i’m hardly one to jump into a new series of recipes, sight unseen. unless of course, they were endorsed by the kitchn. so, of course when i read the review for michel richard’s sweet magic, a few things happened: 1) it shot straight to the top of my christmas list. 2) i ignored the fact that there are no images or drawings in this cookbook, even though it made me a bit sad. 3) i made my way to the store to get graham crackers for these immediately.
i might have forgotten the hazelnuts while i was there. oops.
these went over well, though not as well as expected. i’m still searching for two perfect cookie recipes for the cookie swap and my friends don’t exactly mind being test subjects. i didn’t add the marshmallow fluff for friends, since we only had about a third of a container left, but i figured they’d make for a prettier picture.
extremely chocolatey cookies
accidently adapted from michel richard
makes about 3 dozen
14.4-ounce box graham crackers, crushed (about 4 cups)
8 ounces dark or semisweet chocolate
1/2 cup dark alkalized (Dutch process) cocoa powder
1/2 cup all purpose flour
11/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup packed brown sugar, dark
2 large eggs
place graham crackers in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the chopping blade and pulse to produce a fine powder.
roughly chop 4 ounces of the chocolate and add it to the food processor bowl, along with the cocoa powder and flour.
process all together for 15 to 20 seconds, or until uniformly combined.
using a spatula, mix the butter and brown sugar in a medium bowl.
add the eggs and the contents of the mixer bowl and incorporate well.
divide the dough into halves.
lightly wet your work surface, cut a length of plastic wrap about 24 inches long, and lay it on the damp counter.
roll the dough into logs about 3 inches in diameter and place on the plastic wrap.
roll the length of the plastic wrap around the dough twice and twist both ends. do not pack this loosely.
refrigerate at least 4 hours, or until firm.
heat the over to 325F.
line two baking sheets with parchment and slice the dough into ½-inch-thick disks.
cut the remaining 4 ounces of chocolate into large pieces
place the cookies about an inch apart on the sheet pan and press about 6 pieces of the chocolate into each
bake for 20 minutes and allow to rest for at least five minutes before moving to a rack for cooling.
Heartful Mouthful 