Like all great baking adventures I started by heading to Bulk Barn with Roman to pick up supplies. I like shopping at Bulk Barn because I can buy only the quantity I need, which is handy when it comes to more expensive items because then I don't end up with a bunch of leftovers that I won't use. Plus I know I'll only have to make one stop and they will have everything I need. I ended up leaving the store with melting chocolate, a few kinds of sprinkles and some PeekFreans cookies.
The best way to melt chocolate is with a double boiler. I usually just melt it in a pot and really haven't had any trouble with it. When John saw me with chocolate in the pot he said "I don't know much about chocolate, but aren't you supposed to use a double boiler?". I responded that you should but I never do and I've never burnt my chocolate. Well, guess what happened today. Yup, I burnt the chocolate. I guess that's what happens when you get cocky. So I started again by bringing a couple inches of water to a boil in a pot and sitting a glass bowl on top. I added the chocolate and stirred until it was completely melted. You want to be careful not to over heat it as your chocolate will start to get lumpy and thick. When the chocolate is almost melted, reduce the heat to bring the water down to a simmer. This will keep your chocolate warm but not overheat it.
Using my lovely BBQ tongs (it's the only pair of tongs I own) I dipped and flipped the cookies in the chocolate until they were completely covered in chocolate. Grab the cookies with the tongs again and shake off as much of the excess chocolate as you can. Be warned, if you shake too hard you may break your cookie! I found out the hard way. Place the cookie on a parchment lined cookie sheet. If your tongs left marks in the chocolate, use a knife or an icing spatula to spread the chocolate around to cover the marks. If there are areas that aren't covered as well as you would like you can also spread on more chocolate just as if you were icing a cake. Finally, top the cookies with your sprinkles or other decorations while the chocolate is still soft.
For the pumpkin cookie decorations I used pecans and pumpkin seeds for the stem and leaves. To make the stem I cut the point off a pecan half and stuck it onto the top of the cookie along with pumpkin seeds on either side of the stem.
The chocolate will take a couple of hours to harden so you'll have to be patient. Or you can pop them in the fridge and you'll get to indulge in the chocolatiness that much faster! Now you're probably wondering what you should do with the leftover melted chocolate. This chocolate isn't cheap so I save every last drop - here's the trick! Lay a piece of plastic wrap in a cereal bow and scoop in any leftover chocolate while it's warm. Allow the chocolate to completely harden then just remove it from the bowl, peel off the plastic wrap, and store it in a sandwich bag. When you want to use it again, cut the lump into small chunks and warm it in a double boiler again. Oh and don't worry about the chocolate on the tongs, just lick that off, consider it your reward for making other people such delicious cookies!
The possibilities for this type of treat are endless, so get creative and make some spooky cookies for Halloween!
Super cute cookies! I love that you included your licking off the tongs to prove it's justified. Lol. I was SURE you were going to say "and eat it" after peeling the leftover chocolate off of the plastic wrap.. Seriously quite disappointed when you said you could just reuse it. But I guess that would be the responsible thing to do....
ReplyDeleteIf your stomach can handle that much white chocolate (because that's all the colored stuff is) be my guest Trellyn!
DeleteThey look and sound delicious.....wonder if there will be any left for guests?
ReplyDelete