Category Archives: Chocolate

Who Put Chocolate in My Gingerbread?

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A taste of Christmas with chewy chocolate gingerbread cookies.

Why, Martha Stewart, of course.

Take rich, dark, semi-sweet chocolate chunks. Pair them in a cookie of sticky molasses, ground cloves, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, plus fresh ginger, and you get a cookie that is chewy-licious. It’s like your favorite spicy gingerbread, but with the lushness of good dark chocolate to boot.

Even my husband, who is not always a fan of ginger (what’s up with that?), ate one cookie after another after these babies came out of the oven. See those hands above? Those are his, reaching yet again for another cookie.

“Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies” are from “Martha Stewart’s Cookies” (Clarkson Potter). If you haven’t already heard it by now, it’s become one of my favorite cookie books. I’ve made only about four of its 175 cookie recipes. But don’t be surprised if I bake my way through this book.

I could eat all of these. How about you?

The cookbook is the perfect holiday gift for any cookie-loving friend. Wrap it up with a few home-baked cookies. Well, if you can spare any, that is. In my household, that’s always a tough challenge.

Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies

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And the Winner Is….

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New York Chef Eric Ripert and cookbook author Cindy Mushet complete their task of eating 26 different cookies.

There are far worse ways to spend a Saturday morning than judging dozens of cookies with the likes of Eric Ripert, executive chef of New York’s four-star Le Bernardin; Dominique Crenn, executive chef of Luce in the Intercontinental San Francisco; Cindy Mushet, author of the Sur La Table cookbook, “The Art & Soul of Baking”; and Emily Luchetti, executive pastry chef of Farallon, Waterbar and Epic Roadhouse restaurants, all in San Francisco.

In fact, I can’t think of when I’ve had quite so much fun so early in the day.

The five of us braved sugar shock to help judge the 13th annual “Holiday Cookie Exchange” contest that aired live this past Saturday on “Dining Around with Gene Burns” (KGO Radio AM810).

First place to Swedish Pepparkakor.

The contest received a record number of entries. Burns, himself, spent a grueling 13 hours whittling down the 500 entries to a mere 26 finalists.

Even so, you just try tasting 26 cookies in one sitting. It was a tough job, but we five were up to the challenge.

Pastry Chef Emily Luchetti, and Chef Dominique Crenn can't believe they ate so many cookies.

In the end, we chose these four winners:

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Meet Chocolate Experts at Fog City News in San Francisco

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Sacarmento's Ginger Elizabeth Hahn

San Francisco’s Fog City News is indeed one of a kind — a Financial District newsstand that sells thousands of magazines, and hundreds of premium chocolate bars from around the world. I call that nourishment for the mind and the sweet tooth.

Bonbons by Ginger Elizabeth Chocolates (Photo courtesy of Ginger Elizabeth Chocolates)

Best yet, the store often hosts chocolatiers to talk about their confections and answer questions. Noon to 2 p.m., Dec. 15, meet 27-year-old Ginger Elizabeth Hahn of Ginger Elizabeth Chocolates in Sacramento. Her handcrafted chocolate bars and bonbons are available exclusively in San Francisco at Fog City News. Some of her signature bonbon flavors include Orange Jasmine Tea, and Caramel Apple Tatin. The event is free.

In 2009, look for more chocolatiers at the store at more free events:

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Deck the Halls With Balls of Chocolate

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Which ornaments are edible? Can you tell?

Look closely. Go on.

See those red ornaments above? Yes, they are chocolate. And yes, they are entirely edible, except for the red ribbons they hang from.

These Chocolate Holiday Ornaments are by Portland, Ore.-based Moonstruck Chocolatier. They are hand-painted with naturally colored cocoa butter. And yes, you can actually hang them on your Christmas tree.

I’ll use my patented scale of 1 to 10 lip-smackers, with 1 being the “Bleh, save your money” far end of the spectrum; 5 being the “I’m not sure I’d buy it, but if it was just there, I might nibble some” middle-of-the-road response; and 10 being the “My gawd, I could die now and never be happier, because this is the best thing I’ve ever put in my mouth” supreme ranking.

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Much Ado About Madeleines

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A holiday box of buttery, chic madeleines.

If you’re too swamped to bake this holiday season, the next best thing to homemade might just be Donsuemor Madeleines.

Namesakes Don and Sue Morris have been making traditional madeleines in the East Bay since 1976. Their elegant, scalloped-edged, cakey, buttery cookies are crispy along the edges, and soft and tender in the centers.

They are available in five flavors: traditional, dipped, lemon zest, chocolate, and dipped chocolate. Being the chocoholic that I am, my fave is definitely the chocolate-dipped chocolate madeleine. It’s like having your own tiny chocolate frosted cake in the palm of your hand — a sinful little treat to hoard all to yourself.

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