“Be inspired to create masterpieces from your own kitchen”.
|
Chocolate Pecan Lava CookiesThis chocolate cookie is a serious chocolate cookie. Really, it's all about the chocolate. It's made with melted chocolate, silky chocolate chips and a few pecans to balance it all out.
Chocolate pecan lava cookies
This is a 7 ingredient recipe, with items you may already have.
|
|
There is also cornstarch and baking powder involved here. Both necessary to help bind all the ingredients, give these cookies body, and create the crunchy edges you see.
Look at the center of the cookie and you can see where the chocolate dreams begin. |
|
Chocolate Lava
|
Once the cookie is broke open, you've found it's molten center, ready for devouring. |
|
|
Your Mise' En Place'
These are the only tools you need. Plus, your hands. |
|
Tips For Preparing the Chocolate Lava Dough
Before getting started, check out these preparation tips
Preparing the Dough
Tip for Step 1
There are two ways you can melt the chocolate
There are two ways you can melt the chocolate
|
Tip 1. The double boiler method:
Fill a small saucepan with about 1/3 of water. Bring the water to a simmer. You don't want your bowl to touch the water, so don't fill the saucepan too high. Place the chocolate in either a glass bowl, or stainless steel bowl, then place the bowl over the saucepan. |
Melting chocolate the double boiler method.
|
|
The bowl should be larger than the opening of the saucpan. Do not let water come into contact with the chocolate. If that happens, your chocolate will seize, and you will have to start again with a new batch of chocolate.
|
|
Tip 2. Using the microwave:
This method is easy and convenient. You won't have to worry about water seizing your chocolate. But you will need to be aware that this method can quickly overheat your chocolate, which will also render the chocolate useless, at least for this recipe. Start out melting the chocolate for 30 seconds, first, using Power Level 3. Stop, then stir. Melt the chocolate for no more than 1 to 1 1/2 minutes of total melting time. Stopping to check and stir the chocolate every 10 seconds, between intervals. Use Power Level 3, on the microwave. |
Stir chocolate every 10 seconds.
|
Make sure to stir the chocolate in between each interval. Use a glass bowl, here, not plastic. During the first 30 to 40 seconds the chocolate will be more in its solid state, than melted. Stir it anyway.
The microwave heats from the inside out. The chocolate is warmed enough to start the melting process. The second 30 seconds is when you'll begin to see some melting action. The glass bowl is hot, so the heat from the bowl is assisting in the melting process. Stir, stir, stir. Break up this 30 seconds into 10 second intervals.
The microwave heats from the inside out. The chocolate is warmed enough to start the melting process. The second 30 seconds is when you'll begin to see some melting action. The glass bowl is hot, so the heat from the bowl is assisting in the melting process. Stir, stir, stir. Break up this 30 seconds into 10 second intervals.
Smooth melted chocolate
|
If the chocolate needs more melting, melt for no more than 10 seconds, this time. Remember, Power Level 3.
This amount of chocolate should be completely melted by the third try. If not, melt for no more than 10 more seconds. Always, always stir between melting intervals. |
Be careful to not overheat your chocolate. By doing so, your chocolate's consistency will become a hard mass of unmeltable chocolate. No matter what you try to do to correct the mistake, it will not melt as desired.
That's what is called seizing. The chocolate is not useless, however. You can chop the chocolate into smaller pieces and use them in place of chocolate chips for your next recipe.
That's what is called seizing. The chocolate is not useless, however. You can chop the chocolate into smaller pieces and use them in place of chocolate chips for your next recipe.
|
Tip for Step 2
You'll know the chocolate is fully melted once it becomes silky. Melt your butter. When adding the melted butter to the chocolate, expect to see the chocolate's consistency change. The chocolate with go from silky to like a thick paste with the addition of the butter. Chocolate contains cocoa butter, a fat found in the cocao of chocolate. |
Melted chocolate and melted butter.
|
When the cocoa butter is combined with the butter, including butter's own fat properties, the viscosity of the mixture changes. Both butters are creamy and when stirred with the chocolate paste, also called the chocolate mass, the result is the thick creamy paste you see in the picture below. A scraper/spatula is the perfect tool for mixing these two ingredients together. You will not need a mixer.
Melted chocolate and butter combined into a paste.
|
Make sure to stir as you pour in the melted butter. Watch.
When adding the butter, you will see a noticible change occur, this mixing of the melted butter with the melted chocolate. You'll begin to notice the mixture stiffen. Keep stirring until ingredients are combined. |
|
Tips for Step 3
In this step, your tool of choice is the whisk. Whisking the sugar and the eggs, in this step also incorporates air, and assist the baking powder with the leavening. The cornstarch in the recipe is our thickening agent, because it gels from the absorption of the moisture found in the eggs and butter. |
Whisking the eggs and sugar.
|
|
The purpose for everything you're doing in this step is what will give these cookies the body it needs to classify it as a cookie. Otherwise, you'd just have melted chocolate.
|
|
Tips for Steps 4 & 5
You won't be needing a mixer to prepare this cookie batter. The only tools you'll need are a whisk, a rubber scraper, and a medium sized glass bowl. All stirring will be done by hand. Yours. Stir in the melted chocolate/butter mixture, slowly. Gently fold in the pecans and remaining chocolate chips. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. |
|
Baking Time Tips
|
Tips for Step 2
There are several options for the tool you can use to scoop out the dough. My favorite tool to use is the cookie scoop. They come in different sizes, so of course the size of your cookie is determined by the size of the cookie scoop you use. You can also use two tablespoons to scoop out your dough. The tablespoon method will yield about a 3" sized cookie. I used the small scoop, and it yields two dozen 2" sized cookies. |
A small cookie scoop makes 2" sized cookies.
|
|
Tips for Step 3
Even though you'll be using a cookie scoop at first, unfortunately, you're going to have to get your hands dirty. As you can see, I used gloves. In pastry, our hands are our #1 tool, but I still hate to get them dirty. I think that comes from 2 1/2 years of nursing school. 
Work quickly. Chocolate melts at 98°F.
|
Roll each portion into a ball. And with the palm of your hand, lightly, gently press each ball into a disc. These cookies will spread, so don't press too hard.
Chocolate melts at 98°F, so that means you'll want to work quickly. The chocolate will begin to melt from the heat of your hands, so refrigerate the pressed dough for 10 minutes prior to baking. 
Press lightly.
|
|
Why press the ball into a disc, you ask? Why the extra step and just go ahead and bake the cookie?
The extra step of pressing the cookie dough is not mandatory. You'll still have a good cookie. 
Left cookie: not flattened.
Right cookie: slightly flattened
|
But this extra step is what creates the desired crunchy edges and molten center. After removing from the oven, allow the cookies to remain on the cookie sheet for about 10 minutes to set and cool.
Left cookie: not flattened. Right cookie: flattened.
|
|
This recipe will yield 2 dozen cookies, if using the small scoop, like the one above. One thing I must say, a bigger cookie will yield thicker cookie edges, along with a thicker molten center. |
Molten chocolate
|
Your Choice
|
That choice will be yours. If you choose the bigger cookie, double the recipe so you'll have enough to share. |
|
Chocolate Lava Cookies
|
These cookies are good for up to about 2 days. After that they start to get stale and crumbly, but you can easily recover from that with 9 seconds in the microwave. Keep them covered in a plastic container, or Ziploc them. They are at their best warm. |
|
|
Preparing the Dough
|
Step 1 Take 1 1/2 cups of the chocolate chips, and melt. Either in microwave, or over a double boiler. See Tip above. Step 2 Melt the butter, using the microwave, about 45 seconds, at 100 power. Pour the butter over the melted chocolate, while stirring and mix to combine. Keep warm. |
Step 3 In a large bowl, add the eggs , sugar, salt, baking powder, and cornstarch. Using your whisk, stir the ingredients to combine, scraping the bottom & sides of the bowl as necessary. The batter should have the consistency of pancake batter. Step 4 Stir in the melted chocolate/butter mixture, slowly. Step 5 Gently fold in the pecans and remaining chocolate chips. Step 6 Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough overnight. |
Baking Time
|
Step 1 Preheat your oven to 350°F. Make sure oven rack is in the center. Place parcment paper onto your cookie sheet. Step 2 Remove the cookie dough from the refrigerator. Using either a small cookie scoop, or two tablespoons, scoop out the cookie dough, then release the dough onto the parcment paper. Have no more than 3 cookies per row, to allow for spreading. Put remaining dough back into the refrigerator for later use. Step 3 Roll each portion into a ball. And with the palm of your hand, lightly, gently press each ball into a disc. These cookies will spread, so don't press too hard. Refrigerate the pressed dough for about 10 minutes, before baking. See Tip 3 |
Step 4 Bake cookies in the oven for 8 minutes. Bake only one sheet at a time. Rotate the cookie sheet halfway through baking. Step 5 Remove the cookies from the oven, and allow them to cool right on the pan for another 10 minutes, to allow the cookies to set. Repeat with the remaining dough. The cookies are good for up to about 2 days. Keep them covered in a plastic container, or Ziploc them. |
You're Done !
|
Eat. Share. Gift. |
|
