Daily Dose Blogger Bios
Dark and Luscious, Melt in Your Mouth...
(Black Mondo Grass)
STOP THE PRESSES! Okay, that may have been a little over the top, but reader graygardener just alerted me to the existence of a website that marries two of the best things in the world: Plants and chocolate! I've heard there are people in the world who aren't under the spell of this ancient and magical confection, but I don't believe it. I think non-lovers of chocolate are an urban myth. But enough about the haters, get thee to Chocolate Flower Farm and check out all the things dark and sweet that they have to offer.
(Chocolate Cosmos)
The story is that Bill is a chocoholic and Marie is a garden lover, so mix the two together and - just like Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Chocolate Flower Farms was born. They sell plants that either look, smell, or taste choco-liscious, and in their 'Garden Shed' they sell such delights as Aztec hot chocolate, prize winning artisan chocolate bars, chocolate scented candles, bath products, and even chocolate teas.
(Nicotiana 'Hot Chocolate')
When I started gardening, it was the deep colors that captured me. I wanted so badly to have a garden made up exclusively of brown, bronze, red, or purple plants and flowers, but back then there weren't many readily available, so I had to expand my palette. But now, I could do it - I could have the Gothic Garden of my dreams - My Garden of Chocolate Delights. After all, I'm in the process of redesigning my front garden, and after oggling the plants on this site, I am seriously considering returning to my dark roots.
Here is a the best chocolate cookie recipe in the world - very unusual, very adult... read on, my friends...
This cookie is my go-to cookie - whenever I whip out the recipe and bake up a batch or two, people swoon. I am invited to parties on the strength of these babies (and my snappy wit). So, for the first time ever, I am divulging my secret perfect cookie recipe :
WALNUT - COCOA NIB COOKIES
The taste of these cookies keeps on getting better, so it's best to make the dough a day ahead of baking, and bake off the cookies a day ahead of serving. Like a good butter cookie, the flavors keep developing, so save some for dessert for the next few days.
1 cup walnut halves
1/2 pounds (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon bourbon (Maker's Mark, preferably - and pour a shot for yourself)
1 - 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup cocoa nibs
2 cups all-purpose flour
Preheat oven to 325F
Spread the walnuts on a cookie sheet and toast them in the oven for 7-8 minutes. Let them cool, then chop.
Combine sugar, salt, butter, bourbon, and vanilla in a medium bowl and beat until smooth and creamy, but not fluffy - about one minute with a mixer. Beat in the walnuts and cocoa nibs. Turn off mixer, and add all the flour all at once. Beat on low only until flour is fully incorporated.
Form dough into a log and refridgerate overnight.
Preheat oven to 350F, and position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven
Use a sharp knife to cut the cold dough into 1/4 inch slices. Place them 1-1/2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake 12-14 minutes, or until the cookies are light golden brown around the edges. Let the cookies cool for about one minute before transfering them to a cooling rack. Let cool completely. Store in an airtight container for at least 24 hours before serving for best flavor - these can be stored in an airtight container for at leat a month.
Go forth, and knock people out with your sophisticated chocolate self!
A synesthetic delight!
I must confess - I had to look up 'synesthetic'. I am going to incorporate it into my everyday speech. For anyone reading the comments who haven't gone on dictionary.com yet, synesthetic is the adjective form of the noun synesthesia, which is when one sense is stimulated and a response is evoked in another sense - ie, I look at something and I can actually taste it...
Thanks, Cathy!