cocoa nibs – Bees Knees Recipes

Nibby Chocolate Chips

Have I mentioned that I like to try new recipes? Even if I have four chocolate chip cookies that are my favorite? (If you’re interested in the lineup, this includes an old ATKs, and Josey Baker’s, which is so amazing, and the 100% whole wheat from Good to the Grain, and King Arthur’s one with a little bit of oatmeal, making it awesomely chewy.) Well, since I got a new little baking book, Bake Good Things, I had to try it’s chocolate chip cookie, because it’s new. And, I like new, because it either reaffirms that I do indeed already have the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe, or it adds something that the other recipes don’t quite have. This recipe, for example, is extremely loaded with chocolate, and it is much crisper than the other recipes I love. But I switched things a bit by replacing some of the chips with cocoa nibs, to see if it changed the chocolate flavor in an interesting way, as well as give it a little crunch. Yes on both. So, if you also want to try something new with your chocolate chip cookie, here’s a good one!

Nibby Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 1/4 cups (6 1/2 oz./200 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup (1 stick/4 oz./125 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup (3 1/2 oz./105 g) firmly packed light brown sugar
6 Tbs. (3 oz./90 g) granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups (15 oz./470 g) semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup cocoa nibs (can substitute for chocolate chips, or buy them quite easily on Amazon!)

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and mix on low speed until blended. Slowly add the flour mixture and mix just until incorporated. Switch to a wooden spoon and stir in the chocolate chips and nibs.

Using a small ice cream scoop or heaping tablespoon, drop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing the dough mounds 2 inches (5 cm) apart. (For crisper cookies, drop by teaspoonful.)

Bake the cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until the bottoms and edges are lightly browned and the tops feel firm when lightly touched, 10-13 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool completely. Makes 30 cookies.

NIbby Chocolate Chips 2

Chocolate Granola 1

When I get a new cookbook, I usually have a recipe I make the very next day because I just can’t wait to find out what it is. Well, my husband surprised me with a new cookbook in the mail while he was out of town recently (he knows my language of love), and this is the recipe I hopped to the very next minute I could. It comes from Valerie Gordon’s Sweet, with just one revision. She finely chops 8 oz. of bittersweet chocolate and sprinkles it on top of the granola when it’s hot out of the oven, stirs the granola after the chocolate melts, and then lets it cool before serving. She also serves this as a dessert (on top of ice cream or pudding). Well, I wanted this to be breakfast, so I omitted the extra chocolate, and it has been breakfast (and even lunch) nearly every day since I made it. I think it tastes like a very much improved version of Cocoa Puffs (that’s my high-brow opinion). And it’s very easy to not want anything to do with boxed cereals when you have this tucked in your cupboard. Yields about 12 cups.

Salted Chocolate Granola

4 cups wholemeal rolled oats
1 1/2 cups sliced raw almonds
1 cup raw hazelnuts, halved
¼ cup cacao nibs
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cup light brown sugar
¼ cup honey
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 t. vanilla bean paste
1 1/2 tsp. fleur de sel or fine sea salt (I found some smoked chocolate salt that I used. Wow!)

Preheat the oven to 250 F / 120 C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon liner and set aside. [I did 350 degrees and only baked it for 40ish minutes.]
In a large bowl, mix together the rolled oats, almonds, hazelnuts, cacao nibs, and fleur de sel or fine sea salt.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder, brown sugar, honey, oil and vanilla.
Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and stir well with a rubber spatula until combined and evenly moistened.
Spread the granola in an even layer on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for about 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes, until crisp and the nuts are turning golden.
Remove the granola from the oven and move the baking sheets to a cool area and allow the granola to cool. It can be stored in an airtight container for up to three weeks.

Chocolate Granola Spoon