bittersweet.
Posted by Louise on February 15, 2006 12:44 PMBTW, Clotilde, where do you get nibs in Paris? I could get them in California, but haven't seen them in London.
I've been a devotee of your blog since I first heard you on NPR in August, and I can't wait to try this recipe. I made for my valentine this year the chocolate chili bites from your site (on which I dusted powdered sugar hearts in honor of the day), and they were a hit. Thanks for the great recipe!
Posted by Michele on February 16, 2006 4:14 AMSounds great! I've always loved this recipe for chocolate biscotti, also: http://www.foodfit.com/recipes/recipe.asp?rid=1111
Posted by Abby on February 16, 2006 5:57 PMI've been single for so long I can't bear the sadness of another Valentine's day alone. So these will definitely be in my "pile of things I want to eat". Chocolate will be my solace...
Posted by Aschka on February 16, 2006 6:57 PMI tried to do these tonight - before my wife got home. I had to omit the cacao nibs, but still they are all too bitter (chocolate was 72% - not too bitter) - but something must have went wrong - but I don't know what.
Any ideas on how to use them anyway ? with vanilla ice ?
Otherwise - love you blog :-)
Posted by Jakob Langgaard on February 16, 2006 7:58 PMhad a go at these yesterday, sadly sans nibs,asi couldn't get them. Still the best biscuits I have had in ages, can't wait to try them with the nibs in soon. :)
Posted by Toast on February 19, 2006 9:56 AMJust made these sinful chocolaty wonders... YUMMY YUMMY YUMMY!!!
Replaced the chocolate nibs with pecans...
*Rolling on the floor*
Posted by Julie Desjardins on February 19, 2006 10:21 PMMade these yesterday, lovely dark chocolate taste. Cacao nibs proved hard to find in Sydney, but not impossible (macro foods in crows nest for anybody here looking for them)!
Posted by michelle on February 23, 2006 7:23 AMcet biscuit est TRES dilisceuse! je l'aime beaucoup!
Posted by J&B on March 6, 2006 5:37 PMI made these very tiny. I thought they were a bit too bitter so I rolled them in powdered sugar while they were warm. Interesting enough, these mellow if allowed to set overnight..and probably wouldn't need the extra sugar. Straight out of the oven, my family pronounced them way too bitter. The next day--they inhaled them--pronouncing the addition of the nibs as "brilliant".
Posted by Charlotte on March 12, 2006 6:05 PMA perfect end for the last cacao nibs in my little can. Not too bitter. Just perfect. I made very small cookies and did not roll them at first. These ended up looking . . . rumpled and craggy. When rolled and slightly pressed before baking, they came out exactly like yours - very dainty and elegant.
Do you think it made a difference that I use King Arthur white flour? I read in Baking Illustrated (?) that it has a higher protein content and therefore perhaps a stiffer dough.
Of course, neither the "look" nor the type of flour slowed anyone down. Perfect for a birthday tea for someone who doesn't like cake.
Posted by Amy on March 20, 2006 10:47 PMGreat recipe no matter how many time I'v baked these beauties I don't seem to have enough, a friend of mine said "it's too chocolety"..how can anything be too chocolety?!
Posted by mai on April 1, 2007 9:20 PMthank you for sharing
Hi, i tried baking them today and they turn out very bitter.. any idea what went wrong? and what can i do to make it edible? thanks. :(
Posted by Kat on March 17, 2008 1:02 PMAmy - The "hardness" of the flour may indeed make a difference in the smoothness of the dough.
Kat - Hm. These cookies have a powerful chocolate flavor, but I wouldn't describe them as bitter. Could it be the particular cacao nibs or the cocoa powder you used? Or perhaps the cookies were a bit overbaked? In any case, you can try rolling them in sugar, or sandwiching them two by two with jam, or a cream filling.
Posted by clotilde on March 17, 2008 1:57 PMI've just discovered cacao nibs and I'm crazy for them!
I made up a recipe using white cocoa powder, chocolate chips and nibs. The cookie body was a little like a shortbread cookie and went just fabulous with the nibs. Mmmm...
Can't wait to try yours.
I'm also thinking of making nib brownies with cherries... :)
Posted by Zan on April 7, 2008 7:12 AMPrivacy. The email addresses you enter will not be used for any other purpose than the sending of this message.