The tried-and-true recipes in this chapter are integral to my pastry kitchen, and we make some variation of them year-round. They include “mother sauces,” fruit preserves, and crunchy or gooey components, like toffee or marshmallows. While I incorporate these basics into cookie production, the application of these recipes can expand well beyond cookies. If left with extra, go wild and invent something new or just keep them around for snacking. A spoonful of butterscotch late in the afternoon can do wonders for your outlook on life.
In old-school French kitchens, young cooks were trained how to make all of the traditional French mother sauces—like béchamel and velouté—that compose the backbone of countless classic French dishes. I have taken that idea and translated it to the American pastry kitchen. My mother sauces are hot fudge (and its derivative, milk chocolate hot fudge), caramel, and butterscotch. If you happen to have a quart of hot fudge on hand, the impulse to make Smoked Sugar and Hot Fudge Thumbprints or Cocoa Nib Hot Fudge Rugelach is all but guaranteed. Or, for a stripped-down approach to the sandwich cookie chapter, simply serve the cookies with warm caramel or butterscotch sauce for dunking. All of the mother sauces keep for at least a month in the refrigerator, if not longer.
My mother sauces contain a lot of butter and cream. When cooking or reheating them, they tend to break, with the oils separating from the solids. To emulsify, pulse the sauce a few times with an immersion blender or whip them by hand with a whisk.
I have spent a lot of time finding ways to incorporate beer into my desserts, and these explorations have opened the door to working with lambics, European-style fruit beers. One of my favorite applications for beer is using it to make fruit jams. In general, I keep jams and preserves simple. A few ingredients, some time on the stove, time to cool, and you are done. This is what makes working with lambic so nice: it amplifies flavor without much work. But sometimes preserves are perfect when made solely with fruit, sugar, and a hint of citrus.
It is always best to use fresh, in-season fruit for making jam. But, with the exception of frozen strawberries, it’s okay to use frozen fruit, too, especially if you’ve frozen it yourself when it was in season. When using fresh fruit, it is important to let it macerate in the refrigerator at least overnight or up to a few days in the sugar, lambic, or any other ingredient in the recipe before making the jam. At Hot Chocolate, we have what I call a berry dump: a bin in the walk-in cooler where we let our fresh berries soak before cooking them. You can also macerate frozen fruit, and the process is quicker—a few hours at room temperature is all you need. When the fruit has thawed, it is ready to go.
All fruit carries different levels of sweetness. When making jam, sometimes I add a spoonful or two of sugar extra to round out the flavor of tart berries or stone fruits. Other times, I squeeze in lemon juice to curb sweetness. Taste the jam and adjust as needed before using.
Any dessert that includes toffee and brittle has my name all over it. I love the texture and flavor complexity these simple caramelized crunches add to recipes. They are also not hard to make.
Soft and cloudlike, marshmallows are everything that toffee is not. But when mixed into cookies, they too caramelize, oozing out of the cookies in funky ways. Like toffee and brittle, marshmallows are made by creating a sugar syrup that then gets drizzled into whipped egg whites. The difference is the sugar temperature: I take the sugar to just under the soft-ball stage. I do not want to caramelize the sugar when making marshmallows.
And, finally, homemade jimmies. They are easy and fun—a whimsical homemade garnish to impress friends.
HOT FUDGE
makes a generous 4 cups
HOT FUDGE WAS ONE of the first things I learned how to make in my early days as a pastry cook (thank you, Judy Contino), and I’m still fascinated by the alchemy of the process. Chocolate, sugar, syrup, and cream are simmered until the oils separate from the solids. At first it looks like chocolate gone wrong, but then I add butter and a generous helping of vanilla and whisk the whole thing thoroughly. The hot fudge magically comes together. Because the chocolate and cream need to cook for a while, use a sturdy pot to avoid scorching the bottom. Once made, the hot fudge lasts for weeks and weeks in the refrigerator.
3 cups heavy cream
1¾ cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons golden syrup (such as
Lyle’s) or light corn syrup
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, broken into pieces
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
¼ cup (2 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
In a 6-quart or larger heavy pot over medium-high heat, combine the cream, sugar, and syrup until dissolved, approximately 3 minutes. Add the chocolate and salt and bring to a boil. Lower to a gentle simmer so that the bubbles percolate in the center of the pot. Cook, stirring periodically to avoid scorching the bottom, until the mixture breaks and the oils separate from the solids, 40 to 45 minutes.
Whisk in the butter and vanilla thoroughly (you can also use an immersion blender to do this if you want it extra smooth) and let cool.
Hot fudge keeps in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.
MALTED MILK CHOCOLATE HOT FUDGE
makes a generous 4 cups
BECAUSE I LOVE HOT fudge so much, I started making variations on my classic recipe. With a few ingredient swaps and a slightly modified cooking process, I came up with Malted Milk Chocolate Hot Fudge. It is essential in the
Best Friends Cookies, but go hog wild and use it in place of classic hot fudge if you feel like it. It is also great smeared between two
Folgers Crystals shortbread cookies in place of frosting. Barley malt syrup, a natural syrup typically used in pretzel dough, accentuates the malt flavor. If you don’t have it handy, use light corn syrup or golden syrup instead.
3 cups heavy cream
1 cup malted milk powder
1 cup cane sugar
2 tablespoons barley malt syrup
6 ounces milk chocolate, broken into pieces
1 tablespoon kosher salt
¼ cup (2 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon brewed coffee (optional)
In a 6-quart or larger heavy pot over medium-high heat, warm the cream. Whisk in the malted milk powder and stir until dissolved. Add the sugar and syrup and stir until dissolved, approximately 3 minutes. Add the chocolate and salt and bring to a boil. Lower to a gentle simmer so that the bubbles percolate in the center of the pot. Cook, stirring periodically to avoid scorching the bottom, until the mixture thickens but before the oils separate from the solids, 26 to 32 minutes.
Whisk in the butter, vanilla, and coffee thoroughly (you can also use an immersion blender to do this if you want it extra smooth) and let cool.
This hot fudge keeps in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.
CARAMEL SAUCE
makes a generous 4 cups
LIKE MY HOT FUDGE, this is a tried-and-true recipe, yielding a lovely, versatile caramel sauce. I use it as part of the frosting in my Chocolate Pretzel Shortbread with
Milk Chocolate Caramel sandwich cookies as well as in the Apple
Confit Breakfast Pie Squares. The key is using a large, sturdy pot to prevent the caramel from boiling over and creating a mess on your stove top. Caramel can stand up to salt; it can be too sweet without it. But if using kosher or fine sea salt instead of light sea salt flakes (like
Murray River), cut the salt in half. You always can add more as needed.
4 cups heavy cream
3 cups granulated sugar
¾ cup light corn syrup
1 tablespoon sea salt flakes
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
In a high-sided pot, heat the cream to just before boiling. Keep warm.
In a 6-quart or larger heavy pot, combine 1½ cups of the sugar and the corn syrup. Melt over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until the sugar and syrup start to boil. Continue to cook until the sugar turns a rich amber color but before it becomes nearly black, 6 to 8 minutes. (If the sugar starts to smoke and turn black, it’s burned; start over.) Lower the heat to very low. In three stages, stir in the remaining 1½ cups sugar, stirring between each addition to dissolve the sugar before adding more.
Raise the heat to the point at which small bubbles start to foam up around the sides of the pot. In three stages, add the warm cream, simmering to partially reduce it between each addition before adding more. The caramel will bubble up vigorously; stir to keep it from boiling over. Continue to cook the caramel until it forms a thick syrup. If you draw a finger through the caramel coating the back of the spoon, it will hold the line. Turn the heat off and season with the salt and vanilla. Cool completely.
Caramel sauce keeps in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.
BUTTERSCOTCH SAUCE
makes a generous 4 cups
THIS LOVELY SAUCE IS ridiculously easy to make. Unlike
Caramel Sauce, there is no need to caramelize the sugar. I also don’t heat the cream beforehand. It can be poured into the pot straight from the fridge. Before adding the salt, the sauce will taste overly sweet. But after seasoning with salt, it transforms into a divine butterscotch. (And like I am with my caramel sauce, I am generous when adding salt to butterscotch.) The pairing of butterscotch and banana is one of my all-time favorite dessert combinations. I use this combo for filling
Banilla Nillas. This sauce has a tendency to lose its emulsion. If this happens or if its texture seems grainy, heat it back up and whip it thoroughly with a whisk or pulse it a few times with an
immersion blender.
1⅔ cups firmly packed light brown sugar
1⅔ cups firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 cup (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise (optional)
4 cups heavy cream
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
1½ teaspoons sea salt flakes
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
In a 6-quart or larger heavy pot over medium heat, combine the sugars and butter until melted. Do not caramelize. (Brown sugar does not taste good caramelized.)
Raise the heat to medium-high. Add the vanilla bean. In four stages, add the cream, simmering to partially reduce it before adding more, 4 to 6 minutes in between additions. The cream will boil up vigorously; stir to prevent it from boiling over. Turn off the heat and season with the salts and vanilla extract. Cool completely.
Butterscotch sauce keeps in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.
RASPBERRY FRAMBOISE JAM
makes approximately 1¼ cups
COOKING RASPBERRIES WITH FRAMBOISE lambic, a raspberry beer, gives the jam a nice tangy quality. During the summer, when fresh raspberries are inexpensive, I make the jam with fresh raspberries. I also make it at other times of the year with frozen raspberries.
12 ounces fresh or frozen raspberries
1 (12-ounce) bottle framboise lambic
½ cup granulated sugar
Combine the raspberries, lambic, and sugar in a bowl. If the fruit is frozen, let it sit at room temperature for 2 hours. If using fresh fruit, cover and refrigerate overnight.
In a high-sided, heavy pot, heat the mixture over medium-high heat until the lambic starts to boil and foam (stir the pot to prevent the lambic from boiling over). Lower the heat to medium-low and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated and the jam is thick enough to coat a spoon, approximately 30 minutes. The jam will thicken slightly as it cools.
The jam keeps in the refrigerator for up to 2 months.
HONEY PEACH PRESERVES
makes approximately 1¼ cups
THE BEST WAY I have found to make peach jam is to simmer it briefly on the stove and then bake it in the oven. The oven slows down the cooking process and allows the fruit to confit in its juices until it forms a soft mash. Although optional, a splash of peach liqueur or peach soda accentuates the peach flavor. If using fresh peaches (or nectarines, if they have better flavor), macerate the fruit overnight. I like to leave the skins on, so wash them in cold water to take off most of the fuzz. If using fresh peaches, start with 20 ounces of fruit so you will have about 16 ounces after pitting. If using frozen peaches, the jam can be macerated and made in the same day. Frozen peaches take longer to soften, so simmer them at least 5 minutes longer before baking them.
16 ounces pitted and sliced fresh or frozen peaches or nectarines
½ cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons peach liqueur, peach soda, or water
Combine the peaches, sugar, honey, lemon juice, and peach liqueur in a bowl. If the fruit is frozen, let it sit at room temperature for 2 hours. If using fresh fruit, cover and refrigerate overnight.
Heat the oven to 325°F.
In a heavy pot, heat the mixture over medium heat until the peach slices release their juices and start to break down when nudged with a wooden spoon, 15 to 20 minutes. Pour the jam into an 8-inch square or similar baking dish and bake until the peaches are completely soft, approximately 1 hour, depending on the ripeness of the peaches.
Peach jam keeps for up to 4 weeks in the refrigerator.
STRAWBERRY LAMBIC JAM
makes approximately 1 cup
AS I’VE FOUND WITH the
Raspberry Framboise Jam, cooking fruit in lambic is an easy way to make a complex, not-too-sweet jam. I typically use a Belgian berry-fruit beer—like Liefmans—but a light, pleasant Lambrusco is another great option. Before you start, taste the fruit beer (or wine). Many are sweet, so you don’t need to add too much sugar. If it is very tart, however, double the sugar. Unlike my raspberry jam, I don’t suggest using frozen strawberries as a stand-in for fresh—frozen strawberries can have an odd taste. Wash the strawberries and let them dry out on a towel-lined pan before cooking them. Start with 14 ounces so the weight after hulling will be 12 ounces.
12 ounces washed, hulled, and dried strawberries, diced into ¼-inch pieces
1 (12-ounce) bottle berry lambic (fruit beer)
¼ cup granulated sugar
Combine the strawberries, lambic, and sugar in a bowl. Let sit at room temperature for 4 hours or cover and refrigerate overnight.
In a high-sided, heavy pot, heat the mixture over medium-high heat until the lambic starts to boil and foam (stir the pot to prevent the lambic from boiling over). Lower the heat to medium-low and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated and the jam is thick enough to coat a spoon, approximately 30 minutes. The jam will thicken slightly as it cools.
The jam keeps in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.
PEANUT BRITTLE
makes approximately 2 cups of large shards
BAKING SODA REACTS WITH the caramel, giving this peanut brittle a light texture. It is easy to break it into pieces with your hands or chop into bits without destroying your knife. Keep the shards dramatic when using for the
Peanut Butter Peanut Brittle Cookies—they melt on top of the cookies in a cool way. When buying peanuts, avoid skin-on nuts, as the skins tend to burn. Another tip: I measure the hot water and corn syrup with the same measuring cup. The corn syrup comes out easier when the cup is coated in hot water. As with my toffee, I pour the peanut brittle onto a Silpat to firm up, but you can also use aluminum foil sprayed with nonstick cooking spray instead.
½ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup hot water
¼ cup light corn syrup
½ cup raw or dry-roasted, skinless peanuts
1 tablespoon (½ ounce) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Line a half sheet (13 by 18-inch) pan with a Silpat.
In a 3-quart heavy saucepan over medium heat, dissolve the sugar, water, and corn syrup. Stir in the peanuts with a wooden spoon and cook, swirling the pan, over medium heat until a light caramel forms, approximately 4 minutes.
Meanwhile, put the butter, salt, baking soda, and vanilla in a bowl. When the syrup reaches the light caramel stage, pour the contents of the bowl into the pot. Remove from the heat and stir. The baking soda will darken the caramel. (If it looks too light still, put it back over the heat for a few seconds.) Spread the brittle onto the Silpat. Let it harden and cool. Once set, break into shards with your hands.
Depending on the humidity, peanut brittle keeps for at least 1 month in an airtight container.
TOFFEE
makes approximately 1½ cups of chopped pieces
TOFFEE FITS INTO MY butterscotch-banana-malt-milk-chocolate approach to solving life’s big problems. If a dessert is lacking texture, a sprinkling of crushed toffee can solve that problem, too. I use this recipe in the
Chocolate Toffee Biscotti, but it is equally good in place of butterscotch chips in the
Oatmeal Scotchies. I pour the toffee onto a Silpat to firm up, but you can also line a sheet pan with aluminum foil and give it a light coat of nonstick cooking spray instead.
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) unsalted butter, cubed
½ cup granulated sugar
2¼ teaspoons light corn syrup
1 tablespoon water
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon sea salt flakes
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Line a half sheet (13 by 18-inch) pan with a Silpat.
In a 3-quart heavy saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Stir in the remaining ingredients and cook over low stirring every couple of minutes, until the sugars begin to caramelize, approximately 4 minutes. When it turns a dark caramel color and begins to nearly smoke, turn off the heat, stir a couple of times, and pour onto the Silpat. Let harden. Once set, chop coarsely.
Depending on the humidity, toffee keeps for at least 1 month in an airtight container.
MARSHMALLOWS
makes approximately 90 (1-inch) marshmallows
IT IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT to say that we make marshmallows all the time. This is what happens when you name your restaurant Hot Chocolate. Each hot chocolate we serve comes with a hand-cut cube on top.
The best marshmallows are made by overwhipping egg whites, the point at which they start to lose their sheen and turn grainy. I don’t know why this works, but it does. I cut marshmallows for cookies smaller than I do for the marshmallows I serve in hot chocolate. I also use the trimmings in cookies for texture. When using fresh marshmallows, it is easier to incorporate them into the dough if they are frozen. (This doesn’t seem to matter for store-bought marshmallows.)
Gelatin sheets are a higher quality gelatin than powdered gelatin, and they are getting easier to find in specialty cookware shops. Gelatin sheets need to be soaked in ice water to “bloom.” Before adding them to a recipe, always squeeze out the excess water.
For this recipe, you will need a candy thermometer to ensure you heat the syrup to 238°F—and no further. Read the recipe through before starting to get the timing down for whipping the egg whites and heating the syrup.
2 extra-large egg whites, at room temperature
8 sheets gelatin
2 cups plus 1 tablespoon cane sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
½ teaspoon kosher salt
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
Spray a quarter sheet (9 by 13-inch) pan or glass baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and line with plastic wrap, leaving 5 inches of overhang on the short sides and 7 inches on the long sides. Spray the plastic wrap with nonstick cooking spray.
In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites on high speed until they become overwhipped and start to turn grainy, approximately 4 minutes.
Meanwhile, fill a 2-cup liquid measuring cup with ice water and add the gelatin.
While the egg whites are still beating, fit a pot with a candy thermometer. Add the cane sugar, corn syrup, and enough water to cover. (If you are adding whiskey to make whiskey marshmallows, here is where you would add it before adding water.) Heat the pot over medium-high heat until the sugar syrup reaches 238°F,
approximately 5 minutes. When the sugar reaches 238°F, remove the pot from the heat. Squeeze out the excess water from the gelatin with your hands and stir the gelatin into the syrup.
With the mixer on medium speed, pour the syrup in an even stream into the egg whites. Whip in the vanilla and salt. Continue to whip until the egg whites have cooled some but are still fluffy, 4 minutes.
Spread the marshmallows into the prepared pan, smoothing out the top with an offset spatula. Spray the top of the marshmallows with nonstick cooking spray. Cover with the overhanging plastic wrap and refrigerate until set, at least 2 hours.
Dust a work surface with confectioners’ sugar. Unmold the marshmallows onto the work surface and cut into approximately 1-inch cubes (they don’t have to be perfect).
Marshmallows can be stored in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 1 month.
Add 1 cup of whiskey to the sugar and corn syrup and then add enough water to cover all the ingredients.
OATMEAL STREUSEL
makes 4 cups
STREUSEL ADDS A GREAT element of crunch to cookies. I sprinkle this oatmeal streusel on
Strawberry Rhubarb Rugelach and
Kriek Crumble Bars. Having a few cups on hand in the freezer also makes it easy to bake a fruit crisp at the last minute. When making streusel, it is important that the butter is cut evenly into the dry ingredients so clumps of butter don’t melt out onto the fruit. I achieve this by starting with cold butter and pulsing the ingredients together into a coarse meal in a food processor.
¾ cup (6 ounces) cold, unsalted butter, cubed
¾ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
¾ cup old-fashioned oats
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, seeds only
In a food processor, pulse together the butter, sugar, flour, oats, salt, and vanilla bean seeds until it forms a fine meal, and the butter is evenly incorporated. Do not overprocess. Transfer to a storage container and chill completely, approximately 1 hour. Or freeze and use within 1 month.
JIMMIES
makes approximately 1 cup
THE BASE OF JIMMIES (sprinkles to some of you) is royal icing. I pipe thin strips onto a sheet pan and let it dry overnight. The next day, I break the strips into small pieces and I have jimmies. In this recipe, I whip confectioners’ sugar with cocoa powder and stout beer, but you could just as easily omit the cocoa powder, add more confectioners’ sugar, and change the liquid for nonchocolate jimmies. Some possibilities include orange blossom water, whiskey, or the liquid extracted from macerated fruit when making preserves. (I’m not into food colorings.) The royal icing base should be thick enough to be a smooth paste that pipes easily but also holds its shape. If the paste is too thin, add a tablespoon at a time of extra confectioners’ sugar. Silpats work the best for making jimmies, but I realize not everyone will have a collection of Silpats at their disposal like I do at Hot Chocolate. In that case, nonstick pans lightly coated with nonstick cooking spray work, too.
To pipe the frosting, you will need Ateco tip #134 or #89 (#134 is preferable).
1⅓ cups confectioners’ sugar
⅓ cup cocoa powder
¼ cup stout or porter beer (preferably chocolate)
Line three half sheet (13 by 18-inch) pans with Silpats or use nonstick pans (or a combination).
Sift together the sugar and cocoa. Transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed to incorporate. Drizzle in the beer. Increase the speed to medium and mix until a smooth paste forms.
Fill a piping bag fitted with the Ateco tip #134 or #89. Pipe out even strips close together onto the prepared pans. Let dry out overnight. The next day, use a bench scraper or an offset spatula to scrape the strips off the pans. The strips will break into jimmies. I prefer keeping the pieces irregular.
Depending on humidity, jimmies keep in an airtight container indefinitely.
