So I’ll admit to a wee bit of food snobbery. Blessed with mad baking skills myself and a husband who cooks like a Michelin chef, I can eat “five-star”-style at home almost anytime I like. And the truth is that Chocolate Crinkle Cookies- or simply “Crinkles”- is one of the things I used to turn my nose up at.

Here’s the thing, though- Crinkles are simply brownies that have been rolled into balls, rolled in powdered sugar, and baked like cookies- til their tops crack and they gain that distinctive “crinkly” appearance. There are bad versions, yes- made from metallic tasting box mixes, or the cheapest ingredients possible, but when made right, they are just awesome. Slightly crunchy and sugary on the outside, moist and fudgy on the inside- properly made Crinkles can be even better than “five-star”.

Chocolate Crinkles
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
4 ounces good bittersweet chocolate, callets or chopped small
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped small
**Note: You could very well substitute 6 ounces of semisweet chocolate for the 2 chocolates here. It’ll be just as good, I promise.
3/4 cup white sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup powdered (icing) sugar, sifted

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Prepare a cookie sheet by lining it with parchment paper.

Combine butter and chocolate in a medium sized saucepan. Over very low heat, stir until melted and smooth, and remove from heat immediately, Add sugar, then slowly whisk in eggs, one at a time (so as not to cook them!) Add vanilla and salt, and gently stir in flour just until it disappears… do NOT overmix.

Chill this batter in the refrigerator for at least an hour.

Scoop out into balls, and roll each ball in powdered sugar. Place on cookie sheet.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, but no more- you know those “bad Crinkles” I was talking about? Most of them were overbaked. Better to underbake slightly than to overbake.

Serve with coffee, tea, or a jug of chilled milk.

Sometimes, inspiration comes from the unlikeliest of places. Such as the absolutely delicious cups of orange-infused hot cocoa we had tonight. My mid-morning snack was a whole fresh orange, followed by a couple of pieces of creamy Lindt dark chocolate.

Hence this hot cocoa, kicked up a big notch with fresh orange zest. The combination, which is at the heart of Starbucks’ Mocha Valencia, is a winner- especially on cold, rainy nights, enjoyed preferably in front of a roaring fire.

Also, if you’re lactose-intolerant, this is just as delicious with rice or soy milk.

Orange-Infused Hot Cocoa

1 liter whole milk
zest of one medium-sized orange
300 grams dark chocolate, broken or chopped up into small pieces
4 tablespoons brown or muscovado sugar
whipped cream & cocoa powder for sprinkling

In a saucepan, combine milk and orange zest, and bring slowly to a simmer. Remove from heat, and let sit for 10 to 15 minutes. This is your orange-infused milk.

Return the saucepan to heat, and add chocolate bits and sugar. Over low heat, stir constantly until chocolate is melted.

Pour into mugs, and pipe whipped cream on top. Sprinkle with cocoa powder.

Easter has always been a big deal in my family- but, while I did enjoy the Egg Hunt as a child, I never found the “Golden Egg”, the special hidden egg that meant you won first place in the contest. I’ve just never been good at rushing around, searching under tables and chairs or behind curtains.

Now that I’m all grown up, though, I can actually make my own Golden Eggs for Easter. Give me a dozen eggs, some chocolate filling, and some food-safe gold powder (from my friendly bakery store), and I’m good to go. Here’s how:

Golden Easter Eggs
(makes a dozen)

1 dozen large eggs
18 oz. semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 tsp gold powder
1 tsp vodka, plus drops as needed

First, clear out the eggs: wash each egg in warm water and dry thoroughly. Insert a sterilized needle into the small end of the egg to make a small hole. Do the same with the large end using a skewer to make a 1/4-inch hole. Insert the needle into the large end and break the yolk. Remove the contents of the egg by blowing into the small hole through a straw.

Now, make the chocolate filling: Melt the chocolate using a double boiler over a water bath or in a microwave according to directions on the package.

Pour the melted chocolate filling into a pastry piping bag fitted with a small round tip and fill the prepared egg shell through the large hole. Return the filled eggs to the egg carton.

Place the gold powder in a medium stainless steel bowl and add the vodka. Stir until completely blended. You can adjust the thickness of the mixture by adding tequila a drop at a time until you obtain the desired thickness – the mixture should be thin enough to easily spread. Use an artist brush to paint the egg shells gold. Put the carton of painted eggs into a freezer for 7 – 10 minutes to firm the chocolate and set the paint.

Oh, the many times I’ve posted about chocolate ganache! Certainly one of my favorite ways to have chocolate, and better than any “chocolate frosting” you could dream up (and easier to make as well!), I must make ganache at least once a week here at home.

Today, though, I want to share a recipe for getting a glossy ganache glaze to use on your cakes or cupcakes (or wherever). Regular ganaches start out glossy, then turn matte as they firm up- which is fine, and looks delicious of course- but sometimes, you just want some gloss. Here’s how:

Glossy Ganache Glaze

3 pounds good dark chocolate (semisweet or bittersweet), chopped fine (I like to use my food processor for this)
1 quart heavy cream
1/2 cup light corn syrup
2 1/2 sticks butter (I’ve used salted and unsalted, either is fine)

In a medium saucepan, over low heat, combine cream, corn syrup and butter and bring to a VERY LOW boil. Pour over your dark chocolate. Count to 30. Stir… and: glossy ganache!

This is the quickest way to deal with a chocolate craving. You know you have them… when nothing but some good, smooth and creamy dark chocolate will do. It’s the recipe I recently gave my mom (I know, it’s usually the other way around, but not when it comes to desserts) when she asked me for a “good chocolate puddin’ recipe”:

Me: Chocolate pudding? Why do you want to make chocolate pudding?
Mom: Maybe I should just buy one of those Instant Puddings by Jello… and add more cocoa powder to it?
Me: Why?
Mom: It’s never chocolatey enough…

At that moment, I knew what she needed. Mom didn’t want chocolate pudding, she wanted chocolate ganache. I gave her the recipe, throwing in the magic line “by the way, this is how you make truffles too” as an aside- and now she’s hooked. You will be, too.

Chilled Chocolate Ganache

1 cup heavy cream
2 cups bittersweet chocolate bits (cut from your favorite bar, or chips)
4 tablespoons salted butter, softened but still quite firm*

Put chocolate and butter in a medium bowl… set this aside. Heat heavy cream in a saucepan over medium heat until hot, but not boiling. You want to see only the tiniest of bubbles. Once it’s nice and hot (but not boiling) pour immediately over your chopped chocolate and butter. Count to twenty, then stir gently til all the chocolate has melted, and you have a gorgeous, gleaming mass of chocolate before you. Transfer to little pudding cups, custard cups, or ramekins. Chill in the fridge.

Enjoy entirely on its own, with a generous-sized spoon, or top with some whipped cream (yes, the canned stuff is fine).

*the butter is entirely optional here. I like how it adds more richness to the ganache, and if it’s salted, the saltiness helps too. But you don’t need it to make ganache.