Terra Americana

Best-Ever?  Best ever, really?  It takes a lot of chutzpah to make that kind of statement.  This recipe is not just about chocolate, it is about technique.  I always thought a bit of flour, some more sugar, cocoa, chocolate bits, eggs and oil and you easily have brownie bliss.  Oh, how ignorant I can be.  Steps as simple as sifted flour and whipped eggs folded into melted chocolate all baked on a layer of parchment lead to an end result that really does warrant the title of Best-Ever!

• 2, 10-12oz packages 
  • Chocolate Cookies/Brownies
• 8 ounces unsalted butter
• 2 cup Chocolate Drops
• 4 large eggs at room temperature and whipped

You can use this mix or buy our Best Ever Brownie Kit

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350°.

Sift brownie mix into a large bowl.  Melt the butter and chocolate together in a  saucepan or double boiler over low heat.  Stir frequently to make certain the chocolate doesn't scorch.  Fold in eggs and remove the pan from heat. Blend the mixture in with the dry ingredients.

Pour and scrape the batter in to a 9 x 13" pan that has been lined with parchment.  Bake the brownies for 30 minutes.  Remove from the oven and cool.

The Charms of Chocolate:

• Mint Chocolate Layer Bars

• Chocolate Pumpkin Seed Bark

• The only recipe for chocolate chip cookies Gina Doty makes!

• A recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookie Gifts with a hint of Cranberry

Find more ideas from Baking with Julia at

Tuesdays with Dorie.

 Photo Credit: Julie T Cecchini

This recipe for Cocoa Sablés was adapted from Dorie Greenspan’s Around My French Table.

• 2 cups Almond Flour
• 1/2 cup Arrowroot
• 1/2 cup Brown Rice Flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 8 oz Soy Garden or butter (2 sticks), at room temperature
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp Orange Vanilla Sugar
• ¼ pound semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (optional)

Combine the butter and sugars until it just comes together.  Do not cream.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder and salt.  Add the dry ingredients to the butter and sugar mixture until just combined, scraping 1-2 times.

Divide the dough into two portions and make them into logs about 1 ¾ inches in diameter.  Form them into logs, wrap them in parchment and then chill the logs for about 15 minutes.  To make them perfectly round, remove them from the fridge and roll the logs back and forth on the counter to round out any bumps.  Then chill them again until firm.  Cookies are generally best if they have some time to rest, so chill the logs at least 3 hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Remove the logs from the refrigerator and slice them into ½ inch rounds.  (You can slice them thinner for a more delicate look.)  Bake them as is, or roll the edges in granulated sugar or dessicated coconut.  Place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet about 1 inch apart and bake for 10-14 minutes.  The cookies are done when they feel dry on top and are somewhat firm to the touch.

Cool the cookies and store them in an airtight container. Cookies like this will keep in rolls in the freezer for a few months.  Wrap them in parchment and then in plastic wrap and store them for a quick and easy cut and bake cookie.

More for the cookie monster in all of us:

• White chocolate and nice spiced cookies, perfect for dunking

• Ginger Snap Cookies

• What we did with the Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

• Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe

Photo Credit:  Julie Cecchini