Tuesday Tips: Baking with Honey (& Honey Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe)

Hope you're enjoying Tuesday Tips here on DyingforChocolate.com. I've posted several chocolate honey recipes, but I thought it might be good to post some honey tips, particularly when substituting honey for sugar. Of course, you can just find a recipe that uses honey, so you don't need to think about it. But, sometimes, you just want to try a recipe and you prefer using honey. I know I do.

Tuesday Tips:
Baking with Honey

1. Generally you can substitute 2/3 cup honey for each cup of sugar in a recipe, but you'll probably want to reduce the amount of liquid by 1/4 cup for each cup of honey.

2. If you're baking, you'll want to reduce the heat by about 25 degrees to prevent burning.

3. And, here's one you might not know. If you're substituting honey in baking, add 1/2 tsp baking soda for each cup honey used.

From the Empire State Honey Producers comes this recipe (slightly adapted) for Honey Chocolate Chip Cookies

Honey Chocolate Chip Cookies 

Ingredients
1/2 cup local honey
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 egg
1/2 tsp Madagascar vanilla
1-1/2 C flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped or ground walnuts (optional)

Directions
Cream honey and butter together. Add egg and vanilla.
In bowl, sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together. Add to wet honey mixture. Mix.
Fold in nuts and chocolate chips. Stir slightly.
Drop onto cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.

Tequila Brownies: National Tequila Day

Today is National Tequila Day! Have a shot of Tequila, or, better still, make these fabulous rich Tequila Brownies.


I use Reposado Tequila in this recipe. Reposado, or "rested," Tequila is aged in wood tanks or casks for a minimum of 2 months. The higher-quality Reposados are aged from 3-9 months. Reposado tequila has a robust flavor and is the best-selling in Mexico and can be either 100% agave or mixto. Of course, you can use whatever type of Tequila you have on hand in the following recipe.

TEQUILA BROWNIES

Ingredients
1/2 cup unsalted butter
12 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 - 1/4 cups sugar
1 cup flour
2 Tbsp Reposado tequila
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup walnuts, chopped

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease 8x8x2" square pan. 
Heat butter and chocolate in saucepan over saucepan over simmering flame. Stir until melted.
In bowl, combine cocoa, sugar, flour, tequila, baking powder, salt, and eggs.
Pour in chocolate/butter mixture, mixing just until combined.
Stir in walnuts.
Spread mixture in pan.
Bake 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.
Cool before cutting.

Oreo S'mores aka S'moreos

Nabisco has been adding different flavors to their Oreo line-up for years, usually seasonal, around the holidays--Halloween Oreos, Christmas Oreos, Valentine's Day (Red Velvet Oreos), etc. Of course there are Vanilla Oreos, but that seems to defeat the purpose. Some of the flavors work and some don't, but I think you'll find these do!

To the delight of S'mores and Oreo Lovers every where, Nabisco has produced Oreo S'mores. These Oreos are like camping in the woods without the bugs. You can eat them straight out of the bag. The cookie is not chocolate! It's a graham cracker cookie, and instead of the usual creme filling, there's chocolate-marshmallow creme. These cookies are not too sweet, either. They're just right. If you like S'mores, you'll want to try these!

Want to make your own S'moreos? These are a real variation on Traditional S'mores.

S'MOREOS

Ingredients
Double-Stuffed Oreos
Large marshmallows, cut in half
Hershey bar

Directions
Twist Oreo apart so top and bottom are separated. Put filling side up and put 1 Hershey's rectangle on top. Add 1/2 large marshmallow. Top with remaining Oreo half.
Put on microwave safe plate and microwave on high for 15-20 seconds.
If top half of Oreo falls off, just put it back on top after removing from microwave.

Chocolate Creme Brulee´- National Creme Brulee´ Day

Celebrate National Creme Brulee´ Day with Chocolate Creme Brulee. There are a lot of recipes out there, but a really good never fail Recipe for Chocolate Creme Brulee comes from Paula Deen.  I love her recipe because it's easy, contains alcohol (Chocolate Liqueur) and tastes fantastic. Because this recipe calls for egg yolks only, use the extra egg whites to make Chocolate Meringues.

Chocolate Creme Brulee 

Ingredients
1 quart heavy cream
1 cup sugar
1 ounce chocolate liqueur (recommended: Godiva Liqueur)
1/2 Tbsp vanilla extract
2 ounces dark cocoa powder
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate (remember the best quality makes a difference)
11 large egg yolks

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In medium sized saucepan over medium-high heat, add heavy cream, sugar, liqueur, and vanilla. When mixture is warm add cocoa powder and chocolate and whisk until blended.
Place egg yolks in large stainless steel bowl.
Slowly add warm chocolate mixture to eggs a little at time while whisking.
Strain and pour into individual porcelain ramekins.
Place ramekins in a large baking pan.
Pour enough hot water into pan to come half way up sides of ramekins.
Bake until firm in center, about 30 minutes.
Remove ramekins from water bath and let cool completely.
Place in refrigerator for 2 hours.
Dust with sugar and caramelize with propane torch. Serve immediately.

If you've never carmelized sugar with a torch, read The Kitchn on Apartment Therapy. I use a small torch from the hardware store, but you can find torches at kitchen shops and online. It's a fun item to have on hand. You can use it to finish your s'mores, too!