Ingredient: semisweet or dark chocolate chips

Raspberry Chocolate Crumble Bars

Posted on by Mari Vasseur
Raspberry Chocolate Crumble Bars

Crumb bars are easy-to-make, rustic dessert bars. These Raspberry Chocolate Crumble Bars might be the most sumptuous crumb bars I’ve ever made. They have a tender shortbread crust topped with a layer of raspberry jam, followed by chocolate chips, a generous crumb topping, then finished with a drizzle of icing. The raspberry jam and chocolate chips melt together in the oven creating a delicious filling that will remind you of raspberry truffles.

 

Raspberry Chocolate Crumble Bars

by Mari Vasseur
Tender shortbread crust topped with raspberry jam, chocolate chips, crumb topping and a drizzle of icing
Print Recipe
Servings 16 2-inch bars

Ingredients
  

Crust

  • 1 ½ cups (191g) all purpose flour, sifted
  • ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons (43g) powdered sugar, sifted
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ¾ cup (170g) unsalted butter, softened

Crumb Topping

  • 1 cup (128g) all purpose flour
  • â…“ cup (66g) packed brown sugar
  • 3 tablespoons (37g) granulated sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 6 tablespoons (85g) cold, unsalted butter, cubed

Filling

  • 1 cup (312g) raspberry jam or fruit spread
  • ¾ cup (128g) semisweet or dark chocolate chips

Icing

  • ¾ cup (90g) powdered sugar, sifted
  • 1 tablespoon (14g) unsalted butter, melted
  • ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • â…› teaspoon pure almond extract
  • 1 pinch fine sea salt
  • 2 tablespoons (30ml) whole milk or half & half

Instructions
 

Crust

  • Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper leaving a couple of inches of overhang.
  • In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, powdered sugar, baking powder and salt until well blended.
  • In a large bowl, beat the butter, with an electric mixer at medium speed, until smooth. Add the flour mixture and beat just until the dough comes together.
  • Press the dough evenly into the baking pan. Bake until the surface is light golden brown, about 20-23 minutes.

Crumb Topping

  • Meanwhile, in a medium-sized bowl, stir together the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar and salt. Work the butter into the flour mixture with your fingertips until it looks sandy, with no large pieces of butter remaining. Press the mixture together to form chunks. Set aside in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Filling

  • Spread the raspberry jam evenly over the warm crust. Top with the chocolate chips. Sprinkle the crumb topping evenly over the filling. Return the pan to the oven and bake until the topping is golden brown and the filling starts to bubble, about 23-28 minutes. Let cool in the pan.

Icing

  • In a small bowl, whisk the powdered sugar, butter, extracts, salt and 1 tablespoon (15ml) of milk together. Add more milk as needed to reach the desired consistency. Whisk until smooth. Remove the cooled bars from the pan and drizzle with icing. Cut the bars into 2 inch squares.
Keyword bars, raspberry chocolate

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Scones

Posted on by Mari Vasseur
Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Scones

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Scones are the perfect spring transition bake. They’re cozy enough for rainy days with a cup of hot coffee or tea, but light enough to serve at a spring brunch. The brown butter gives them a fragrant, nuttiness which makes them so much more delicious than most other chocolate chip scones. I used extra large chocolate chips, but feel free to use your favorite chips.

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Scones

Tender scones made with brown butter, studded with chocolate chips and topped with crunchy coarse sugar.
Print Recipe
Course Breakfast, Brunch
Servings 8 scones

Ingredients
  

  • ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, cubed
  • 2 cups (255g) all purpose flour, sifted
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ¼ cup (50g) packed brown sugar
  • ½ cup (118ml) cold heavy cream plus extra for the tops
  • ¼ cup (57g) cold sour cream
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or pure vanilla extract
  • ¾ cup semisweet or dark chocolate chips I used Ghirardelli grand chips
  • Demerara or turbinado coarse sugar for sprinkling

Instructions
 

  • In a small light colored saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and cook it until it's deep golden and fragrant. When brown specks begin to appear, remove it from the heat and immediately transfer it to a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate the brown butter until firm, about 2-3 hours or overnight. When the butter has firmed up, cut it into cubes.
  • Preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC). Line a large baking sheet* with parchment paper.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk in the brown sugar.
  • Work the brown butter into the flour mixture with your fingertips or with a pastry blender until pea size pieces are formed.
  • In a small bowl, whisk together the heavy cream, sour cream, egg yolk and vanilla. Pure this mixture into the flour mixture. Stir just until a shaggy dough forms. Fold in the chocolate chips.
  • Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Fold the dough over onto itself a couple of times. Do not overwork the dough. Form the dough into a 7-inch wide, 1-inch thick round. Cut it into 8 wedges.
  • Place the scones onto the prepared baking sheet. Brush the tops of the scones with heavy cream and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Bake until the scones are golden brown, about 15-18 minutes. Serve warm.

Notes

*To find the baking sheet I used, click here.  
Keyword chocolate chip, scones

Chocolate Love Potion Cookies

Posted on by Mari Vasseur
Chocolate Love Potion Cookies with dark chocolate chips, pistachios and rose petals

You’ll fall in love with these bewitching double chocolate cookies with pistachios and rose petals. As if the chocolate chips weren’t enough, I topped them with pieces of dark chocolate which melt into heavenly little pools of deliciousness. You may have heard that chocolate is considered to be an aphrodisiac because it contains tryptophan and phenelethylamine. Tryptophen increases the mood booster serotonin in the brain. Phenelethylamine is released by the brain when you fall in love. Pistachios are also considered to be natural aphrodisiacs and these cookies contain plenty of pistachios! The rose petals add a touch of romance to finish off the perfect love potion cookies.

If you’re not a fan of pistachios, feel free to substitute your favorite toasted nuts. If you want to skip the nuts all together, make sure to replace them with another add-in, because the nuts help to provide structure to the cookies. I recommend dried cherries or white chocolate chips as a nice alternative.

Chocolate Love Potion Cookies

Double chocolate cookies with chocolate chips and pistachios topped with pools of melted chocolate, chopped pistachios and dried rose petals
Print Recipe
Course Dessert
Servings 18 cookies

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups (256g) all purpose flour, sifted
  • ½ cup (48g) unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1 cup (227g) unsalted butter, softened
  • ¾ cup (150g) packed brown sugar
  • ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 ½ cups (256g) semisweet or dark chocolate chips
  • ½ cup (57g) roasted unsalted pistachios, roughly chopped
  • 2 ounces (57g) semisweet or dark chocolate broken into pieces
  • Finely chopped, roasted unsalted pistachios for garnish
  • Dried rose petals for garnish

Instructions
 

  • Line 2 large cookie sheets with parchment paper.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt until well blended.
  • In a separate large bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar, with an electric mixer at medium speed, until pale and fluffy.
  • Beat in the egg, egg yolk and vanilla in 3 separate additions, making sure each one is incorporated before adding the next. On low speed, mix in the flour mixture just until combined. Mix in the chocolate chips and pistachios.
  • Form the dough into 18 portions, about 2 ounces (57g) each. Form the portions into 2-inch heart shapes. (They don't have to be perfect, because the cookies are going to spread as they bake.) Place the heart shapes on a tray. Cover and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Place 6 dough portions on each cookie sheet, about 3 inches apart. Top each one with a piece of chocolate. I placed my chocolate pieces on the upper left of each cookie. Bake the cookies until the tops look set, about 10-11 minutes. Be careful not to over bake the cookies or they'll be more difficult to shape into hearts.
  • Remove the cookies from the oven and immediately use a large, metal heart-shaped cookie cutter to shape the hot cookies. Place the cookie cutter onto the cookie sheet over each cookie and slide it up and down, then side to side a couple of times. Work quickly before the cookies set. Let the cookies cool on the pan for 2-3 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack. Top the cookies with chopped pistachios and rose petals before the melted chocolate sets.

Notes

To find culinary rose petals, click here.
To find the cookie cutter I used, click here.
Keyword chocolate, cookies, love potion