With October now over, it’s nice to be able to kick back and take a break from the sugar and chocolate coma created by the craziness of Halloween.
I’m kidding, of course.
Although with the sugar-sweetness of Halloween now in the past, I believe it’s time for a more grown-up chocolate taste.
Back in June, Food Bloggers of Canada had a members-only option for a product sample from Cacao Barry. Being the chocolate lover that I am, I jumped at this option, never thinking that I would get to be one of the few selected. When I received an email to confirm my mailing address, I could not be more ecstatic.
Since the summer weather in Toronto is brutally hot, I was not able to receive my product sample until the end of October, for fear of it melting in the mail. As luck would work out, it arrived just after I returned from my 3-week trip to Japan. Upon opening the package, I was intrigued to find that the box contained couverture chocolate, which is a high quality chocolate, containing between 32% – 39% extra cocoa butter. This makes it a more ideal chocolate for dipping and molding.
The couverture chocolate I received is their Tanzanie 75% Cocoa, which is rich dark chocolate drops with a fruity undertone. Upon first opening the package, you are immediately hit with the bold, spicy, and savoury scent of dark chocolate. I couldn’t help myself and had to sample a few pieces. Even eaten plain, these chocolate morsels are hard to resist.
For two days afterwards, I racked my brain on what to do with this wonderful chocolate (while also trying to hold off sampling more delicious pieces straight out of the box). Since it’s only November and I wanted to hold off on making chocolate molds until closer to the Christmas holidays, I decided on a fantastic sounding recipe I found on Brown-Eyed Baker. Like all of Michelle’s recipes that I’ve tried, this one did not disappoint, even with the slight modifications of using brown sugar instead of granulated sugar and couverture chocolate instead of bittersweet chocolate.
Dark chocolate lovers rejoice, these soft brownie cookies are for you!
Recipe adapted from Brown-Eyed Baker
Now, if you don’t mind me, I need to research some good holiday molding and dipping recipes for the remainder of this box of chocolate. Any links are much appreciated!
Disclaimer: As a member of Food Bloggers of Canada, I was selected to receive a free cocoa product from Cacao Barry for the purpose of writing this post. All opinions stated are my own.