Comments on: Dark chocolate: drop the “guilty,” keep the pleasure. http://blog.kingarthurflour.com/2008/08/19/dark-chocolate-drop-the-%e2%80%9cguilty%e2%80%9d-keep-the-pleasure/ Hot Stuff from King Arthur's Hearth Tue, 06 Jan 2009 09:20:58 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.1 By: Sharley http://blog.kingarthurflour.com/2008/08/19/dark-chocolate-drop-the-%e2%80%9cguilty%e2%80%9d-keep-the-pleasure/#comment-8430 Sharley Wed, 31 Dec 2008 21:20:54 +0000 http://blog.kingarthurflour.com/2008/08/19/dark-chocolate-drop-the-%e2%80%9cguilty%e2%80%9d-keep-the-pleasure/#comment-8430 Just made my first batch this AM and since I'm watching my cholesterol substituted Smart Balance 50/50 stick for the butter and 2% milk. They turned out great - I baked at 335 degrees for 30 minutes (rotated pan 1/2 way thru) since my pans are dark. Used a bag of Hershey's Special Dark chips. My husband loved the muffin and when I told him it was whole grain he was amazed. He agrees with the others that it was a little dry and would have been great with a big glass of milk. This is a keeper! Just made my first batch this AM and since I’m watching my cholesterol substituted Smart Balance 50/50 stick for the butter and 2% milk. They turned out great - I baked at 335 degrees for 30 minutes (rotated pan 1/2 way thru) since my pans are dark. Used a bag of Hershey’s Special Dark chips. My husband loved the muffin and when I told him it was whole grain he was amazed. He agrees with the others that it was a little dry and would have been great with a big glass of milk. This is a keeper!

]]> By: Kristine http://blog.kingarthurflour.com/2008/08/19/dark-chocolate-drop-the-%e2%80%9cguilty%e2%80%9d-keep-the-pleasure/#comment-3575 Kristine Thu, 18 Sep 2008 02:30:45 +0000 http://blog.kingarthurflour.com/2008/08/19/dark-chocolate-drop-the-%e2%80%9cguilty%e2%80%9d-keep-the-pleasure/#comment-3575 I love this recipe. Made it many times, and it's just beyond delicious and chocked full of chips. Perfect with a cup of coffee... and a big glass of milk. And I love your White Whole Wheat Flour. Great blog! I love this recipe. Made it many times, and it’s just beyond delicious and chocked full of chips. Perfect with a cup of coffee… and a big glass of milk. And I love your White Whole Wheat Flour. Great blog!

]]> By: Mary http://blog.kingarthurflour.com/2008/08/19/dark-chocolate-drop-the-%e2%80%9cguilty%e2%80%9d-keep-the-pleasure/#comment-3309 Mary Tue, 09 Sep 2008 18:16:28 +0000 http://blog.kingarthurflour.com/2008/08/19/dark-chocolate-drop-the-%e2%80%9cguilty%e2%80%9d-keep-the-pleasure/#comment-3309 Alvara's pie might be similar to the Frosted Apple Squares on the King Arthur web site. Alvara’s pie might be similar to the Frosted Apple Squares on the King Arthur web site.

]]> By: SimplePleasure http://blog.kingarthurflour.com/2008/08/19/dark-chocolate-drop-the-%e2%80%9cguilty%e2%80%9d-keep-the-pleasure/#comment-3300 SimplePleasure Tue, 09 Sep 2008 06:14:14 +0000 http://blog.kingarthurflour.com/2008/08/19/dark-chocolate-drop-the-%e2%80%9cguilty%e2%80%9d-keep-the-pleasure/#comment-3300 If I want to turn this into a JUMBO CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFIN how long should I bake it? and at what temperature? <strong><blockquote> A jumbo version could be baked at 350 degrees still. The time of bake should be changed to perhaps 45 minutes. Do a toothpick test at 30 minutes and then again at 40. The sides should be pulling away from the pan. Bake longer than the 45 if needed. Elisabeth from King Arthur Flour</blockquote></strong> If I want to turn this into a JUMBO CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFIN how long should I bake it? and at what temperature?


A jumbo version could be baked at 350 degrees still. The time of bake should be changed to perhaps 45 minutes. Do a toothpick test at 30 minutes and then again at 40. The sides should be pulling away from the pan. Bake longer than the 45 if needed. Elisabeth from King Arthur Flour

]]> By: Just a Flipflop Mom http://blog.kingarthurflour.com/2008/08/19/dark-chocolate-drop-the-%e2%80%9cguilty%e2%80%9d-keep-the-pleasure/#comment-3146 Just a Flipflop Mom Sat, 30 Aug 2008 13:06:37 +0000 http://blog.kingarthurflour.com/2008/08/19/dark-chocolate-drop-the-%e2%80%9cguilty%e2%80%9d-keep-the-pleasure/#comment-3146 Mmmmmm heaven.. I wish the screen was scratch and sniff... I just made banana muffins yesterday.. and when I went to KA a month ago I bought the semi-sweet chocolate chunks.. and made cookies with them for hubby...the chocolate just tastes so much better than regular grocery store.... Unfortunately I brought sugar highed kids ( after visiting the longest candy counter in the world).. and they were so crazy.. I didn't get to look as long as I wanted.... I will next time!!! Mmmmmm heaven.. I wish the screen was scratch and sniff… I just made banana muffins yesterday.. and when I went to KA a month ago I bought the semi-sweet chocolate chunks.. and made cookies with them for hubby…the chocolate just tastes so much better than regular grocery store….
Unfortunately I brought sugar highed kids ( after visiting the longest candy counter in the world).. and they were so crazy.. I didn’t get to look as long as I wanted…. I will next time!!!

]]> By: Aimee Diehl http://blog.kingarthurflour.com/2008/08/19/dark-chocolate-drop-the-%e2%80%9cguilty%e2%80%9d-keep-the-pleasure/#comment-3086 Aimee Diehl Mon, 25 Aug 2008 21:09:17 +0000 http://blog.kingarthurflour.com/2008/08/19/dark-chocolate-drop-the-%e2%80%9cguilty%e2%80%9d-keep-the-pleasure/#comment-3086 Hey there! Love the chocolate muffins. I just ate a phenomenal cookie at the Vermont store--flowerless chocolate with walnuts. Can you please, please tell us how to make them, and is there a substitution for my nut-allergic, chocolate daughter! The cookies are truly divine. <strong>Hi Aimee, Check out the recipe online for the 'Sin Free Chocolate Chews'. No nuts, but yummy chocolate chips! Pretty close to the ones in the store. Enjoy! MaryJane @ The Baker's Hotline</strong> Hey there! Love the chocolate muffins. I just ate a phenomenal cookie at the Vermont store–flowerless chocolate with walnuts. Can you please, please tell us how to make them, and is there a substitution for my nut-allergic, chocolate daughter! The cookies are truly divine.

Hi Aimee,
Check out the recipe online for the ‘Sin Free Chocolate Chews’. No nuts, but yummy chocolate chips! Pretty close to the ones in the store. Enjoy!
MaryJane @ The Baker’s Hotline

]]> By: Alvara http://blog.kingarthurflour.com/2008/08/19/dark-chocolate-drop-the-%e2%80%9cguilty%e2%80%9d-keep-the-pleasure/#comment-3067 Alvara Sun, 24 Aug 2008 16:41:41 +0000 http://blog.kingarthurflour.com/2008/08/19/dark-chocolate-drop-the-%e2%80%9cguilty%e2%80%9d-keep-the-pleasure/#comment-3067 Hi PJ, I keep trying to remember that apple cake. I have been thinking it may have been call "Dutch Apple Cake". I went online and found many recipes with that name but most didn't have a top crust with icing. I am continuing my search. I know it was round, about 8 or 9 inch. The bakery Mom bought them in is long gone as are most of the people buying them back then. I will try whatever you come up with as my family likes all apple desserts that I make, especially my Mom's apple dumplings. Hi PJ,
I keep trying to remember that apple cake. I have been thinking it may have been call “Dutch Apple Cake”. I went online and found many recipes with that name but most didn’t have a top crust with icing. I am continuing my search. I know it was round, about 8 or 9 inch. The bakery Mom bought them in is long gone as are most of the people buying them back then.

I will try whatever you come up with as my family likes all apple desserts that I make, especially my Mom’s apple dumplings.

]]> By: Lorraine Stevenski http://blog.kingarthurflour.com/2008/08/19/dark-chocolate-drop-the-%e2%80%9cguilty%e2%80%9d-keep-the-pleasure/#comment-3065 Lorraine Stevenski Sun, 24 Aug 2008 14:11:45 +0000 http://blog.kingarthurflour.com/2008/08/19/dark-chocolate-drop-the-%e2%80%9cguilty%e2%80%9d-keep-the-pleasure/#comment-3065 Here's a thought about muffins VS cupcakes. I have created lots of muffin & cupcake recipes. What is the difference? I say a muffin is a quick bread a cupcake is a cake. A muffin should not be mixed with an electric mixer since it is a quickbread. The fat is liquid and is easy to mix into the batter and should not be creamed with a mixer. Following this philosophy, I changed all the names of my recipes accordingly! This recipe, in my opinion, should be a cupcake. What do you think PJ? <strong>Lorraine, there's a fine line - just as there is between scones and biscuits. To my mind, either may be made with either method (creaming or stirring), with more muffins being made by stirring, more cakes by creaming. The difference is more in the amount of sugar. I believe a muffin shouldn't be quite as sweet as a cupcake. That said, you can get into that gray area - how sweet is too sweet for a muffin? - and veer into cake-dom. For instance, there's a recipe on our site called <a href="http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/RecipeDisplay?RID=R769" rel="nofollow">Chocolate Breakfast Muffins</a> that really is just about the best chocolate cupcake you'll ever make, and I know lots of people who use it as their default chocolate cupcake recipe. It's a stir-together recipe, which makes it lean towards being a muffin. But it's nearly as sweet as cake. Bottom line, Lorraine, I don't believe very much in "should" and "shouldn't" - other than the real no-no's like combining yeast with boiling water, stuff like that. Baking is both art and science, with a dollop of imagination thrown in, and when you get right down to it, very personal. Do what pleases you and your audience; call it what you will. And then, we can have online discussions like this one! Thanks for opening up a fun subject -PJH</strong> Here’s a thought about muffins VS cupcakes. I have created lots of muffin & cupcake recipes. What is the difference? I say a muffin is a quick bread a cupcake is a cake. A muffin should not be mixed with an electric mixer since it is a quickbread. The fat is liquid and is easy to mix into the batter and should not be creamed with a mixer. Following this philosophy, I changed all the names of my recipes accordingly! This recipe, in my opinion, should be a cupcake. What do you think PJ?

Lorraine, there’s a fine line - just as there is between scones and biscuits. To my mind, either may be made with either method (creaming or stirring), with more muffins being made by stirring, more cakes by creaming. The difference is more in the amount of sugar. I believe a muffin shouldn’t be quite as sweet as a cupcake. That said, you can get into that gray area - how sweet is too sweet for a muffin? - and veer into cake-dom. For instance, there’s a recipe on our site called Chocolate Breakfast Muffins that really is just about the best chocolate cupcake you’ll ever make, and I know lots of people who use it as their default chocolate cupcake recipe. It’s a stir-together recipe, which makes it lean towards being a muffin. But it’s nearly as sweet as cake.

Bottom line, Lorraine, I don’t believe very much in “should” and “shouldn’t” - other than the real no-no’s like combining yeast with boiling water, stuff like that. Baking is both art and science, with a dollop of imagination thrown in, and when you get right down to it, very personal. Do what pleases you and your audience; call it what you will. And then, we can have online discussions like this one! Thanks for opening up a fun subject -PJH

]]> By: Great-grandma B http://blog.kingarthurflour.com/2008/08/19/dark-chocolate-drop-the-%e2%80%9cguilty%e2%80%9d-keep-the-pleasure/#comment-3062 Great-grandma B Sun, 24 Aug 2008 03:32:45 +0000 http://blog.kingarthurflour.com/2008/08/19/dark-chocolate-drop-the-%e2%80%9cguilty%e2%80%9d-keep-the-pleasure/#comment-3062 Re: Alvara's flat apple pie I wonder if Alvara's apple pie with an iced flat crust could be the apple jacks of my neck of the woods. The top and bottom crust is pate sucree, a flour-butter-egg-sugar paste, rolled out about 1/4" thick and set in a sheet pan. The apple filling is about an inch and a half thick with enough thickener to discourage any weeping. A thin powdered-sugar/milk glaze is brushed on top of the baked jack. Most of the time, the filling is apple; occassionally it's crushed pineapple, cherry, or blueberry. Of the other flavors, pineapple is the most frequent alternate. The jack is cut into bars, about 2" x 3". The soft crust (not flaky) is strong enough to hold the bar in hand and the filling firm enough to stay put but not rubbery. I buy the apple jacks at a small Italian bakery; his are superb. <strong>Hi GGB - Sounds like another very close variation of Alvara's, which seems to be called apple slab. Someone probably thought apple jacks had more of a ring to it! I'm going to give these a try very soon and will let you all know what I come up with- PJH</strong> Re: Alvara’s flat apple pie

I wonder if Alvara’s apple pie with an iced flat crust could be the apple jacks of my neck of the woods. The top and bottom crust is pate sucree, a flour-butter-egg-sugar paste, rolled out about 1/4″ thick and set in a sheet pan. The apple filling is about an inch and a half thick with enough thickener to discourage any weeping. A thin powdered-sugar/milk glaze is brushed on top of the baked jack. Most of the time, the filling is apple; occassionally it’s crushed pineapple, cherry, or blueberry. Of the other flavors, pineapple is the most frequent alternate. The jack is cut into bars, about 2″ x 3″. The soft crust (not flaky) is strong enough to hold the bar in hand and the filling firm enough to stay put but not rubbery. I buy the apple jacks at a small Italian bakery; his are superb.

Hi GGB - Sounds like another very close variation of Alvara’s, which seems to be called apple slab. Someone probably thought apple jacks had more of a ring to it! I’m going to give these a try very soon and will let you all know what I come up with- PJH

]]> By: Kay http://blog.kingarthurflour.com/2008/08/19/dark-chocolate-drop-the-%e2%80%9cguilty%e2%80%9d-keep-the-pleasure/#comment-3055 Kay Sat, 23 Aug 2008 05:38:04 +0000 http://blog.kingarthurflour.com/2008/08/19/dark-chocolate-drop-the-%e2%80%9cguilty%e2%80%9d-keep-the-pleasure/#comment-3055 When you say espresso powder do you mean real ground coffee or the instant (Nescafe) powder? I have seen that mentioned in several recipes and was wondering. <strong>Kay, we sell <a href="http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/detail.jsp?id=3154" rel="nofollow">espresso powder,</a> and that's what we use in the test kitchen, the brand we sell. It's a very finely ground powder, and dissolves instantly. So if you don't purchase from us, that's the description of what you should be looking for. It really enhances the flavor of chocolate, just like vanilla does... - PJH</strong> When you say espresso powder do you mean real ground coffee or the instant (Nescafe) powder?
I have seen that mentioned in several recipes and was wondering.

Kay, we sell espresso powder, and that’s what we use in the test kitchen, the brand we sell. It’s a very finely ground powder, and dissolves instantly. So if you don’t purchase from us, that’s the description of what you should be looking for. It really enhances the flavor of chocolate, just like vanilla does… - PJH

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