Nigella's Chocolate Mousse

I love Nigella. I could watch her cook all day long. When people say she's the goddess of food porn, it's for a reason. She's amazing. Although I do not share her love of blue cheese, I do share her love and passion for good food. I cook for myself, even when I'm all alone. I adore that she unashamedly does the same. She will never apologize for indulging, and will make you feel silly for even thinking she should have in the first place. This recipe is one of my favorite indulgences. It never fails, never goes wrong, and is extremely versatile. Please, indulge for a bit.

Nigella's Instant Chocolate Mousse


3 cups mini marshmallows
1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened
9 ounces best quality semisweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces
1/4 cup hot water from a recently boiled kettle
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract



Put the marshmallows, butter, chocolate and water in a heavy-based saucepan.

Put the saucepan on the stove, over heat, though keep it fairly gentle, to melt, stirring every now and again. Remove from the heat.

Meanwhile whip the cream with the vanilla until thick and then fold into the cooling chocolate mixture until you have a smooth, cohesive mixture.

Pour or scrape into 4 or 6 glasses or small dishes and chill until you want to eat. The sooner the better!


To change it up, try different extracts, and different chocolates. This is amazing using white chocolate and orange extract. Dark chocolate and raspberry. Even a TINY TINY bit of mint extract just hits the spot.




Everything getting all melty.

Delish

Whipped Cream

Combine cooled chocolate mixture with whipped cream.

Fold it gently

Brookies - Chocolate Avocado Cookies

I have to start off by saying please do not be afraid of these cookies. You cannot taste the avocado, it morphs into this amazing creaminess that lends these cookies their awesome texture. 

This is an adaptation of a recipe that I tried at a cookie exchange a few years back, I cannot remember whose cookies these were... so I apologize for that. The cookies I had were chocolate banana cookies and I was reminded of them by a book that I read recently by Joanne Fluke. I used her recipe as a base, and added a bit of my own flair. There will be a recipe that are actually chocolate banana cookies, this is a bit different though.

These were named by a gentleman that I work with at my "real" job. His name is Bill. Bills description of this cookie is that it's like a cross between a brownie and a cookie. Hence Brookie.

These cookies are dense, moist, and very rich. I am not ashamed to say that I ate several of these in one sitting, but if you aren't me... you may only be able to handle a few.

Ingredients
1/2 c salted butter (or unsalted with a pinch of salt)
3 oz dark chocolate (or unsweetened)
3/4 c granulated sugar
1 c brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 c mashed avocado, about 2 medium (mash VERY SMOOTH)
2 1/2 c flour
1/2 c cocoa powder - next go around I'm going to try using Dark Chocolate cocoa powder
1 c semisweet chocolate chips
1 c dark chocolate chips
1 c chopped pistachios


Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

In a microwave safe bowl combine butter and 3 oz chocolate. Melt in microwave on high for 2 -3 minutes. Set aside.

In a large bowl combine sugars and stir together until well combined. Add eggs, one at a time until well incorporated. Whip eggs and sugar together until lightened and a bit fluffy. Add vanilla, salt, and  baking powder. Stir until well combined. Add your avocado and mix well.

Check your chocolate and butter mixture. It should be cooled down enough to add at this point, but if it is still very hot, wait a few minutes before continuing.

Add the chocolate and butter mix to your big bowl. Stir well. Add your flour and cocoa powder in increments until well combined. This is a stiff batter, be ready for that.

Add in your chips/chunks of chocolate. Use a cookie scoop or 1 Tbsp measure to measure out these babies. I suppose you could make them bigger, but you'd need to adjust your baking time. On top of each cookie I sprinkled some chopped pistachios for a little bit of crunch, and salt. You could forgo these and sprinkle with sea salt, or nothing. These cookies do not spread, so press them down gently, or you'll have little ball cookies.

Bake on parchment lined baking sheets for 13 to 15 minutes until they no longer feel moist on the outside. Try not to over cook them, they are not as good when they aren't moist inside. Let them cool on the cookie sheets for a few minutes so they firm up enough to be moved to a cooling rack. Let them cool completely before eating, the avocado mellows after cooled. If you do not have a sensitive pallet then go ahead and eat them warm.... they're still amazing.




Sugars

All mixed up.

Add your eggs

One at a time.

Avocado in.

Chocolate

Dry ingredients.

Chocolate Chips

All lined up.

Cool.

Enjoy!