spicy brownie cookie ice cream sandwiches: be my valentine

It's funny how the things I once loved so much are now being passed down to my niece. Everyday she is growing and learning something new. I never thought I'd think this, but it's actually exciting to watch her learn and discover her world on a daily basis. 

It makes me happy to see her singing the songs I used to cherish, or play with the toys I played with (or wish I had played with). For Christmas I gave her a CD of Raffi songs and now all she does is walk around in circles with her hands up asking for Mr. Sun.

Those songs were my childhood. I would listen to them on my dad's record player and dance around in the basement. How can such silly little songs make someone so happy? And honestly, they still make me happy. A kid's life; how simple and worry-free. I wish I had known back then that deciding which song I wanted to listen to would be my toughest decision.

Well recently, the "tough" decision that I had to make was deciding what kind of Valentine's Day dessert to make. I could have made the obvious heart-shaped cookies (which I actually do find very adorable), heart cake pops (but didn't have time to get lollipop sticks) or make something totally different (a failed attempt at mousse and panna cotta together). So instead I went with something more familiar but with a tiny addition. With vanilla ice cream at my disposal, I made some irresistibly delicious chewy chocolate brownie cookies and turned them into ice cream sandwiches.  

But it wasn't enough. 

Then my personal assistant (ahem, boyfriend) had a great idea. "How about a spicy Valentine with a tiny sprinkling of cayenne pepper?" Yes! However, if you're anything like me and can't handle spices, try not to go overboard. All you need is a very small dusting to give the chocolate a nice kick. Don't worry, the ice cream is there to balance out the spice. 


I hope you enjoy these as much as I enjoyed them. What's that? I should freeze them and not eat them all at once? Yeah, you're probably right, but I won't tell anyone if you don't.

Check out all the other great Valentine's Day recipes at the Dollhouse Bake Shoppe link party this Sunday, February 5th, 2012!

Spicy Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Yields approximately 24 cookies

Recipe adapted from Annie's Eats

 

Ingredients

8 oz. (240 g) semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
4 tbsp (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt

2 large eggs, at room temperature
¾ cup packed light brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
12 oz. (360 g) semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

a touch of cayenne pepper for sprinkling

Procedure

Preheat oven to 350˚ F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

Combine the 8 ounces chopped chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, and heat until the chocolate and butter are melted and smooth, stirring occasionally.  (Or, heat in the microwave in 20 second intervals, stirring in between - don't let the chocolate burn).  In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk the eggs, brown sugar and vanilla.  Beat on medium-high speed until the sugar has completely dissolved, about 4-5 minutes.  Reduce the speed to low and add the melted chocolate mixture, blending until incorporated.  Add in the dry ingredients and mix just until combined.  Fold in the remaining chopped chocolate with a spatula.  Drop heaping tablespoons of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, about 2-3 inches apart (You can use an ice cream scoop seeing as it's quite goopey).

Bake, rotating the baking sheets halfway through, until the cookies are just slightly soft in the center and crackly on top, about 9-12 minutes. Sprinkle a tiny touch of cayenne pepper on cookies for an added spicy kick. Let cool on baking sheets 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.  Store in an airtight container.

For sandwiches:

When cookies are cool enough to handle, place a scoop of ice cream between two cookies and squish down a little to make an ice cream sandwich. Store in freezer.

You can use any flavour you want. I used a homemade vanilla-bean ice cream since I figured the cookies would be rich enough.