Chocolate Pound Cake

Chocolate Pound Cake
Source: Maida Heatter's Book of Great Desserts (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1999 ed.), pg. 163.

The cake is dense and not too sweet. The chocolate icing (made from 2 ingredients - semi-sweet chocolate and a ridiculous amount of butter) is and makes a nice contrast to the cake. The icing recipe made a ton of icing which ended up completely covering the cake. I don't mind that at all but if you just wanted a drizzle over the cake, I suppose you could half the icing recipe.

Cake

3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 TBS. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 lb. (2 sticks) butter
1 TBS. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. almond extract
2 TBS. plus 1 tsp. instant coffee
3 cups sugar
3 eggs 
1 cup strained, powdered, unsweetened cocoa (preferably Dutch process)
1 3/4 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350. Adjust rack one-third up. Butter (or spray) a 10x4-inch tube pan, line the bottom with parchment paper and coat lightly with fine bread crumbs.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Beat the butter to soften.

Add the vanilla and almond extracts.

Add the instant coffee.

Gradually add the sugar.

Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until each is incorporated.

On lowest speed, gradually add the cocoa.

Alternately add the milk and dry ingredients in three additions (begin with the milk since the batter is heavy at this stage).

(Adding the sifted dry ingredients alternately with the milk, finishing with the flour mixture) Beat until smooth.

Pour batter into cake pan. Turn the pan briskly a few times to level the top.

Bake from 70-90 minutes or until the top springs back when lightly touched and the cake comes away from the sides of the pan.

After removing from oven, cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes, then turn out onto a baking rack and let cool completely.

Icing

9 oz. sweet or semisweet chocolate
4 1/2 oz. (1 stick plus 1 TBS.) butter, at room tempeature

Melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler over barely simmering water.

When the chocolate has melted, remove from the heat and add the butter, one tablespoon at a time, whisking until it melts in the chocolate.

Place strips of wax paper or parchment around the outer edges of the cake and spoon the icing over the cake. Allow the cake to sit while the icing hardens before serving.

Old-Fashioned Peanut Butter Cookies

Old-Fashioned Peanut Butter Cookies
Source: Maida Heatter's Book of Great Desserts (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1999 ed.), pg. 196.

These cookies are a breeze to make and they taste just like the ones you remember your mother or grandmother making. The dough is very stiff and it is very easy to form the balls. The best trick I learned for making cookies is to use a trigger-release scoop. I don't, however, have a teaspoon sized one. The one I own makes huge cookies. The dough for these is not sticky though and I just used a regular melon baller and it worked fine. This recipe makes about 48 cookies.

1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 lb. (1 stick) butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
3 oz. (3/4 cup) salted peanuts, chopped fine (not ground)

Preheat oven to 375. Use the upper rack for baking and bake one sheet at a time.

Sift together the flour and baking soda. Set aside.

Beat the butter to soften it.

Add the vanilla extract.

Add both the white and...

brown sugar and beat for 1 to 2 minutes.

Add the egg.

Adjust the mixer speed to low and add half of the flour mixture.

Add the peanut butter.

Add the remaining flour mixture.

Add the peanuts and beat until mixed.

Remove from the mixture and form into a ball. Knead only until everything is blended. The mixture will be stiff.

Use a rounded teaspoon to form the dough into balls 1" in diameter. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

Press the tops slightly with a fork to form an impression. Turn the fork and press again to form a criss-cross pattern.

Bake for 9-12 minutes until the cookies are lightly browned. Watch carefully - they burn easily.

Cool on racks. The cookies will harden and crisp as they cool.