Mad About Maida

Bittersweet Chocolate Sauce   Source:  Maida Heatter's Best Dessert Book Ever  (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1997 ed.) , pg. 404 . When I was growing up, one of my favorite things on earth was the "Magic Shell" chocolate sauce that would harden into a soft shell when you poured it over ice cream. I kept hearing that it was one of the worst things you could eat, so I only bought it on rare occasions. I finally stopped altogether and only recently purchased it again. To my surprise, I didn't like it nearly as much. How our tastes change! This chocolate sauce reminds me of that product, in that is slightly hardens (however, it doesn't have the thin shell effect of the Magic Shell product). It is, however, better tasting and you don't have the harmful additives.  It is best served immediately. I tried reheating it the following day, and it did not achieve the creamy texture. I tried reheating it in both the microwave and in a small saucepan and neither method ...

Southern Chocolate Peanut Cookies Source:  Maida Heatter's Brand-New Book of Great Cookies  (Random House, 1995 ed.) , pg. 142. These cookies taste like a peanut-butter cookie with the addition of chocolate and peanuts. They have a sandy texture with the perfect combination of salted nuts and chocolate (although I thought the nuts were a little on the heavy side, friends who tried them didn't agree with me). Maida Heatter says you can use honey-roasted or dry-roasted nuts. They do need to be salted nuts.  I used chocolate chips but you can use any type of chocolate as long as it is broken up. Makes 30-35 cookies 6 oz. milk chocolate (broken up bars, or chocolate morsels) 1/4 cup sifted unbleached flour 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch process) 1 teaspoon baking soda 4 oz. (1 stick) unsalted butter 1/2 cup smooth or chunky peanut butter 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup light brown sugar (firmly packed) 1 large egg 8 oz. (1 1/2 cups) salted peanuts Prehe...

September 7th Cake (Source:  Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts   (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 2006 ed.), pg. 25.   This cake has been on the radar for quite some time and I finally made it.  It is the cake that Maida created for her own birthday. I'm happy to hear that she is not the only person who makes their own birthday cake. My birthday was this past weekend, so I decided to finally tackle it and I'm glad I did. It is heavenly! I was apprehensive about making it, especially after reading about experiences from other bakers. To alleviate some of the stress, I made the cake layers a week in advance and froze them. Another reason I did this was because a reader (Amy) wrote to me about the cake and recommended freezing it first because the layers are so thin that spreading the filling is difficult. Thank you for that tip Amy! A few more observations: The trickiest part is the icing. It cannot be overbeat or it will be too heavy and have a curdled...