CHOCOLATE WALNUT COOKIES for Passover

These Flourless Chocolate Walnut Cookies are perfect for Passover--or for anyone who's looking for a great Gluten-Free chocolate cookie.

Top pastry chef Francois Payard makes keeping kosher for Passover look easy, offering a range of non-leavened, grain-free desserts for the holiday. As always the quality depends on the cocoa! Thanks, Chef Francois, for the recipe and photo!

And, you probably have all the ingredients in your pantry. That's a plus since you're probably Sheltered-in-Place this holiday!

Flourless Chocolate Walnut Cookies

Makes about twelve 4-inch cookies

Ingredients
1/2 cup plus 3 Tbsp Dutch-process cocoa powder
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
Pinch of salt
2-3/4 cups walnuts, toasted and roughly chopped
4 large egg whites, at room temperature
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Directions
Place racks in upper and bottom thirds of oven and preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

Combine cocoa powder, confectioners’ sugar, salt, and walnuts in bowl of electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Mix on low speed for 1 minute.

With mixer running, slowly add egg whites and vanilla. Mix on medium speed for 3 minutes, until mixture has slightly thickened. Do not overmix or egg whites will thicken too much.

With  2-ounce cookie or ice cream scoop or generous tablespoon, scoop batter onto prepared baking sheet, to make cookies that are 4 inches in diameter. Scoop 5 cookies on each pan, about 3 inches apart so they don’t stick when they spread. If you have extra batter, wait until first batch of cookies is baked before scooping next batch.

Put cookies in oven, and immediately lower temperature to 320°F. Bake for 14 to 16 minutes, or until small thin cracks appear on surface of cookies. Switch pans halfway through baking. Pull  parchment paper with cookies onto wire cooling rack, and let cool completely before removing cookies from paper. Store in airtight container up to 2 days.

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François Payard is a third generation pastry chef, who, after honing his skills by his family’s side and in the finest pastry kitchens in France, moved to New York where he was named “Pastry Chef of the Year” by the James Beard Foundation. Francois Payard has won numerous awards, such as the “Ordre du Mérite Agricole” by the French Government in 2004, he became a member of Relais Desserts International in 2006, an association of the 85 best pastry chefs in the world and in 2010 received the Dom Perignon Award of Excellence. 

Not just a chef, François is also the author of the popular cookbooks Bite Size: Elegant Recipes for Entertaining, Simply Sensational Desserts and Chocolate Epiphany: Exceptional Cookies, Cakes, and Confections for Everyone and PAYARD DESSERTS.

PASSOVER FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE-ORANGE CAKE aka Pudding (which it's not): Guest Post by Emily Stashower

This post appeared a few years ago, but I'm reposting with Emily's permission. This is a wonderful cake to make for Passover or for any occasion.

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Today I welcome back a Facebook friend who shares my love of gardening, photography, and chocolate, among other things. I 'met' Emily Stashhower on Facebook through another garden lover. Little did I know at the time that we would have so much in common -- mutual friends and relatives, as well as interests. What a small world!

This recipe is great for Passover since it's Flourless. It may be described as a pudding in the original recipe, but it's definitely a cake. Yummy!

Emily Stashower is an amateur nature enthusiast, blogger, and mother of twins. After a career in healthcare and numerous community organizations, her current endeavor, her blog www.rootsinreality.com, was started on a lark to combine a love of gardening, writing, photography, nature and an inability to meet deadlines. The blog notes that "sometimes an empty nest is just a nest without a bird. Other times, it's a middle aged suburban woman rediscovering interests and cultivating passions."

EMILY STASHOWER:

In September, 1990, the New York Times (in some section or another) published many recipes for “puddings.” 

Foolishly, I tried one out – Chocolate-Orange Pudding. I figured it would be something eaten with a spoon and in texture, resemble other puddings; one of my favorite desserts. The combination of flavors drew me to this particular selection but, in the decades since that first attempt, I’ve learned a great deal about this specific “pudding.”

First of all, it’s not what I consider a pudding. It’s a dense, flourless cake that could be eaten with a spoon but truth is, a fork will take care of the job just fine.

Second, though many puddings are cooked, few are cooked and then taken out of the “form” so it stands on its own (don’t let your mind wander to flans . . .).

Last, even if it is a “real” pudding, it’s best served as a dense, moist cake accompanied by ice cream or a whipped topping (or another decadent drizzling of taste across the slab of chocolate orange goo).

The recipe has a lot of advantages; once you have the ingredients, all you need is a food processor, a microwave safe dish and microwave. The “pudding” can be partially cooked, then frozen, and reheated in the microwave to warm it up and finish the cooking time. The dessert can be served hot or cold (I prefer hot) and is appropriate for any time of the year. However, I notice a flurry of requests for this recipe when it is Passover because it’s made without flour (but it is dairy, and I’ve not played around with it to make it parve).

The recipe below can be doubled – just make it in a soufflé dish with a larger diameter. The pudding will rise and make a mess of your microwave but when the chocolate settles, I can guarantee you – you’ll be thrilled and in a chocolate orange frenzy.

FLOURLESS ORANGE CAKE aka Pudding (which it's not)  

Ingredients
Vegetable oil for greasing bowl
1 cup slivered almonds
Zest of 1 medium orange
1 cup packed light brown sugar
16 ounces semi sweet chocolate, broken into small pieces
1 tsp baking soda
16 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
6 eggs
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tsp Triple Sec (I use vanilla & orange extract)

Directions
Grease 3 quart soufflé dish or non metal bowl with vegetable oil
Place almonds in food processor and process until finely chopped. Add orange zest & sugar, processing until finely chopped. Then add chocolate, baking soda, and butter – process until smooth.
Add eggs, cream, and Triple Sec and process until combined. Pour into prepared dish and cover tightly with plastic wrap. All microwaves are different so the rule of thumb is to cook until it slightly pulls away from the sides of the dish but is still jiggly. Instructions say “cook at 100% power in a 650-700 watt oven for 12 minutes." Prick plastic to release steam.
Uncover and allow to stand, covered withplate for 10 – 20 minutes
Unmold and serve.

The recipe does qualify the pudding as a “rich cake,” but personally I don’t think the reverse could ever be true. A pudding it is not.

A thin slice is plenty but the recipe as above serves at least 12.

Hope you try it out and enjoy!

Happy Passover!

CHOCOLATE CARAMEL POKE CAKE: National Caramel Day: Sheltered-in-Place Chocolate Cake #5

I love Chocolate and Caramel and since today is National Caramel Day, here's an easy recipe for Chocolate Caramel Poke Cake adapted from my good friend Elsie the Cow! I'm also calling this Sheltered-in-Place Chocolate Cake #5.

There are all kinds of Poke Cake recipes, but basically a Poke Cake is a cake that's been poked with the bottom of a wooden spoon as soon as it's hot out of the oven. Then liquid--in this case caramel sauce--is poured over it, and the cake absorbs it in varying areas. Yum! This is a great Retro Recipe that you're going to love it!

Chocolate Caramel Poke Cake

Ingredients 
1 box chocolate cake mix (Duncan Hines)
1-14 oz. can of Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk
1-14 oz. jar of caramel topping (Rechiutti Caramel sauce)
Container of Cool Whip  (or update this recipe with real whipped cream)
Bag of Toffee Bits or crumbled Heath Bars

Directions
Mix Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk and caramel together (warm up, if you need to).
Prepare cake as instructed on box. Bake in rectangular pan.
Remove cake from oven when done and poke holes in top of cake (I use the bottom of a wooden spoon) and pour caramel mixture evenly over cake while cake is still hot.
Refrigerate for at least two hours.
Spread with Cool Whip (or whipped cream)
Sprinkle with Toffee Bits or crumbled Heath Bars.

CHOCOLATE BROWNIES: 4 Recipes for Passover

Passover isn't going to be the same this year, as we're all Sheltering-in-Place. This is a good time to reflect about our lives and history, adversary and plagues, family and community. Many synagogues and organizations are hosting 'virtual' seders, and your family can always set up a Zoom Seder. But, the reality is we won't all be together. This changes preparation for the seder, and the actual ingredients for some of your favorite Passover foods may not be available.

Nevertheless, I will be posting chocolate Passover recipes over the next week. Passover begins Wednesday night, April 8, and if you observe the Passover holiday (8 days) you won't be eating any leavened food products. So in terms of chocolate baking you need to tweak some things, starting with not using flour. This doesn't mean you can't have Chocolate Cake, Brownies, or Cookies.. just an adjustment. And, if you're gluten-free, you'll love the first recipe. Baking without flour shouldn't be a problem, and these recipes are great any time, not just for Passover.

So for Passover week, here are 4 different recipes for Passover Brownies. Think of them as Flourless Brownies! You love Flourless Chocolate Cake, right? Try all the recipes and let me know which you like best. Do you have your own favorite recipe for Passover Brownies? Be sure and share by linking below.

These first two recipes I adapted from recipes I found on Chowhound in 2008.

Passover Chocolate Brownies #1

Ingredients
8 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
5 eggs, separated
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped (not chocolate chips)
8 ounces finely chopped or ground almonds (or almond flour)
Pinch of salt

Directions
Cream butter and sugar together. Mix in egg yolks.
Melt chocolate over double boiler (or over saucepan over saucepan with simmering water). Cool and add to butter mixture. Add finely ground almonds.
Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry. Fold into batter.
Pour into 9" square greased baking tin.
Bake in a preheated 350 oven for 45-50 min.
Cool and cut into squares.

Passover Chocolate Brownies #2

Ingredients
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup of matzo cake meal
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup DARK cocoa
3 large eggs
1/2 cup chopped nuts

Directions
Mix oil and sugar.
Add eggs and mix again.
Sift matzo cake meal and cocoa together and add to mixture.
Fold in nuts and mix thoroughly.
Grease 8x8 pan and pour in batter.
Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.
Cool and cut in squares.

This third recipe is originally from Gourmet 2000 ( Epicurious). It calls for a Chocolate-Wine Glaze, and you might want to try that. I like my brownies unadulterated, but I've tried the chocolate-wine glaze, and it's delicious. Nothing quite like chocolate and Manischewitz!

Passover Chocolate Brownies #3

Ingredients
6 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup unsalted margarine (if keeping brownies pareve) or butter, cut into pieces
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
Pinch of Salt
2 tsp finely grated fresh orange zest
3/4 cup matzo cake meal
3/4 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line bottom and sides of a 9-inch square baking pan with wax paper or greased foil.
Melt chocolate and margarine (or butter) in metal bowl over saucepan of simmering water, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat and cool 5 minutes.
Beat eggs, sugar, and salt in large bowl with electric mixer on high until pale and thick. Beat in chocolate in 3 batches on low speed. Stir in zest, matzo meal, and nuts just until blended.
Spread batter in baking pan and bake in middle of oven until firm and tester comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.
Cool in pan on rack, then invert onto a platter and remove paper or foil.
Cut into Squares.

Passover Chocolate Brownies #4

Ingredients
2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips (or dark chocolate, chopped)
1/2 cup unsalted butter or margarine
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup matzoh cake meal
2 Tbsp unsweetened DARK cocoa powder
2 Tbsp potato starch
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Directions
Preheat oven to 350. Grease 8-inch square baking dish.
Melt chocolate and butter in double boiler or in saucepan on top of another saucepan with simmering water. Set aside to cool slightly.
In mixing bowl, stir together cake meal, cocoa powder, and potato starch.
Combine eggs, granulated sugar, and vanilla in large bowl. Beat with electric mixer until light and creamy – about 3 to 5 minutes. Beat in chocolate mixture until smooth, then add cake meal mixture, beating on low speed just until combined. Batter is thick.
Fold in chopped nuts and spread in prepared baking dish.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or just until entire surface has puffed slightly. Brownies will still be moist in center.
Remove from oven and cool before cutting into squares.

I especially love Passover Brownies #4--very, very fudgy!!! Of course, I use very good chocolate! It really makes a difference!!!