seriously the best ever triple chocolate chip cookies

with just a tiny little healthy twist... naturally... i ve got to be able to give myself an excuse for indulging in these babies

as autumn was suddenly right on our doorstep, there was no way i could deny my urge to bake these cookies, and chocolate definitely had to be the main ingredient.

i do have a little recipe i always turn to, but this time i wanted a double whammy, chocolate cookie dough AND chocolate chips... ofcourse there s dozens of recipes out there, but this one jumped out at me screaming (not quite Halloween yet, but still, it was screaming) to be tested. whose better then to try out than Ms Nigella Lawson s big cookies.

so that s exactly what i did:

and they came out as she promised, but there was something a little overpowering about them, pure chocolate in the dough, pure chocolate chips (and loads of them) mixed in, you really need a huge glass of cold milk or a good mug of something hot and sweet to counterbalance that.

then i thought i might just want to add a little bit more sweetness, not by adding sugar, but using the bittersweet chocolate only in the dough, and exchanging white and milk chocolate chips for the pure ones, then adding pine-nuts and dried cranberries for the 'health' kick... plus an extra soon-to-be-not-so-secret ingredient...

wow, if i may say so myself, these turned out to be the best ever chocolate chips cookies i d ever made (i probably need to have a go at a few other recipes before i should be saying this, but hey, when a cookie is good, a cookie is good)

here s my recipe:

INGREDIENTS:

125 grams dark chocolate
150 grams plain flour
30 grams cocoa powder, sieved (not the drinking chocolate kind thingy)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
125 grams unsalted butter, softened
125 grams light brown sugar
1 medium sized egg
1 heaped tablespoon full-fat cream cheese (yes, the secret ingredient)
45 grams milk chocolate chips, or a bar cut into little chunks
125 grams white chocolate chips, or a bar cut into little chunks
100 grams dried cranberries
80 grams pine-nuts

METHOD:

1. preheat the oven to 170°C
2. melt the 125 grams of dark chocolate au-bain-Marie
3. mix the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl
4. cream the butter and sugar in another bowl
5. add the slightly cooled melted chocolate to the creamed butter and sugar, and mix well
6. beat in the egg and the cream cheese
7. mix in the dry ingredients and lastly add the chocolate chips, cranberries and pine-nuts, and mix to distribute all ingredients evenly
8. using an icecream scoop, place equal mounds of the dough on a lined baking sheet. do not flatten the mounds and leave enough space in-between because they will spread a little. i scooped 6 per tray and got 21 cookies out of the one recipe, although Nigella says she gets only 12 cookies; she must have a huge icecream scoop! bake for 17 minutes.
9. once baked, leave to cool slightly and then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely before storing in airtight container, or gobble up one or two immediately

ok... yumm....

roasted spiced chickpeas... cuz we need some heat

ok, so i was wrong, the sun did peek thru the clouds a few times, and flowers have been stubbornly blooming, but where s the warmth?

guess we just have to make some ourselves, so here s what i did (and yes, i do admit it, the power of the internet showed me some inspiring ideas via Pinterest etc...)

so here goes, i m making it simple now:

take 400 gr of cooked chickpeas (canned is fine), wash and drain:

and now have some fun choosing your own spices; i use 1 tablespoon of this Chili Explosion mix from the Santa Maria brand because it makes life easier (but feel free to make any spice mix you like... cayenne pepper, ground chili, ground black pepper, ground cumin, garam masala, a touch of salt... the combinations are endless) mixed with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, then toss the drained chickpeas into this spicy oil until well coated.

roast the chickpeas on a lined baking tray in a hot oven (200°C / 400°F) until crispy, that is between 30-40 minutes.

watch out, once you start (and they re great still hot from the oven) it s hard to stop munching on these babies...

flapjacks etcetera

what s it been? thirty years or perhaps a little more when i first made these?

flapjacks.

always thought it a funny name, because these cookies (if they are cookies) don t flap, and i can t imagine where the jack came from, but that s what they re called...

oats are not easy to find here, well, actually, if you look, ofcourse you ll find them, but most are prepared so as to make an easy and quick porridge and that s not what i needed. on a visit to Ghent though, in a very quirky store called Vits-Staelens, i found some good oats and immediately thought of making flapjacks.

sweet, buttery, chewy yet crunchy... hmmm. and i did have golden syrup in my pantry, and butter, so i got started:

FLAPJACKS

INGREDIENTS:

125 gr softened unsalted butter
25 gr fine caster sugar
150 gr golden syrup
225 gr rolled oats pinch of salt

METHOD:

1. butter and line a 24x24 cm baking tin with baking parchment (please do line the tin, i didn t and had a little disaster getting the flapjacks out! but more on that later)
2. preheat the oven to 180°C
3. cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy, light and pale.
4. mix in the syrup, oats and salt
5. spread evenly into prepared tin
6. bake until deep golden (my recipe said 40 minutes, but that s far too long, just keep an eye on the color, don t let it get burnt)
7. while still warm, cut into 16 squares and leave to cool completely in the tin before lifting the baking paper up and out
8. these keep quite well in an airtight cookie jar

i mentioned that about lining the baking tin with parchment, didn t i? it s because just buttering the tin is definitely not enough! after cooling i could not get some flapjacks out in one piece, no matter how carefully i tried... so i had a flapjack crumble!

no way i was going to waste that... and this morning i baked us some apple muffins using my earlier recipe and sprinkling some flapjack crumble on the top before baking...

they came out pretty good, don t you think?

still have a little left over, maybe i can incorparate that into some cookies... with extra nuts and chocolate chips?

four winds

Vier Winden (or Four Winds) is the house (now museum) in Jabbeke, Belgium that was lived in by Constant Permeke and his family...

we went for a visit last week.

the house is covered in five-finger ivy or wild woodbine.

and the artist s atelier is left almost entirely as it was when he died in 1952.

the view from his desk out towards the garden

the old stove to keep warm

out into the garden

fleeting images of life... but even stones have their weaknesses

looking back towards the house

it was beautiful. Permeke s work also stands out among his peers, with a kind of vigor and strength that is quite indescribable.

we needed something simple for dinner, something earthy, to reflect on the day.

PUY LENTILS WITH CHORIZO

INGREDIENTS:

4 soft chorizo sausages (these are the non-dried ones, mostly used for cooking), cut into bite-sized pieces
2 cups +/- 360 gr) dried Puy lentils, rinsed (these do not have to be pre-soaked)
2 small onions, not too finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 young green celery sticks, chopped
1 liter of chicken stock (i used leftover liquid from cooking mussels the day before)
a teaspoon of pimentón picante or dolce, to taste
2 dried bay leaves, a sprig of thyme, a sprig of rosemary
salt and pepper, to taste
some crème fraîche, to serve, optional

METHOD:

1. fry off the chorizo in some light olive oil until the oil colors red from the spices in the sausage
2. add the chopped onion, garlic and celery. sauté until reasonably soft
3. add the Puy lentils and the chicken stock until just covered (if not add some water)
4. also add the teaspoon of pimentón, if using, and the dried herbs (you could tie these up to make a 'bouquet garni', but it s not about fine dining here)
5. cover and leave to simmer on a low to medium heat for about an hour until the lentils are soft but just holding their shape
6. adjust seasoning
7. serve with a little crème fraîche, if using, and crusty bread to mop up the broth

in memory of my mother, Sam s dad, and all others that paved the way before us.

contemplation

last weekend we probably had the last heatwave of this year...

today, we have rain...

and in the meantime, i saw a rainbow. twice!

the dahlias in Vordenstein were in full bloom when we visited. i think they might be my favorite flower.

Kobe

Hot Lips

Night Butterfly

Beertje (Little Bear)

Eveline

Julio

beautiful, don t you agree?

i wonder if they re edible too?

like the crystallized violets i used to make these sea-salt chocolate snaps, inspired by Mr. Nigel Slater.

SEA-SALT CHOCOLATE SNAPS

INGREDIENTS:

200 gr dark chocolate
small handful of almond slivers
a tablespoon of very fine caster sugar
small handful of pistachio nuts, roughly chopped
a few crystallized violets (or crystallized rose petals), lightly crushed
sea-salt flakes

METHOD:

1. melt the chocolate au-bain-marie (don t rush or it will go grainy)
2. while the chocolate is melting, toast the almonds slivers in the oven at about 200°C for about 5 minutes (keep an eye on them, they can burn very quickly), then sprinkle with the sugar and toast for another 3 minutes
3. line a cookie sheet with baking parchment and spoon on circles of the melted chocolate
4. quickly sprinkle with the toasted almonds, the pistachios, and the crystallized flower petals
5. give the snaps a very light sprinkling of sea-salt flakes
6. leave to cool completely before storing in an airtight container

according to Mr. Thomas Keller of the French Laundry, salt (and vinegar too) lifts and enhances already existing flavors, whereas pepper and other spices or herbs actually add another flavor-dimension...

and that is exactly what the sea-salt in these chocolate snaps does, every ingredient seems more outspoken...

lovely.

those little signs of autumn

it s definitely here, the sun sits lower in the skies, the air smells faintly of a good wood fire being stoked to keep out the chill, the leaves are slowly turning and getting ready to provide us with a final spectacle of color, and the fruits of the season are at their best...

autumn.

apples and nuts, what better way to combine them with spices and sugar in a sticky yummy cake. being an avid fan of Delicious. magazine i was lucky to find a super recipe in the october 2011 issue to do just that. i did tweak it just a little bit. since i had no ground ginger, i substited by grating in some fresh ginger and just to make life easier, i used ground allspice berries which contain all those aromas of cloves and cinnamon and nutmeg.

so here it is:

STICKY APPLE PECAN AND GINGER CAKE

INGREDIENTS:

150 gr unsalted butter
150 gr soft dark brown muscovado sugar
150 gr golden syrup
200 ml milk
250 gr plain all-purpose flour
1.5 teaspoon ground allspice berries
2 cm piece of fresh ginger, grated
1.5 teaspoon baking powder
2 organic eggs, beaten
75 gr pecans, roughly chopped
2 pieces of candied stem ginger, chopped quite finely
2 crisp eating apples, peeled, cored and chopped into chunks
(about 250 gr when chopped)

METHOD:

1. preheat the oven to 180°C and prepare a 2 liter loaf tin (it really has to be this large because the cake does rise quite a bit) by greasing and lining with baking parchment
2. melt the butter, the sugar and syrup. once melted, add the milk and set aside to cool
3. sift the flour with the baking powder. add the ground allspice and the grated ginger
4. make a well in the center and slowly beat in the cooled sugar mixture
5. mix in the beaten eggs, chopped stem ginger, pecans and apple chunks
6. pour the mixture (it will be more fluid than a normal cake mix) into the prepared tin and bake in the oven for about 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean
7. cool in the tin for about 5 minutes and then lift out and leave to cool on a wire rack
8. can be served lukewarm or cold
9. once completely cooled, wrap in baking parchment and cling film and keep in an airtight tin for up to 5 days, the flavor will improve (or so it says in the magazine, but i doubt it ll survive that long!)

what can i say? i just had a slice with some cream mixed with a little bit of cream cheese... and it tastes of... well, all things nice like sugar and spice...

autumn.

cakes... savory and sweet

cakes... how many different recipes are there? i have absolutely no idea, but i m guessing hundreds, if not more.

there are the classics; like Victoria sponges, pound cakes, angel food cakes, devil food cakes, chocolate cakes, fruit and nut cakes, full on or gluten-free... oh, i could go on and on.

and i m sure every country, every family, every grandmother, mother, daughter (and let s be fair, granddad, father, and son) has a special favorite recipe.

i haven t found my absolute top cake yet... but that means i get to bake and bake until i do, yay!

we ve been having a very fitful summer, a true 'kwakkelzomer' as we often say in Belgium.

so baking something with summery ingredients and flavors can actually bring the sun into the house.

just like this recipe which i adapted from the july-august 2011 edition of Saveurs.

COURGETTE CAKE WITH FETA, MINT AND PINE NUTS

INGREDIENTS:

1 large courgette
100 gr feta cheese
2 eggs
150 gr self-raising flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
50 ml olive oil
50 gr pine nuts
handful of mint leaves, chopped at the last minute
salt and pepper

METHOD:

1. pre-heat the oven to 180°C and prepare a long cake tin by buttering and lightly flouring it, or lining with baking parchment
2. grate the courgette, sprinkle with salt, and leave to drain for about half an hour
3. sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl and beat in the eggs and the olive oil
4. squeeze out the grated courgette and mix into the batter
5. crumble in the feta cheese, add the pine nuts and chopped mint and mix lightly
6. season with salt and pepper
7. put the mixture into the cake tin and bake for about 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean
8. leave to cool slightly in the tin before taking it out.
9. can be eaten lukewarm or cool

perfect for a light lunch!

...

now for a little indulgence.

last week, i went to my friend Alina s teahouse, My Cup of Tea, in the middle of Antwerp, and had a slice of her signature cake. WOW, wow, wow...

if you re a fan of Nutella or any other hazelnut chocolate spread, this is one for you.

Alina kindly let me copy the recipe, which came from a little book called 'Taart, Cake & Muffins' which was translated from '101 Cakes & Bakes' by Mary Cadogan...

enough said, here it is, definitely a recipe to be shared, it s just too scrumptious.

NUTELLA AND CINNAMON CAKE

INGREDIENTS:

175 gr unsalted butter
90 gr fine white caster sugar
85 gr dark brown sugar (for a richer flavor and moister texture)
3 eggs
4 tablespoons milk
200 gr self-raising flour
1 teaspoon baking powder, optional
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3-4 rounded tablespoons Nutella or other hazelnut chocolate spread
50 gr hazelnuts, chopped (i used pecans because i didn t have the hazelnuts)

METHOD:

1. pre-heat the oven to 175-180°C and prepare a 20-22 cm round cake tin
2. if you have a KitchenAid or Magimix mixer (or any such mixer), just put everything (EXCEPT the Nutella and the nuts) into the bowl at once, start mixing on slow, then add a few notches to the speed and mix until very light and fluffy...
3. however, i only have an electric hand-held mixer, so i first softened the butter, added the sugar and started beating until that was quite creamy and fluffy
4. one by one, i added the eggs and then the milk
5. once that was well beaten, i sifted in the flour, the baking powder and the cinnamon and mixed again until it was really quite light
6. i then added the nuts
7. then i filled the cake tin about 2/3 full and gently distributed the 3-4 tablespoons of Nutella on top of that

8. finish with the rest of the cake batter
9. bake for about 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean

10. leave to cool before serving (which i did with a drizzle of cream...)

more-ish!

and now i shall continue on my quest, i don t care if i ever find the holy grail, the journey itself will be fun enough.

sesame, soy and sugar

i have said it before.

but i ll say it again.

there is something very comforting in taking your time to cook. nothing too fancy, but nothing too frenzied either. and definitely something that evokes taste memories of your childhood.

so, take out your mother s mortar. you know, the Japanese one with the special grooves.

toast your sesame seeds (careful, don t let them burn), pour them into the mortar and start grinding.

slowly.

let your hands do the work, while you savor the scent and think of nothing else.

calm down.

then add the other essentials, soy sauce, sugar and a tiny dash of mirin.

there you go. perfect. you don t need anything else now.

except for your vegetables. here are some French green beans.

oh, i could add this as a dressing for some carrots too, yes? or some lightly cooked spinach? gently grilled aubergine perhaps?

SESAME SOY DRESSING:
from 'Everyday Harumi' by Harumi Kurihara

INGREDIENTS:

50 gr white sesame seeds
1 or 2 tablespoons of fine white caster sugar
1/2 tablespoon mirin
1 tablespoon soy sauce
salt - to season
a little bit of water to let the sauce down, if too thick

black cherry and marrons glacés ice-cream

it had to happen.

for the whole duration of my short holiday, it kept raining on and off. not much else to do but go on a cooking spree ofcourse.

we did go to Maastricht in The Netherlands for a day-trip, and there we found a beautiful little ice-cream parlor serving the most incredible flavored ice-creams we had ever tasted.

here s Sam who couldn t wipe the smile off his face with his gelato di fragole e limone.

the next day, i just couldn t help myself. i had to make some of my own ice-cream again. a few years ago, i had received an ice-cream maker for my birthday from Sam s mom. and every summer i had made different flavored ice-creams, pretty classical ones like vanilla and chocolate and mocha, as well as green tea and black sesame flavored ones.

but this time i wanted to make something just a little bit different. i had bought a packet of marrons glacés (candied chestnuts) in Cassel, France, and i also had a few black cherries left in the fridge.

so i chopped up a few marrons. and lightly simmered a few pitted cherries. made a vanilla flavored ice-cream base. mixed and churned. and it turned out beautifully.

BLACK CHERRY AND MARRONS GLACÉS ICE-CREAM:

INGREDIENTS:
(for about 500ml)

FOR THE VANILLA BASE:

125 ml milk, preferably full-fat
tiny pinch of salt
75 gr fine white caster sugar
1 vanilla bean
3 egg-yolks
250 ml cream

TO ADD:
3 or 4 marrons glacés, chopped
10 black cherries, halved and pitted

METHOD:
1. heat the milk, the sugar, the vanilla bean (halved lengthways), the pinch of salt, until the sugar has dissolved.
2. cover and leave to infuse for about an hour.
3. beat the egg-yolks, re-heat the milk slightly and add slowly to the yolks.
4. return to the saucepan, and over a low heat, keep stirring until you get a slightly thick custard.
5. cool and add to the cream.
6. leave to cool completely, preferably overnight in the fridge.
7. meanwhile, heat the cherry halves in a little bit of water and sugar until softened. leave to cool.
8. strain the custard through a fine-mesh sieve and pour into your ice-cream maker and churn according to machine instructions.
9. halfway through churning, add the chopped marrons and the cherries.
10. churn until ready, put into a plastic container, cover and freeze completely.
11. to serve, take the ice-cream out of the freezer and let it soften slightly so it can be easily scooped.

should you not have an ice-cream maker, pour the mixture into a plastic container and freeze. every two hours, beat the mixture and also add the marrons and cherries halfway through. then mix again until completely frozen.

again, a little bit different, but nice anyway.