MILK CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES: National Milk Chocolate Day!

Today is National Milk Chocolate Day. If you read this blog, you know I'm a bigger fan of dark chocolate than milk chocolate, but there are certain recipes where I prefer milk chocolate. I've posted lots of chocolate chip cookie recipes, but this recipe from Jacques Torres, the King of Chocolate, is a no brainer. The real name is Jacques Torres' Secret Chocolate Chip Cookies. 

So for National Milk Chocolate Day, here's a recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookies using Milk Chocolate Chips.

MILK CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Ingredients

• 1 pound unsalted butter
• 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 2 1/4 cups packed light-brown sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 3 cups plus 2 tablespoons pastry flour
• 3 cups bread flour
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 pounds milk chocolate chips
  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats; set aside.
2. In bowl of with paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Reduce speed to low and add both flours, baking powder, baking soda, vanilla, and chocolate chips; mix until well combined.
3. Using a 4-ounce scoop for larger cookies or a 1-ounce scoop for smaller cookies, scoop cookie dough onto prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake until lightly browned, but still soft, about 20 minutes for larger cookies and about 15 minutes for smaller cookies. Cool slightly on baking sheets before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

MILK CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES: National Milk Chocolate Day

Today is National Milk Chocolate Day. If you read this blog, you know I'm a bigger fan of dark chocolate than milk chocolate, but there are certain recipes where milk chocolate is preferred.

So for National Milk Chocolate Day, this recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookies with Milk Chocolate Chips. How easy is that? I've posted lots of chocolate chip cookie recipes, but this recipe from Jacques Torres, the King of Chocolate, is a no brainer. It's real name is Jacques Torres' Secret Chocolate Chip Cookies. The secret I think is in the mix of flours.

MILK CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Ingredients

• 1 pound unsalted butter
• 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 2 1/4 cups packed light-brown sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 3 cups plus 2 tablespoons pastry flour
• 3 cups bread flour
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 pounds milk chocolate chips
  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats; set aside.
2. In bowl of with paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Reduce speed to low and add both flours, baking powder, baking soda, vanilla, and chocolate chips; mix until well combined.
3. Using a 4-ounce scoop for larger cookies or a 1-ounce scoop for smaller cookies, scoop cookie dough onto prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake until lightly browned, but still soft, about 20 minutes for larger cookies and about 15 minutes for smaller cookies. Cool slightly on baking sheets before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

MILK CHOCOLATE PECAN POUND CAKE: National Milk Chocolate Day

Today is National Milk Chocolate Day, and even though Milk Chocolate is not my favorite, I love this recipe for Milk Chocolate Pecan Pound Cake. I left the recipe pretty much as is since I originally found it on the Hershey's Kitchens website, but, of course, feel free to substitute your favorite chocolate. It's actually quite awesome with dark chocolate chips, dark cocoa, and rich dark chocolate syrup. Oops, reminder to self, this is MILK Chocolate Day.

Milk Chocolate Pecan Pound Cake from the Hershey's Kitchens

Ingredients
 2 cups (11.5-oz. pkg.) HERSHEY'S Milk Chocolate Chips, divided
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened (Margarine in original recipe as option. I never use margarine)
1-1/4 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Dash salt
1 cup buttermilk or sour milk*
3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans
 Powdered sugar(optional)

Directions
Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour 12-cup fluted tube pan (bundt pan). Place 1 cup milk chocolate chips in medium microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at MEDIUM (50%) 1 minute; stir. If necessary, microwave at MEDIUM an additional 15 seconds at a time, stirring after each heating, until chips are melted when stirred.
Beat butter in large bowl until creamy; gradually add granulated sugar, beating on medium speed of mixer until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add melted chocolate; beat until blended.
Stir together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; add to chocolate mixture alternately with buttermilk, beating until blended. Add syrup and vanilla; beat until blended. Stir in remaining milk chocolate chips and pecans. Spoon batter into prepard pan.
Bake 1 hour and 15 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired. 12 to 16 servings. (Who are they kidding? It's so good, it will be gone by 4-8 people in no time!)

*To sour milk: Use 1 tablespoon white vinegar plus milk to equal 1 cup.

Confused about what Milk Chocolate actually is?  Take a look at a former Post on Milk Chocolate Day.

MILK CHOCOLATE CAKE with MILK CHOCOLATE FROSTING: National Milk Chocolate Day

Today is Milk Chocolate Day! I'm a dark chocolate fan, but every once in awhile I crave a Hershey's milk chocolate bar. So what exactly is Milk Chocolate?

Here's a good explanation from HowStuffWorks.com:

Milk chocolate, the most common eating chocolate in the United States today, actually arrived on the scene fairly late in the history of chocolate.
 
Milk chocolate's development was made possible with the invention of powdered milk by Swiss chemist Henri Nestlé in 1867. Previous attempts at mixing whole (liquid) milk and chocolate liquor didn't turn out well. But in 1879, a Swiss chocolate manufacturer and neighbor of Nestlé by the name of Daniel Peter decided to try combining the newly invented powdered milk with chocolate liquor -- and true milk chocolate was born.

Milk chocolate is made by combining chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, sugar, flavorings, and sweetened condensed or powdered whole milk (which one is used depends on the individual manufacturer's formula and production methods). The sugar and milk are first blended together, then they're mixed with chocolate liquor and flavorings and dried to create a substance called "milk chocolate crumb." Next, additional cocoa butter is blended with the crumb, and the mixture is sent through the standard conching and refining processes.
 
All milk chocolate made in the United States must contain at least 10 percent chocolate liquor and at least 12 percent milk solids. Bars of fine milk chocolate typically have a cacao content of between 30 percent and 45 percent, while less-expensive products may have considerably less. Milk chocolate has a sweeter and far more mellow chocolate flavor than dark chocolate, and since a higher cacao content gives a chocolate bar more "snap," milk chocolate tends to be less crisp than dark chocolate.

***

Here's a great recipe for Milk Chocolate Cake with Milk Chocolate Frosting.  This is essentially a three layer chocolate butter cake. Recipe was developed by Sylvia Thompson -- The Birthday Cake Book (1993).

MILK CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH MILK CHOCOLATE FROSTING

Milk Chocolate Cake

Ingredients
3 1/2 cups sifted cake flour
1/2 Tbsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 Tbsp salt
6 ounces milk chocolate, chopped
1 cup water
1 cup unsalted butter, softened to consistency of mayonnaise
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light-brown sugar, lumps crushed, packed
1 1/2 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
6 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk or soured milk, room temperature
Milk Chocolate Frosting

Directions
Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in bowl.
In medium heat-proof bowl over barely simmering water, melt chocolate in water, stirring occasionally until perfectly smooth. Remove from heat.
In large mixing bowl, beat butter on medium speed until creamy. Continue beating while sprinkling in granulated and brown sugars, 1 tablespoon at time. Add vanilla and beat until very light. Add eggs one at a time, beating until thoroughly blended after each, then beat until very light and creamy. Blend in chocolate. Add flour in 3 parts by sprinkling over bowl. Alternate with buttermilk in 2 parts. Beat on lowest speed just until each addition disappears. Fold batter with large flexible rubber spatula just until thoroughly blended.
Divide batter into buttered 9-inch round cake pans with bottoms lined with wax paper. Smooth tops, then push batter slightly up against sides. Bake 2 layers on middle oven rack and 1 layer on lower oven rack at 350 degrees. Stagger so top pans are not directly over bottom pan.
Bake until wood pick emerges clean from center of cake, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool in pans on racks 15 minutes. Then turn out onto racks, top sides up, to cool completely.
Up to 6 hours before serving, set thickest layer on platter, bottoms up. Spread with 2/3 cup frosting. Repeat with second layer. Place last layer top side up. Frost top and sides. Keep cool. Do not refrigerate.

Milk Chocolate Frosting 

Ingredients
14 ounces milk chocolate
5 cups powdered sugar, sifted
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa (not Dutch-processed)
3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
7 - 8 Tbsp milk
2 Tbsp vanilla

Directions
In medium heat-proof bowl over (not touching) barely simmering water, melt chocolate, stirring occasionally until smooth. Remove from heat.
In food processor or mixing bowl, blend sugar and cocoa. Melt butter with 7 Tbsp milk at MEDIUM  in microwave or over low heat.
Add hot butter to sugar with chocolate and vanilla. Process or beat until smooth. Do not overprocess. If too thick, beat in remaining tablespoon hot milk. If too thin, add sugar. Spread at once.

Milk Chocolate Cake with Milk Chocolate Frosting

Today is Milk Chocolate Day! I'm a dark chocolate fan, but every once in awhile I crave a Hershey's milk chocolate bar. So what exactly is Milk Chocolate?

Here's a good explanation from HowStuffWorks.com:

Milk chocolate, the most common eating chocolate in the United States today, actually arrived on the scene fairly late in the history of chocolate.
Milk chocolate's development was made possible with the invention of powdered milk by Swiss chemist Henri Nestlé in 1867. Previous attempts at mixing whole (liquid) milk and chocolate liquor didn't turn out well. But in 1879, a Swiss chocolate manufacturer and neighbor of Nestlé by the name of Daniel Peter decided to try combining the newly invented powdered milk with chocolate liquor -- and true milk chocolate was born.

Milk chocolate is made by combining chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, sugar, flavorings, and sweetened condensed or powdered whole milk (which one is used depends on the individual manufacturer's formula and production methods). The sugar and milk are first blended together, then they're mixed with chocolate liquor and flavorings and dried to create a substance called "milk chocolate crumb." Next, additional cocoa butter is blended with the crumb, and the mixture is sent through the standard conching and refining processes.
All milk chocolate made in the United States must contain at least 10 percent chocolate liquor and at least 12 percent milk solids. Bars of fine milk chocolate typically have a cacao content of between 30 percent and 45 percent, while less-expensive products may have considerably less. Milk chocolate has a sweeter and far more mellow chocolate flavor than dark chocolate, and since a higher cacao content gives a chocolate bar more "snap," milk chocolate tends to be less crisp than dark chocolate.

***

And here's a great recipe for Milk Chocolate Cake with Milk Chocolate Frosting.  This is essentially a three layer chocolate butter cake . Recipe was developed by Sylvia Thompson -- The Birthday Cake Book (1993).

MILK CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH MILK CHOCOLATE FROSTING

Milk Chocolate Cake

Ingredients
3 1/2 cups sifted cake flour
1/2 Tbsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 Tbsp salt
6 ounces milk chocolate, chopped
1 cup water
1 cup unsalted butter, softened to consistency of mayonnaise
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light-brown sugar, lumps crushed, packed
1 1/2 Tbsp Madagascar vanilla
6 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk or soured milk, room temperature
Milk Chocolate Frosting

Directions
Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in bowl.
In medium heat-proof bowl over barely simmering water, melt chocolate in water, stirring occasionally until perfectly smooth. Remove from heat.
In large mixing bowl, beat butter on medium speed until creamy. Continue beating while sprinkling in granulated and brown sugars, 1 tablespoon at time. Add vanilla and beat until very light. Add eggs one at a time, beating until thoroughly blended after each, then beat until very light and creamy. Blend in chocolate. Add flour in 3 parts by sprinkling over bowl. Alternate with buttermilk in 2 parts. Beat on lowest speed just until each addition disappears. Fold batter with large flexible rubber spatula just until thoroughly blended.
Divide batter into buttered 9-inch round cake pans with bottoms lined with wax paper. Smooth tops, then push batter slightly up against sides. Bake 2 layers on middle oven rack and 1 layer on lower oven rack at 350 degrees. Stagger so top pans are not directly over bottom pan.
Bake until wood pick emerges clean from center of cake, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool in pans on racks 15 minutes. Then turn out onto racks, top sides up, to cool completely.
Up to 6 hours before serving, set thickest layer on platter, bottoms up. Spread with 2/3 cup frosting. Repeat with second layer. Place last layer top side up. Frost top and sides. Keep cool. Do not refrigerate.

Milk Chocolate Frosting 

Ingredients
14 ounces milk chocolate
5 cups powdered sugar, sifted
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa (not Dutch-processed)
3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp sweet butter
7 - 8 Tbsp milk
2 Tbsp vanilla

Directions
In medium heat-proof bowl over (not touching) barely simmering water, melt chocolate, stirring occasionally until smooth. Remove from heat.
In food processor or mixing bowl, blend sugar and cocoa. Melt butter with 7 Tbsp milk at MEDIUM  in microwave or over low heat.
Add hot butter to sugar with chocolate and vanilla. Process or beat until smooth. Do not overprocess. If too thick, beat in remaining tablespoon hot milk. If too thin, add sugar. Spread at once.

Milk Chocolate Day: S'mores Pops/S'mores on a Stick

Last summer I posted a recipe for S'mores on a Stick or S'mores Pops. I used Guittard Milk Chocolate (38%) and it was fabulous. Last weekend I made some S'mores pops with some left over dark chocolate, and I just want to say they didn't taste as good to me. I also used some "natural' graham crackers. Nope! I like the old fashioned supermarket grahams for my Smores. So here's the original recipe I posted for S'mores Pops!  S'mores Pops are perfect for a picnic or barbecue. Less mess, no grilling, and oh so tasty.  Perfect way to end the meal.

S'MORES POPS

Ingredients:
Marshmallows (didn't have time to make my own)
Chocolate ( I used several squares of Guittard Milk Chocolate 38%- Fab!)
Graham Crackers (again, not home-made) crumbs  (Crumb the graham crackers by putting them in a plastic bag and using a rolling pin. Don't make them too fine)
Lollipop sticks (I use blunt sticks. Safer than skewers)

Directions:
Melt chocolate in top of double-boiler. (I added a tiny bit of oil to keep it the right consistency. Also since I made a lot of pops, I had to reheat and re-whip.)
Put marshmallow on stick and dip (swirl) in chocolate, coating almost all of marshmallow.
Put graham cracker crumbs in bowl and spoon crumbs over chocolate covered marshmallow. (I found that easier than dipping.)
Place S'mores Pop on cookie tray covered with wax paper.
Repeat.
Put S'mores Pops in refrigerator for a few hours to harden.

Because I used more chocolate than I needed, I made a few dozen. I placed them in several low clear jars, tied a ribbon, and they were good to go. If it's hot where you are, stick them back in the refrigerator until ready to serve. But you will want to bring them to room temperature before serving, if possible.

Extra: You can always brush any exposed marshmallow with a flame for more 'authenticity'. I didn't do that fearing the milk chocolate would melt.

Remember you can always experiment with different chocolate. Everyone has a different palette. Experiment.

Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies: National Milk Chocolate Day

Photo: Martha Stewart Living-not mine :-()

Today is National Milk Chocolate Day. If you read this blog, you know I'm a bigger fan of dark chocolate, but in the past week, I've used milk chocolate in several recipes. I was going to post a recipe for Milk Chocolate Truffles, but I always seem to have trouble making the ganache work and not turn out too soupy. O.K. I could work hard, but since I prefer dark chocolate, I don't seem to want to take the time.

But with National Milk Chocolate Day, I thought of the perfect recipe. Chocolate Chip Cookies with Milk Chocolate Chips. How easy is that? I've posted lots of chocolate chip cookie recipes, but the following recipe is from Jacques Torres, the King of Chocolate. It's a no brainer. You can't go wrong with this recipe and the resulting delicious cookies. I did substitute milk chocolate chunks, but otherwise, the recipe is the same. It's real name is Jacques Torres' Secret Chocolate Chip Cookies. The secret I think is in the mix of flours. Of course, you can add dark chocolate chunks or chips.

MILK CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

 

Ingredients

• 1 pound sweet butter
• 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 2 1/4 cups packed light-brown sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 3 cups plus 2 tablespoons pastry flour
• 3 cups bread flour
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 pounds milk chocolate, coarsely chopped

 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats; set aside.
2. In bowl of ith the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Reduce speed to low and add both flours, baking powder, baking soda, vanilla, and chocolate; mix until well combined.
3. Using a 4-ounce scoop for larger cookies or a 1-ounce scoop for smaller cookies, scoop cookie dough onto prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake until lightly browned, but still soft, about 20 minutes for larger cookies and about 15 minutes for smaller cookies. Cool slightly on baking sheets before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Photo: Martha Stewart website for Jaques Torres Chocolate Chip Cookies