Dark Chocolate Graveyard Pots de Creme & Tombstone Chocolate Cookies

I've always been a big Sunset reader. I hated throwing away (recycling) any of the issues. As you can imagine I had stacks of Sunset Magazine in lots of places. Welcome the Internet. I no longer had to have all these magazines cluttering up my house.

I still get Sunset Magazine, but now I can do an easy search for those older recipes on the Web. Of course, my notations are not on those recipes, but it's a small price to pay, and I can always add changes to my online recipe file.

A few weeks ago I posted Martha Stewart's recipe for Chocolate Cemetery Cupcakes, well here's Sunset's recipe for Dark Chocolate Graveyard Pots de Creme with Chocolate Wafer Dirt plus Chocolate Nib Tombstone Cookies. Great for the sophisticated Ghoul!

Makes 8 servings
Ingredients
14 ounces (about 3 cups) semisweet or bitter-sweet chocolate, roughly chopped
2 large eggs, plus 2 yolks
2 1/2 cups whipping cream
1/3 cup coffee-flavored liqueur
1/2 cup chocolate wafer crumbs

Preparation
1. In a food processor or blender, whirl chocolate until finely chopped. Pour into a bowl. Put eggs and yolks in the processor or blender.
2. In a 4-cup glass measure, heat whipping cream in a microwave oven at full power (100%) until cream boils, 3 to 5 minutes.
3. With processor or blender on high speed, add boiling cream to egg. Check temperature of mixture with an instant-read thermometer; if below 160°, pour mixture back into glass measure and reheat in microwave oven at full power until it reaches 160°, stirring and checking at 15-second intervals.
4. Combine hot cream mixture, chopped chocolate, and liqueur in blender or processor (or whisk the ingredients together in a large bowl); whirl until smooth, about 1 minute.
5. Pour chocolate mixture into 8 ramekins or glasses (1/2-cup size). Chill until softly set, 30 to 45 minutes. If making ahead, cover and chill up to 1 day. For creamiest texture, let desserts stand at room temperature about 30 minutes before eating.
6. Spoon 1 tbsp. wafer crumbs onto each pot de crème. Insert a Tombstone Cookie into each serving.

Tombstone Cookies
Notes: Cocoa nibs, also called "cacao nibs," give these cookies a mottled look that resembles stone. You can make this recipe with both chocolate-covered nibs made by Scharffen Berger or plain nibs from Dagoba Organic Chocolate--or try your favorite chocolate nibs. You can also substitute 2 tbsp. finely chopped bittersweet chocolate. Make up to 3 days ahead; store airtight.

Makes about 2 1/2 dozen (so you'll have lots of extras to eat!)

Ingredients
2 tablespoons chocolate covered (or regular cacao) nibs
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling cookies
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Melted semisweet or bittersweet chocolate

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 400°. In a blender, whirl cocoa nibs until each is about the size of a grain of rice.
2. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and 1/2 cup sugar until creamy; beat in egg and vanilla.
3. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and cocoa nibs; gradually add to butter mixture, blending thoroughly, to form a soft dough. Divide dough into thirds, cover each portion tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm (at least 1 hour), or up to 3 days.
4. On a floured board, roll out dough, a portion at a time, to a thickness of 1/8 in. (keep dough refrigerated when not in use). With a sharp knife, cut out free-form tombstone shapes (about 1 1/2 by 3 in.; cut bottom edges at an angle to make them easier to poke into the pots de crème), and place slightly apart on ungreased baking sheets. Sprinkle generously with sugar.
5. Bake cookies until edges are lightly browned, about 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to racks and let cool completely before handling.
6. Using a pastry bag with a very fine tip, pipe the letters "RIP" in chocolate on at least 8 of the cookies. Stick these cookies into the Dark Chocolate Graveyard Pots de Crème and serve the rest of the cookies alongside (or eat them)**.