Chocolate Drizzle Doodads Recipes

BAKER'S CHOCOLATE DRIZZLE

Steps:

• Place chocolate in microwaveable bowl.
• Microwave on HIGH 2 min. or until chocolate is almost melted, stirring after 1 min. Stir until chocolate is completely melted.
• Use teaspoon or fork to drizzle chocolate over dessert as desired.

THE BEST CHOCOLATE GLAZE

Steps:

• Melt cocoa and butter together in a small saucepan over low heat, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in confectioners' sugar and vanilla extract. Stir in hot water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until glaze is thick and smooth.

MALTED CHOCOLATE DRIP CAKE

Steps:

• First make the malt sponges. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Grease and line the bases of 2 x 20cm cake tins with baking parchment. Put the butter and sugar in a large bowl and whisk until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, whisking well between each addition. Tip the flour, malt and baking powder into the bowl with ¼ tsp salt and fold together, then add the yogurt and vanilla, and give everything a final stir. Divide the cake mixture between the 2 tins, level the tops and bake on the middle shelf for 25-30 mins or until a skewer pushed into the centre of the cakes comes out clean. Cool for 10 mins, then remove from the tins, peel off the baking parchment and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Wash the tins.
• Now make the chocolate sponges. Grease and line the base of the tins as before and boil the kettle. In the same bowl (don't worry about washing it), cream the butter and sugar as before, adding the eggs, one at a time, and mixing until combined. Sift in the flour, cocoa and baking powder with ¼ tsp salt. Fold the mixture together, then add the yogurt, melted chocolate and 100ml boiling water. Stir until combined, then divide between the tins. Bake for 25-30 mins, testing with a skewer as before. Cool in the tins for 10 mins, then turn out, remove the baking parchment and cool completely. The sponges can be made up to 2 days before being iced, cooled and wrapped tightly in cling film.
• Make the honeycomb. Grease a baking tray with a little butter or oil. Put the sugar and golden syrup in a large pan. Warm over a medium heat and leave to bubble to a liquid caramel, but don't stir. When you're happy with the colour (the darker it gets, the more intense the flavour will be), add the bicarbonate of soda and quickly stir into the syrup. Before the bubbles die down, pour the foaming mixture onto the baking tray, then set aside for 30 mins to cool and firm up.
• Make the icing. In your largest mixing bowl, beat the butter with half the icing sugar, the malt and vanilla until smooth. Add the remaining icing sugar and the cream cheese, and beat again until well combined - don't overmix or the icing may become runny.
• You're now ready to assemble. Put one of the sponges on a cake stand or cake board, sticking it down with a small blob of icing. Use ¼ of the icing to stack the cakes, alternating between the malt and chocolate sponges. Place the final sponge on top, flat-side up. When assembled, use a palette knife to cover the entire cake with a thin layer of the icing, filling any gaps between sponges, but don't worry about completely covering the sponges at this stage. This is called a crumb coat and ensures that your final layer is crumb-free. Make space in your fridge and chill the cake for 30 mins to firm up the icing.
• Once the icing is chilled, use the remaining icing to completely cover the cake. This is easiest if you pile the icing on top of the cake, then use a palette knife to ease it over the edge and down the sides. You can make it as smooth or as rough as you like. Chill for another 30 mins.
• Make the drizzle. Meanwhile, put the dark chocolate in a bowl and heat the cream in a small pan until just steaming. Pour the cream over the chocolate and leave to melt for 5-10 mins. Stir to make a glossy ganache, then set aside to firm up a little - you want the ganache to be pourable but not too runny, to make drizzly droplets down the side of the cake.
• When the ganache is the correct consistency, remove the cake from the fridge and spoon the ganache over the top edge of the cake, encouraging it to drizzle down the side with your spoon - start at the back of the cake to get the hang of it. Fill in the middle of the top of the cake with chocolate too.
• Break the honeycomb into tall shards and stack them on top of the cake. Finish with whole and halved Maltesers, adding a few around the base, along with some honeycomb crumbs. The cake is best served within 2-3 hrs of assembling, but will still taste delicious for up to 3 days. Store leftovers in the fridge and allow to come back to room temperature before serving.

CHOCOLATE-DRIZZLED SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• In a small bowl, cream butter and confectioners' sugar. Beat in vanilla; mix well. Combine flour and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. , Shape into 1-in. balls. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets; flatten slightly with a glass dipped in sugar. , Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Immediately remove to wire racks to cool. , For drizzle, in a heavy saucepan or microwave, melt the chips and shortening; stir until smooth. Remove from the heat. Drizzle over cookies.

CHOCOLATE DRIZZLE DOODADS

Steps:

• Place chips in a small microwave-safe glass dish.
• Microwave at 15 second intervals, stirring in between, until just melted smooth.
• Stir in butter until smooth.
• Let chocolate cool slightly. Mixture needs to be creamy, but not hot.
• Spoon into ziploc bag. Fill half full and seal closed.
• Cut a very small corner off the bottom of the bag. **don't make it too big; you can always make it larger if necessary!
• Gently pipe designs onto a wax paper-lined plate. Keep the flow steady and stop squeezing and then lift bag at the end of each shape.
• Refrigerate 15 minutes or until firm.
• Carefully peel waxed paper from chocolate doodads before serving however you wish!

CHOCOLATE-DRIZZLED BROOKIES

Steps:

• Make the brownie layer: Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Brush a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with melted butter. Line the dish with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the long sides. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.
• Whisk together the granulated sugar and cocoa powder in a large bowl to remove any lumps. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla until well combined. Whisk in the melted butter in 2 additions until smooth. Whisk in the flour mixture just until smooth. Spread in the baking dish.
• Make the cookie layer: Stir the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Beat the butter and both sugars in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes.
• Add the eggs and vanilla to the butter-sugar mixture and beat just until smooth. With the mixer on low speed, beat in the flour mixture just until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips with a spoon or spatula.
• Flatten a handful of the cookie dough until 1/2 inch thick and place on top of the brownie layer. Continue to flatten pieces of dough and add to the top, using your fingers to smooth the dough into an even layer covering the entire brownie layer.
• Bake until the top is golden and puffed and the edges are crisp and just beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan, 40 to 50 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool completely, at least 1 1/2 hours.
• Make the glaze: Combine the chocolate chips and heavy cream in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring, until smooth. Drizzle over the bars and cut into squares.

CHOCOLATE-DRIZZLED POTATO CHIPS

Steps:

• Spread the potato chips onto a serving platter in a single layer. Transfer the melted chocolate to a quart-size resealable plastic bag. Snip the corner of the bag and using both hands, squeeze the bag and drizzle the chocolate over the chips.
• Let stand at room temperature until the chocolate sets, about 15 minutes (or refrigerate briefly to set). Serve immediately.

CHOCOLATE SNICKERDOODLES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Mix together 1 1/2 cups white sugar, shortening, and eggs with an electric mixer in a bowl until creamy.
• Sift together all-purpose flour, cocoa power, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl. Fold this mixture into the egg mixture until well blended.
• Mix together 1/4 cup white sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl or on a plate.
• Roll cookie dough into 1-inch balls; cover each in sugar and cinnamon mixture. Place on an ungreased baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven until soft and golden on top, 6 to 8 minutes, making sure they do not burn. Let cool before transferring to a wire rack. The tops will crack as they cool.

CHOCOLATE-DRIZZLED SPICE COOKIES

Steps:

• Into a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and ginger; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine butter and sugar. Starting on low speed and increasing to high, beat until mixture is light and creamy, about 2 minutes; scrape down sides of bowl once with a rubber spatula.
• Beat in eggs one at a time on medium speed, scraping down sides of bowl after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Add molasses; mix until just combined. Scrape down sides of bowl; add flour mixture. Starting on low speed and increasing to medium-high, beat until just combined.
• Transfer dough to a clean work surface. Divide into four equal pieces, and roll each into a 2-inch-thick log. Wrap each log in parchment paper or plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, at least 4 hours or overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove logs from refrigerator, and unwrap. Slice logs into 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Place rounds on parchment-lined baking sheets. Chill in freezer or refrigerator until firm, 20 to 30 minutes.
• Bake cookies until slightly cracked on top, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from oven; let cool on baking sheets 2 minutes, then transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Melt chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring until smooth. Transfer to a large resealable plastic bag. Snip the tip off one corner of the bag to make a very small opening. Place the wire rack with the cookies on a sheet of parchment paper or a rimmed baking sheet. Holding bag about 5 inches above cookies, drizzle chocolate in a zigzag motion until cookies are covered. Let stand until chocolate has set, 2 to 3 hours.

EASY PECAN DOODADS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 275 degrees.
• In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar.
• Sift flour 3 times and blend into butter mixture.
• Add nuts and vanilla.
• Roll into balls about 1 inch in diameter.
• Place on baking sheet and bake for 1 hour.
• While still warm, roll in powdered sugar.
• Roll again in powdered sugar when cooled.
• Store in tightly covered container.