CHOCOLATE HOT TODDY: National Hot Toddy Day

Today is the perfect day for a Chocolate Hot Toddy. Northern California's weather has been a rollercoaster of Atmospheric Rivers, Bomb Cyclones, Thunder, Lightning, Rain, High Winds, and Freezing Temps. It's the perfect time to stay in and have a Hot Toddy, and lucky for us, it's National Hot Toddy Day. And one mustn't forget the medicinal value of a Hot Toddy. Although there's no real cure for the flu or cold, a Hot Toddy will do the trick to make you feel better, even if only temporarily--a traditional Hot Toddy, that is. See the Retro Ad on this page. So because today is Hot Toddy Day, I'm offering up a recipe with a chocolate spin.

Hot Toddy might be an old fashioned name, but the Hot Toddy has served for centuries as a therapeutic drink. If you add chocolate, you get all those chocolate benefits, too. Alcohol and chocolate: a great combination.

What exactly is a Hot Toddy?
A toddy is a drink made typically with a spirit base, water, some type of sugar, and spices. A hot toddy is usually a mixture of whiskey, cinnamon, hot water, honey, and lemon. A Hot Toddy may have tea as the spice (or in addition to the spice). 

Where did it come from?
The word “toddy” itself stretches back to the British colonial era and is taken from the Hindi word tārī, which was a drink made from the fermented sap of toddy palm, hence the name. The British Toddy was served cool and, for awhile this was the tradition. The toddy eventually made its way across the ocean to the American South where plantation owners would drink their own version of a toddy with rum, spices, and locally-available sugar. This mixture was cooked, then cooled and consumed. While derived from the British colonial toddy, this drink was called a bombo or bimbo. That’s great and all, but you said you’d be talking about hot toddies. 

The hot toddy that we know now found its roots in Scottish tradition. No surprise there. The Hot Toddy might be made with whisky, hot water, honey, and spices such as nutmeg or clove, and was touted as a cold cure. The Scots claim that the name toddy came from the origin of the water used for the drink: Tod’s Well in Edinburgh. Legend states that during the Revolutionary War, colonists would use toddies as liquid courage, drinking round after round to get up the nerve to fight. The biggest difference in the American toddy from the Scottish was the use of rum or brandy in comparison to whiskey. The colonists were working with what they had — which was more often the brandy they were making at home or the rum that was being imported from the Caribbean. The presentation of the toddy was also different. The drink was typically made in a punch bowl in large amounts to accommodate the crowds that would gather at local taverns and then served in a specific type of stemmed glassware, which was itself at some point named a toddy. So there you have it, the hot toddy, which wasn’t all that hot at first.

But this is a Chocolate Blog, so here's a recipe from Sunset for Brandied Hot Chocolate, a great Hot Toddy to drink today!

Chocolate Hot Toddy!

Ingredients
1- 1/2 cups grated dark chocolate (65-75% organic, your favorite)
1/2 cup dry milk powder (not something I have on hand except for this)
4 cups whole milk
4 Tbsp Armagnac
Whipped cream or marshmallows, for garnish

Directions
In medium bowl, mix grated chocolate and dry milk powder.
In medium saucepan, heat whole milk over medium heat. Once heated, stir in chocolate mixture and whisk until chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth and hot.
Pour 1 Tbsp Armagnac into each mug (four mugs total), then fill each mug with smooth, hot chocolate mixture.
Serve hot, garnished with fresh whipped cream or fresh marshmallows.

BITTERSWEET CHOCOLATE COOKIES: National Bittersweet Chocolate Day

Today is National Bittersweet Chocolate Day. Since I review, eat, and bake with chocolate, the word bittersweet isn't really part of my lexicon. Although I have purchased chocolate that is labeled bittersweet, I buy chocolate based on its origins, maker, taste, and amount of cacao. Bittersweet is just too vague a term for me.

According to Wikipedia, Bittersweet chocolate is chocolate liquor (unsweetened chocolate not liqueur) to which some sugar (typically a third), more cocoa butter, vanilla, and sometimes lecithin has been added. It has less sugar and more liquor than semisweet chocolate, but the two are interchangeable in baking. Bittersweet and semisweet chocolates are sometimes referred to as 'couverture' (chocolate that contains at least 32 percent cocoa butter); many brands (the ones I like) print on the package the percentage of cocoa (as chocolate liquor and added cocoa butter) contained. The rule is that the higher the percentage of cocoa, the less sweet the chocolate will be. The American FDA classifies chocolate as either "bittersweet" or "semisweet" that contain at least 35% cacao (either cacao solids or butter from the cacao beans).

So using this definition, almost any of my recipes will work since I use mostly very dark chocolate.

As in any of my recipes, the quality of the ingredients will make a difference in the flavor of your final product. I often have left-over chocolate (I know, who has left-over chocolate? I do), and I like to combine different brands of chocolate and amounts of cacao in this recipe--both in the melted chocolate part of the recipe and in the chunks that are folded in later. Very fun and yummy! Also you can also substitute brown sugar for white, but you'll have a different cookie!

Happy Bittersweet Chocolate Day!

Bittersweet Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients
1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
8 oz dark (bittersweet) chocolate (65-85% cacao, organic, fair trade), chopped into chunks
2 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar (this can be brown sugar or white-it will change the cookie)
1 tsp pure vanilla
6-7 oz dark (bittersweet) chocolate into small chunks (65-85% cacao)
1.5 cups chopped nuts (walnuts, almonds, or hazelnuts)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350F.
Whisk together the flour baking powder & salt. Set aside.
Melt together butter & bittersweet chocolate.
Meanwhile, whisk eggs, sugar & vanilla together.
When chocolate has melted, whisk in small amount of chocolate into egg mixture and slowly add in remaining chocolate, continuing to whisk. Stir in flour mixture
Fold in chocolate chunks & nuts.
Drop cookies 2 inches apart in heaping teaspoon onto prepared baking sheet.
Bake for 12-14 minutes.
Cool on wire rack.

WHITE CHOCOLATE APRICOT SCONES: National Apricot Day!

Brr.. It's cold outside-- a perfect day for scones right out of the oven! I've posted many scone recipes over the years, but since today is National Apricot Day, here's a great recipe for White Chocolate Apricot Scones. There are no fresh apricots this time of year, at least not growing in my local area, so this recipe is perfect since it calls for dried apricots. I always have dried apricots in the refrigerator. I serve these scones with clotted cream (or unsalted butter if I don't have clotted cream) and a nice pot of tea!

WHITE CHOCOLATE APRICOT SCONES 

Ingredients
2/3 cup unsalted butter
3 1⁄2 cups flour
1⁄4 cup sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
2⁄3 cup finely chopped dried apricots
1 cup white chocolate chips (make sure it's 'real' white chocolate!)
2 eggs
2⁄3 cup half-and-half
1 teaspoon vanilla
Optional (sugar for sprinkling)

Directions 
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In large bowl cut together butter, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt using pastry blender (or use 2 table knives crisscrossing ingredients in opposite directions) until mixture is crumbly.
Stir in apricots and white chocolate chips.
Add eggs, half & half, and vanilla so dough separates from side of bowl and forms a ball.
Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and knead lightly 10 times (don't overwork).
Divide dough into two equal portions.
On greased baking sheets pat each portion of dough into an 8" circle, and cut each circle into 8 wedges.
Optional: Sprinkle with sugar
Bake about 15 minutes, until golden. Serve warm.

Happy Birthday, ELVIS! Peanut Butter, Banana, Bacon, Chocolate Chip Cookies

Happy Birthday, Elvis!

We all know that Elvis loved his peanut butter and banana sandwiches, but add some bacon and chocolate chips and make these cookies to celebrate his birthday!.Elvis Cookies recipe from the CookingChannel.  Some interesting ingredients and preparation--in muffin tins!

ELVIS PEANUT BUTTER, BANANA, BACON CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES!

Ingredients 
10 slices bacon
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
8 ounces unsweetened butter, softened
1/4 cup mayonnaise
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chunks
1/2 cup chopped salted peanuts
1/2 cup sweet dried banana chips, roughly chopped

Directions 
Cook bacon in skillet until crisp, then drain on paper towels. Once bacon is cool, roughly chop it (you should have about 1/2 cup).
Combine flour, baking soda and salt in medium bowl.
In large bowl, beat butter, mayonnaise and sugars with mixer at medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until well blended. Add peanut butter and vanilla and beat until combined. At low speed, add  flour mixture in batches, beating until just combined.
Using wooden spoon, stir in  chocolate chunks, bacon, peanuts and banana chips.
Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill at least 30 minutes or overnight.
Position racks in upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Line 2 muffin tins with paper liners. Fill muffin tins about halfway full with batter (a 2-inch, 2-ounce ice cream scoop gives you just about the perfect amount, and helps prevent spilling).
Bake until tops are slightly golden and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. (Keep in mind that the cookies won't rise and form a dome like a cupcake.)
Let cool in muffin tins on wire racks for about 10 minutes, then unmold cookie cups and transfer to racks to cool completely.
Cook's Notes: The mayonnaise in this recipe makes these cookies especially tender. 

Elvis has left the building, and he took these cookies with him!